7 Different names for St. Anthony of Egypt

While Western Christians are most familiar with St. Anthony of Padua, there is another St. Anthony who has a much wider reputation.

St. Anthony of Egypt is known in the West and East as a very important saint, as he is often credited as a father of Christian monasticism.

Because of his influence, he is referred to by many different names, each revealing a little more about his life and legacy.

The first name is rather simple, as it refers to St. Anthony's primary place of residence. St. Anthony was born in the 3rd century in Egypt and also died in Egypt.

In connection to the first name, Thebes is the name of an ancient city in Egypt. Furthermore, St. Anthony was the disciple of St. Paul of Thebes, and so is often referred to with the same designation.

One of the names St. Anthony is frequently given is the name of "abbot." This name refers to St. Anthony's role as the head of a group of monks in the desert. The word stems from the Aramaic word abba, which simply means "father."

Frequently St. Anthony is called, "St. Anthony of the Desert." This refers to how he left the city where he was living and went out into the Egyptian desert. For the rest of his life he lived in the desert, offering himself and his life to God.

Sometimes St. Anthony is called the "hermit," though he was not a hermit for his entire life. He spent many years as a solitary hermit, but eventually he started to form a community of disciples around him in the desert.

St. Anthony is often credited as the father of Christian monasticism, as his organization of fellow monks inspired other communities to begin, which led to a larger movement of monasticism.

To help distinguish him from the various other St. Anthonys in the Church, St. Anthony is often called "the Great," due to his influence in Christianity since the 3rd century.