ANTONIANS. - They are the disciples of St. Anthony Abbot. In the Vita Antonii written by St. Athanasius, there is mention of a colony of hermits who placed themselves around 306 under the direction of the saint, whom they venerated as "father." Gathered together and oriented toward a manner of life in some way communal, they formed a kind of eremitical community, of which Anthony was the guide; a purely spiritual guide, however, in which the free will of each one was the basis of persevering dependence on him, or, on his advice, on the most experienced member of the colony. It is therefore improper to speak of the Antonians as a religious family, nor did the saint intend to found an eremitical community. But through the work he performed and above all through his extensive teachings in the ascetic life, corroborated by his example, he was God's instrument for the further development and organization of ancient monasticism. The work thus begun was continued by his imitators: in the course of the 4th century, colonies of solitaries were established in Egypt, composed at first of 2-10 persons, later increased until they reached the number of 6,000 monks, according to the testimony of Rufinus. Vi-
While Anthony was alive, anchoritism spread through Lower Egypt, in the northern and western part of the desert and on both sides of the Nile delta. The eremitical colonies of Nitria and Scetis are especially notable. Each solitary lived by the work of his own hands, which lasted from morning until three in the afternoon: the hour at which the singing of psalms began in the cells. The divine service was reserved for Saturday and Sunday. The eldest of eight priests, assisted by the other seven, offered the sacrifice of the Mass and explained the Gospel. The more advanced anchorites had to leave the colony after some time, to withdraw into separate cells arranged at a certain distance from one another, so that no one could hear or see his neighbor. The founder of the colonies of Nitria is St. Ammonius (died before 356), while in those of Scetis St. Macarius, called the Egyptian or the Elder, distinguished himself; he died in 391.