| ST. JAMES ORTHODOX CHURCH |
| St. James - 195 North Main Street, Milpitas, Ca 95035 (408) 509 - 8802 |
| More about the Saint |
| Midnight Prayers 7:00am Matins Prayers 8:00am Divine Liturgy 10:30am |
St. Anthony the Great
Saint Anthony the Great is known as the Father of
monasticism, and the long ascetical sermon in The
Life of St Anthony by St Athanasius (Sections
16-34), could be called the first monastic Rule.
He was born in Egypt in the village of Coma, near
the desert of the Thebaid, in the year 251.
Anthony was a serious child and was respectful
and obedient to his parents. He loved to attend
church services, and he listened to the Holy
Scripture so attentively, that he remembered what
he heard all his life. After hearing the Gospel of
the rich man, he sold the property that he received
Saint Anthony the Great is known as the Father of
monasticism, and the long ascetical sermon in The
Life of St Anthony by St Athanasius (Sections
16-34), could be called the first monastic Rule.
He was born in Egypt in the village of Coma, near
the desert of the Thebaid, in the year 251.
Anthony was a serious child and was respectful
and obedient to his parents. He loved to attend
church services, and he listened to the Holy
Scripture so attentively, that he remembered what
he heard all his life. After hearing the Gospel of
the rich man, he sold the property that he received
| The saint instructed two of his disciples, who had attended him in the final fifteen years of his life, to bury him in the desert and not in Alexandria. He left one of his monastic mantles to St Athanasius of Alexandria, and the other to St Serapion of Thmuis. |
| In the year 544 the relics of St Anthony the Great were transferred to Alexandria, and after the conquest of Egypt by the Saracens in the seventh century, they were transferred to Constantinople. Today, they are located in Arles, France, at the St. Julian Church |
after the death of his parents, then distributed the money to the poor, and left
his sister in the care of pious virgins in a convent. Leaving his parental home, St
Anthony began his ascetical life in a hut not far from his village. In this period of
his life St Anthony endured terrible temptations from the devil. St Anthony tried
to accustom himself to a stricter way of life. He partook of food only after
sunset, he spent all night praying until dawn. Soon he slept only every third day.
St Anthony spent eighty-five years in the solitary desert. Shortly before his
death, he told the brethren that soon he would be taken from them.
his sister in the care of pious virgins in a convent. Leaving his parental home, St
Anthony began his ascetical life in a hut not far from his village. In this period of
his life St Anthony endured terrible temptations from the devil. St Anthony tried
to accustom himself to a stricter way of life. He partook of food only after
sunset, he spent all night praying until dawn. Soon he slept only every third day.
St Anthony spent eighty-five years in the solitary desert. Shortly before his
death, he told the brethren that soon he would be taken from them.
| St Anthony died peacefully in the year 356, at age 105, and he was buried in the desert by his disciples. |
| The church has Twenty Sermons on the virtues, primarily monastic. |
A Jerusalem Parish of the Greek Archdiocese