Renewal in Christ: Athanasius on the Christian Life

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Renewal in Christ: Athanasius on the Christian Life

§15 – The Father of a Movement But when he was obliged to cross the Arsenoitic Canal 9 — and the occasion of it was the visitation of the sisters and brothers—the canal was full of crocodiles. And by simply praying, he entered it, and all of them with him, and passed over in safety. And having returned to his monastery, he applied himself to the same noble and courageous exercises; and by frequent conversation he increased the eagerness of those already monks, stirred up in most of the rest the love of the discipline, and speedily by the attraction of his words monasteries multiplied, and he directed them all as a father. §87 – Summary of Antony’s Holistic Ministry Thus, therefore, he warned the cruel. But the rest who came to him he taught in such a way that they immediately forgot their lawsuits, and he blessed those who left the ways of the world. And he supported those who were wronged in such a way that you would imagine that he, and not the others, was the sufferer. 10 Further, he was able to be of such use to all that many soldiers and people who had great possessions laid aside the burdens of life and became monks for the rest of their days. And it was as if a physician had been given by God to Egypt. For who in grief met Antony and did not return rejoicing? Who came mourning for his dead and did not immediately put off his sorrow? Who came in anger and was not converted to friendship? What poor and low-spirited man met him who,

9 Arsenoitic Canal – A canal connecting the Nile River and the Faiyum Oasis. 10 For more on this theme, see John Woolman, Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman , ed. Evan B. Howard, Sacred Roots Spiritual Classics 12 (Upland, IN: Samuel Morris Publications, 2023).