"Ποτὲ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος ἐδέξατο Κωνσταντίου τοῦ βασιλέως γράμματα, ἵνα ἔλθῃ εἰς Κωνσταντι νούπολιν· καὶ ἐσκόπει τί ποιῆσαι. Λέγει οὖν τῷ ἀββᾷ Παύλῳ τῷ μαθητῇ αὐτοῦ· Ὤφειλον ἀπελθεῖν; Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Ἐὰν ἀπέλθῃς, Ἀντώνιος λέγῃ· εἰ δὲ μὴ ἀπέλθῃς, ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος"

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Added on April 10, 2026
Unverified quote
0 likes
ProverbsChristian textsMonasticismDesert Fathers
Original Language: English

Sources

One day Abba Anthony received a letter from the Emperor Constantius, asking him to come to Constantinople and he wondered whether he ought to go. So he said to Abba Paul, his disciple, "Ought I to go?" He replied, "If you go, you will be called Anthony; but if you stay here, you will be called Abba Anthony." — Anthony, Saying 31, Page 8