Anthonians - Disciples of St. Anthony (Antonians)

Disciples of St. Anthony (Antonians)

Men drawn to his hermitage in the Thebaid (Egypt) by the fame of his holiness, and forming the first monastic communities. Having changed his abode for the sake of solitude, the saint was again surrounded by followers (according to Rufinus, 6,000), living apart or in common. These he guided solely by his word and example.

The rule bearing his name was compiled from his letters and precepts. There are still in the Orient a number of monasteries claiming St. Anthony's rule, but in reality their rules date no further back than St. Basil.

The Maronite Antonians were divided into two congregations called respectively St. Isaiah and St. Eliseus, or St. Anthony. Their constitutions were approved by Clement XII, the former in 1740, the latter in 1732. The former has 19 convents and 10 hospices; the latter, which has been subdivided, 10 convents and 8 hospices under the Aleppo branch, and 31 convents and 27 hospices under the Baladite branch.