Subj : =?UTF-8?Q?August_3rd_'_St=2E_Anthony_the_Roman?= To : All From : rich Date : Sun Aug 02 2020 10:11:35 From: rich August 3rd ' St. Anthony the Roman =C2 =C2 St. Anthony was born in Rome in 1067, soon after the Church o= f Rome had separated itself from the Universal Church. His parents remained faithful to the Orthodox teachings of the Eastern Churches, and raised their son in a spirit of Orthodox piety. St. Anthony was given a good education, and was able to read the Holy Scriptures in both Latin and Greek. =C2 =C2 Still a teenager when his parents died, he had already determ= ined to dedicate his life to serving God. He took no interest in his material inheritance and, distributing it among the poor, left the noisy city with its many distractions in search of solitude. In a remote area of the country the youth joined a small Community of monks who had likewise preserved their Orthodox faith. He spent twenty years there in ascetic labors, until the community was discovered by the Latins who demanded that the monks submit to the authority of the Roman Church=C2=B7 The persecuted monks were forced to disperse. =C2 =C2 St. Anthony settled on a large rock at the very edge of the se= a. There he labored for more than a year in solitary prayer, nourishing himself with wild grasses and roots. One day a violent storm arose. An enormous wave lifted the rock on which the Saint was standing and miraculously transported it--as if it were a light boat-- across the sea, north to the river Neva, across Lake Ladoga, then upstream along the river Volkhov, until it arrived, by God's will, at Great Novgorod. =C2 =C2 The Saint was overjoyed to learn from a Greek merchant that he= was among Orthodox people. He gradually learned the language and was warmly received by the ruling bishop, St. Nikita (commemorated January 31). The bishop, hearing of St. Anthony's miraculous voyage, marveled and looked upon him as an angel of God. 'The Lord has granted you great gifts, like unto those bestowed upon the ancient God-pleasers. God transported Elijah in a fiery chariot, the holy apostles flew through the air on clouds, and you have come to us across the waters on a rock. Through you the Lord has visited and blessed these newly-converted peoples." =C2 There on the shore where the Saint had landed the bishop blessed him to build a church. A small group of monks soon gathered and a monastery was established dedicated to the Nativity of the Mother of God (the Saint had arrived on the eve of this Feast). St. Nikita's successor, Bishop Niphont, persuaded St. Anthony to become a priest and elevated him to the rank of abbot. St. Anthony wisely guided the monks in his care, without relaxing his ascetic labors. His cell and cell-chapel were so small that his spiritual struggle could be compared to that of the stylite saints. =C2 =C2 In his humility, St. Anthony had begged Bishop Nikita never to reveal the story of his miraculous voyage, but, nearing the end of his life, the Saint related the story to one of his monks, Andrew, and after his repose, on August 3, 1147, the miracle was made known to the glory of God and the edification of the faithful. =C2 The monastery preserved St. Anthony's cenobitic rule, the rock on which he had been miraculously transported to Novgorod, a reed which he had held during his voyage, his vestments, and six icons dating from the Saint's lifetime. =C2 St. Anthony's relics lay incorrupt in an open reliquary in the cathedral. His glorification in 1597 was promoted by Archimandrite Cyril of Trinity St. Sergius Lavra, who received healing after praying before the Saint's relics. =C2 St. Anthony the Roman is considered the father of monasticism in the Novgorod region Saint Quote: If we wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness. We must keep ourselves in the presence of God as much as possible and have no other view or end in all our actions but the divine honor. --Saint Charles Borromeo Bible Quote: Is the Law contrary, then, to God's promises? Out of the question! If the Law that was given had been capable of giving life, then certainly saving justice would have come from the Law. As it is, Scripture makes no exception when it says that sin is master everywhere; so the promise can be given only by faith in Jesus Christ to those who have this faith."=C2 [Galatians 3:21-22:] <><><><> My God, my Life, my Love, To Thee, to Thee, I call; O come to me from heaven above, And be my God my all. My faith beholds Thee, Lord! Conceal'd in human food; My senses fail, but in Thy word, I trust and find my God. Anonymous: Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. (In Caswall's Lyra Catholica) (19th cent.) --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .