Saint Antony was born
John Echimos (Ἰωάννης Ἔχιμος) at Phossaton near
Jerusalem in 785. His parents were Photeinos and Irene, and he had at least a brother named David and a sister named Theodoule. According to his
hagiography, as a child he was brought to the
hermit John, who foretold his future. When his mother died in , he and his siblings left Palestine for
Attaleia. There he entered imperial service, probably in the
Byzantine navy. In 821 or 822 he was promoted to
ek prosopou (deputy governor) of the
Cibyrrhaeot Theme. He held the post until 825, although he may have been promoted to thematic governor (
strategos) in the meantime. He participated in the suppression of the rebellion of
Thomas the Slav in 822–823, then spent ten months in
Constantinople in 823–824, before returning to his theme and leading the repulsion of an Arab attack on either Attaleia or
Syllaion. In 825, just as he was about to be married, he was secretly
tonsured by the
stylite monk Eustratios, and adopted the
monastic name Antony. Joined by his servant Theodore, he spent some time at
Amorion, before moving on to
Pylae and
Nicaea, and thence to the Agauron or Pandemos Monastery on the
Bithynian Olympus. His hagiography claims that during these journeys he was repeatedly rescued from need in miraculous manner. In 829 or 830 he was tried on the orders of Emperor
Theophilos by the
epi ton deeseon Stephen for his persecution of Thomas the Slav's adherents after the end of his rebellion, and was imprisoned for five months at
Constantinople. After being whipped, he was released, and returned to Agauron. Sometime later (
Raymond Janin places this between 837 and 843) he went to Briles, where he lived in a chapel dedicated to
Saint Panteleimon. He then spent some time in the Monastery of Heraclius at
Kios, returned to Agauron until 842, and then went again to the Monastery of Heraclius until 848, when he moved to the
metochion of All Saints in Constantinople. ". Miniature from the
Madrid Skylitzes In he cured
Petronas, the uncle of Emperor
Michael III, who became his disciple. The two had a very close relationship, and Antony is said to have prophesied Petronas' great victory over the Arabs in 863 at the
Battle of Lalakaon. In that year, he moved to
Ephesus, before returning to Constantinople in 865, spending the final days until his death on 11 November in the Monastery of Leo the Deacon. He is commemorated by the
Eastern Orthodox Church on 11 November and 1 December. ==Hagiography==