The monastery is one of the most prominent in Egypt and has strongly influenced the formation of several Coptic institutions, and has promoted monasticism in general.

This biography depicts Anthony as an illiterate and holy man who through his existence in a primordial landscape received an absolute connection to divine truth.

[1] At the age of 34, Anthony gave away all of his property and worldly possessions; he ventured into the Eastern Desert to seek a life of humility, solitude, and spiritual reflection.

Saint Anthony took the words he heard in a literal sense and that is what caused him to venture into the desert to live a life of asceticism.

[4] As time passed, the focus on asceticism diminished, and St. Anthony's followers began to develop closer relationships with one another in order to foster safety, convenience, and mutual fellowship.

Then the judge from among the Arabs said to the Melkite bishop who sat in the sanctuary: ‘make all your men get out of the church, for I wish to enter the church myself and stay here this night.’ The bishop did as the judge commanded, and the Coptic Monks made ready their beasts outside the town and entered by night and took the body and returned to the desert of Scetis.

[7]Although the monastery of St. Anthony enjoyed relative peace and security in its remote area, there were short periods of intense persecution.

[9]During the later crusades, European priests and diplomats began to tour Egypt as a part of their pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Ludolph of Suchem, a parish priest in the diocese of Paderborn, mentions his visits to the “many cells and hermitages of holy fathers,” many of which live under St.

However, the monastery slowly fell completely into ruin and the few monks that lived there greatly relied on the support from the nearby village of Bush.

However, the monastery was in such disarray that it lacked even a door, and travelers had to enter via a rope and basket operated with a pulley system.

[16] Before the dawn of the 20th century, the only way to get to the monastery was by way of the monthly camel caravans which brought in food and other necessities from the nearby village of Bush.

[17] A journey along the desert path that extended from Kuraymat, a city along the Nile in between Beni Suef and Helwan, to the monastery used to take three to four days.

In a collaborative effort between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the American Research Center in Egypt, restoration has been undertaken on the paintings.

The soffit of the arch above the door is decorated with a scene of Christ in mandorla flanked by busts of the twelve apostles.

[26] The cave where Saint Anthony lived as a hermit is a 2km (1.2 mile) hike from the monastery and is 680 metres (2200 feet) above the Red Sea level.

Archeologists from the American Research Center in Egypt restored paintings inside the Saint Anthony's Church.

[citation needed] The renovations were unveiled shortly after a violent attack on Christians in Egypt and have been touted by the government as evidence of peaceful Muslim-Christian coexistence.

[30] In the 1960s, Anba Shenudah initiated the Sunday School movement, which encouraged educated young men to forsake worldly pleasures and instead join their desert fathers.

[30] Since the movement began, the total number of monks had more than tripled within the first 25 years, and many of these young ascetics have also been promoted to the episcopacy.

[32] In the past, the overwhelming majority of the monks in residence were 50 years of age or older, and through the tradition of the other desert fathers, their piety was linked to a quality of anti-intellectualism.

Today, monks are well-educated young men with extensive academic and professional backgrounds in the scientific fields such as engineering, medicine, pharmacy, and architecture.

The monastic movement in Egypt experienced an unprecedented renaissance under the Patriarchate of Papa Avva Kyrillos VI (1959–1971), and has significantly contributed to a revival in the spiritual vitality of the Coptic church.