Saint Anthony the Great – Engraved Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Engraved Lithograph with Saint Anthony

Saint Anthony was born in 251 AD in Upper Egypt to wealthy and pious parents whom he lost at a young age. Since childhood, he was frugal and showed great zeal for the devotional life of the Church. After the death of his parents and after settling his younger sister, he distributed his belongings among the poor and retired to a desert cave. There he lived an ascetic life for 25 years.

During his ascetic life, Saint Anthony never changed his garment or washed his body. He taught his disciples to abstain from the goods of the world, without thinking that they were deprived of anything important. He also taught them not to consider anything higher than the love of Christ.

Saint Anthony died in 356 AD, at the age of 105, in perfect physical and mental health. Shortly before he died, he gave to his two closest disciples, Athanasius the Great and Serapion, his only possessions, a tunic and two hides.

One of St. Anthony’s last wishes was for his burial place to be kept secret. However, the monks who lived near him said that they possessed the holy relic of the saint. During the reign of Justinian, in 561 AD, the relics of St. Anthony were transferred to the church of St. John the Baptist in Alexandria. From there, in 635 it was transferred to Constantinople. In the 11th century, a French nobleman named Joslén received the holy relics of St. Anthony and transferred them to St. Anthony’s Abbey in the homonymous city of Southeastern France, where they are located today.

St. Anthony tamed his passions by reaching the maximum limits of asceticism. His soul could leave his body while he was still alive. He became the model of ascetics and is the founder of monastic life in the East. The Church has proclaimed him Great and honors his memory on January 17.

Engraved Lithography: Features

The work is crafted entirely by hand, without machinery, in carved natural wood. It is the work of hagiographer Athanasios, a student of the Athonite Ecclesiastical Academy, who remains faithful to Byzantine art as he was taught it on Mount Athos. His works are covered with pure beeswax so that they remain unchanged over time.

In this particular icon, the hagiographer monk used the technique of lithography to create a work of unique beauty. Specifically, using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the monk created this work following the traditional method of artificial aging, as taught in the hagiography workshops of the Athonite State. In fact, the artificial aging of hagiography is handmade, a process to which the monks of Mount Athos pay particular attention.

As the image is handmade and the wood is processed entirely by hand, there may be slight variations in the dimensions of each image.

Image available upon request.

Origin: Mount Athos