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To whom was Anba Antonios, the father of monasticism, confessing?

The confession father of St. Antony the Great was never really disclosed. During his long and marvelous life, St. Antony lived through four different Patriarchs starting with St. Peter the Seal of Martyrs. He reposed during the life of St. Athanasius who subsequently wrote his biography. The importance of the life of discipleship is a very strong concept in the Coptic Church. This ideal was not only practiced by our Lord Jesus Christ, but certainly by His disciples who learned to apply everything taught by Him. St. Mark the Evangelist discipled many when he came to Egypt, including his successor, the Bishop Ananias, and others. Therefore, it is for certain that St. Antony was discipled by a very spiritual father, in addition to the overseeing spiritual leadership of the archbishop/patriarch of the church at that time. St. Antony lived through much of the persecution of the church, which is known as the Era of the Martyrs, and would often leave his abode in the mountains of the Red Sea to travel and comfort those imprisoned. Even at the old age of 100, he stood against the exile of the patriarch at that time, Pope Athanasius. Having lived such a long life of approximately 105 years of age, St. Antony probably had more than one confession/spiritual father in his lifetime. It is certainly well known that he became the spiritual father of many and we all still benefit today from his extraordinary life.

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