coptichymns.net - Sharing the Joy of Coptic Hymns Around the World

The lamp of monasticism,
The star of the wilderness,
The great Abba Antony:
Whose name the Lord did bless.

He was born in the land of the Nile
And raised to fear the Lord.
He lived a virtuous life;
Always our God he adored.

When he was but twenty
His parents departed.
Leaving behind to him
His sister, and wealth uncharted.

Athanasius shares with us,
That for months after their death,
This father prayed and yearned
For the life of spiritual wealth.

One day in Church he heard
The message for which he yearned,
If thou wilt be perfect
Go sell what thou hast earned.

Give the profit to the poor,
And surely thou shalt see,
Great treasures in Heaven.
Then come and follow Me.

Straightway he left the Church
His wealth he gave that day.
To virgins he left his sister
With them she would fast and pray.

To the city outskirts he fled
From the vanity of the world.
But the devil not weary;
More venom at the Saint he hurled.

Each wile he did defeat
With his great humility
And the power of the Lord
To whom all Glory be.

Forth one step he took
And moved to a distant grave.
The devil, not to be outdone,
Gave tasks no man can brave.

In the form of savage beasts,
The devil would appear.
Abba Antony answered them
With a voice void of fear:

If any one of you
Had authority over me,
Then only one of you
Would be needed to fight me!

The devil in his outrage
Took his battles to a greater height:
With his hands he fought Antony,
And waged the physical fight.

After many nights of war
Abba Antony saw the Lord,
Where wast Thou, O My God?
His heart to the Saviour poured.

My son, I was with you
But so well I saw you fight,
I dared not take away,
The crown for your spiritual might.

With courage he left again,
This time for the wilderness,
To live the life of prayer,
The life of spiritual bliss.

Our Lord granted him
A great spiritual sight:
A man would work and pray
By day and by night.

On his head the Kolossowa
And the Schema round his waist.
The life and rule of monks
On this vision was based.

At the time of Diocletian
To the world this father came,
Guiding all the martyrs,
To suffer without shame.

The governor enraged,
Banished him to the wilderness;
But him Abba Antony defied
And continued his great kindness.

He did this not in contempt,
But rather for his own desire
To be slain as a martyr;
To die for His Lord and Sire.

To the desert he returned
To live the monastic life,
Disciples then he gained,
To live the spiritual strife.

Once more he returned to the world
To strengthen Athanasius
In the Church's great battle
Against the evil Arius.

His followers increased,
His rule more defined,
Great saints came to see him:
Macarius; Didymus the blind.

The Saint instructed his monks,
And great virtues they showed,
Establishing the order
Which the world followed.

Hail to Abba Antony,
Hail to the righteous saint!
Hail to him at whose sight
All the devils faint.

O companion of Saint Paul,
O true honourable friend,
Remember us, your children,
To our Lord our prayers send.

The monks and lay cry out,
With one voice of supplication,
O God of Abba Antony
Hear us when we say...