Section 90

The brothers urged Antony to remain with them and die there, but he would not agree. He had several reasons, which he indicated mainly through his silence, but one reason in particular was this.

The Egyptians had a custom of honoring the bodies of good people after death, especially those of holy martyrs, by wrapping them in linen. Instead of burying them underground, they placed the bodies on couches and kept them in their houses, believing that in this way they honored the departed.

Antony had often urged the bishops to command the people to stop this practice. He likewise instructed laypeople and rebuked women concerning it, saying that such a practice was neither lawful nor holy.

“The bodies of the patriarchs and prophets,” he said, “have been preserved in tombs until this day. Even the body of the Lord was placed in a tomb, and a stone was laid over it and concealed it until he rose on the third day.”

By saying this, Antony showed that anyone who failed to bury the bodies of the dead after death violated proper practice, even if the bodies were those of holy people. For what could be greater or holier than the Lord’s own body?

Many who heard Antony’s teaching afterward buried their dead beneath the ground and gave thanks to the Lord that they had been correctly instructed.