Note 176 — Chapter VII

St. Antony of Thebes was the founder of monachism. He is said to have been born at Koma, Egypt, near Heraklea, A. D. 251, and to have died A. D. 356. In early life he retired to the wilderness, and lived in seclusion until 305, when he founded the monastery of Fayum, near Memphis and Arsinoë. He is the patron of hospitallers, and his day is celebrated on January 17. His life was written by St. Athanasius, a condensed translation of which is given by S. Baring-Gould in his Lives of the Saints (London, 1897, 1898), i, pp. 249–272. See also Addis and Arnold’s Catholic Dictionary, p. 596; and New International Encyclopædia.