Door of the Wilderness: The Greek, Coptic, and Copto-Arabic Sayings of St. Antony of Egypt: An English Translation, with Introductions and Notes

Saint Antony of Egypt (c. 251-356), often called ＂the father of monasticism,＂ has numerous representations: the Antony of the Life of Antony and the Letters, but also the Antony of around 120 sayings or apophthegmata. This volume presents fresh English translations of the Greek and Coptic sayings, as well as the first English translation of the Copto-Arabic sayings that are based on unpublished manuscripts. The volume thus opens the door to a richer image of Saint Antony’s many identities across various languages and traditions.

Tim Vivian, Ph.D. (1985), UC Santa Barbara, is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at CSU Bakersfield. His most recent publications are The Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, vol. 1 (Cistercian Publications, 2021) and, with Maged S. A. Mikhail, The Life of Bishoi (AUC Press, 2021). Lisa Agaiby, Ph.D. (2017), Macquarie and Göttingen, is Senior Lecturer of Coptic Studies at St Athanasius College, University of Divinity Melbourne. Her most recent publications are, with Mark N. Swanson, Nelly van-Doorn Harder (eds.) Copts in Modernity (Brill 2021), and The Arabic Life of Antony Attributed to Serapion of Thmuis (Brill, 2018).