Portrait of Anthony the Great

Anthony the Great

Egyptian Christian monk, hermit, and saint

Lived
251–357
Country
Ancient Rome

Updated September 2026

About Anthony the Great

Anthony the Great was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony, such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets: Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. His feast day is celebrated on 17 January among the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Coptic calendar.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Authors like Anthony the Great

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.