Thus Anthony was carried away by him, and when, according to custom, the door was locked, he was again left alone in the tomb. From the blows inflicted on him, he is still unable to stand on his feet and prays lying down: "Here I, Anthony, do not run from your blows. If you inflict on me even a greater number, nothing will separate me from the love of Christ." Then he begins to sing: "If the army encamps against me, my heart will not be afraid" (Psalm 26:3).

(Ibid., ch. 8)

Tombs in Egypt were built in caves, and according to the ideas of that time, it was a place where darkness, death and the devil reigned. Likewise, the desert, a place where there is no source of life, no water, was the abode of the devil. The "scapegoat" of Israel, who carried away his sins, was driven out into the desert, where he was to die. Jesus Christ withdrew into the wilderness for prayer and fasting, there He was tempted by the devil and defeated him. Thus, the tombs and the desert signified the presence of the evil Spirit, and it was there that the monks went: not for a calm, peaceful, contemplative existence, but for a terrible battle with the prince of this world. Therefore, liturgical texts on the days of commemoration of holy ascetics often say that as a result of monastic efforts, "the desert flourished." This refers to both spiritual and material prosperity, for when monks settled in the desert, in addition to their spiritual feats, they were engaged in agriculture, and through their efforts the dry land, previously conquered by the "murderous devil," began to bear the fruits of human labor—thus the beginning of the Kingdom of God was realized.

With the cessation of the persecution of Christianity, a spiritual connection was gradually established between monasticism and martyrdom. In the early Christian period, only martyrs were venerated as saints. By their death, understood as baptism in blood, they bore witness to Christ's Resurrection. With the coming to power of Constantine the Great, the persecutions ceased, and the martyrs were gone. They were replaced by monks, whose spiritual feat was understood as voluntary suffering, as death for "this world":

And when the persecution had already ceased, and Bishop Peter of blessed memory accepted martyrdom, then Anthony left Alexandria and retired to his monastery, where he was daily a martyr in his conscience and asceticized in the feats of faith. His labors are numerous and great: he fasted unceasingly: he kept his undergarments of hair and his outer garments of leather until his very death: he did not wash away the impurities from his body with water, he never washed his feet, he did not even simply immerse them in water, except in extreme necessity. No one saw him undressed... until the time when Anthony died and they began to bury him.

(Ibid., ch. 47)

At the birth of the monastic movement, many were suspicious of monks. St. Athanasius was well aware of the importance of monasticism and the need to keep it under the control of the Church, not to allow it to degenerate into an independent spontaneous movement. Therefore, he tries to depict Anthony in the most attractive form: in his description, the holy ascetic did not communicate with heretics, went to church, treated the clergy with respect (which was by no means characteristic of monks of that time) and in general was distinguished by a pleasant appearance and disposition.

An interesting episode of St. Anthony's clash with pagan philosophers testifies to the complete lack of mutual understanding between monks and representatives of secular learning:

He was very intelligent and, surprisingly, without learning to read and write, he was distinguished by subtlety and penetration of mind. One day two pagan philosophers came to him, thinking that they could tempt Anthony. He was on the outer mountain, and guessing from the faces of those who were walking what kind of people they were, he went out to them and said through an interpreter: "Why are you, philosophers, so anxious for a foolish man?" And if you consider me wise, then be like me, because good things must be imitated,... and I am a Christian." The philosophers departed in surprise.

(Ibid., ch. 72)

In the epilogue, St. Athanasius calls on his readers to read the Life aloud, and not only to his fellow monks, but also to pagans. In the early Church, very few people could read, books were expensive, and learning came from hearing. Seeing in the life of St. Anthony a great testimony of faith, Athanasius believed that it should serve for the edification of Christians and inspire the pagans.

The Theological Teaching of St. Athanasius