Early Christian history of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, violence against Christians by the Roman Empire, struggles against pagan ideology, practices that were corrupting the Church and a certain lax spiritual discipline had crept into many areas of the Christian faith. While some leaders attempted to control the faith by increasing their personal power and influence on the political front, others sought to escape the spiritual darkness they perceived in the world to maintain their spiritual purity. Many men fled life in the traditional culture in an attempt to purify their hearts and minds by practicing asceticism, or a lifestyle of self-denial for Christ's purpose, as stated in Matthew 19:21 when He stated, "If you be complete, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; come, follow me." (NASB) They often isolated themselves in caves on the outskirts of villages and cities to find solace in their heart-level relationship with God. Their behavior was marked by a willingness to put aside everything they had to escape the environment in which they lived and honor God through their spiritual disciplines. for them to practice a life of discipline and work; but so that by living well we may please God." - Anthony of the Desert Anthony of Thebes or Anthony of the Desert (around 250-355 AD), as the writer Athanasius of Alexandria (a 'student' of Anthony) describes him, is considered by scholars to be a leading figure of the monastic movement in the early Christian Church He fled Egyptian society at the age of twenty and spent the next eighty-six years of his life first in a cave, in a tomb and then in an abandoned Roman fort deep in the ground. harsher than the western Egyptian desert. Anthony found both solace and spiritual battles in long periods of prayer, fasting, and rigorous spiritual disciplines. He was best known for his epic battles with satanic forces and demons that tormented him throughout his life of Christian brothers who brought small quantities of food allowed them to hear a saying or short teaching from him during their stay. These sayings and teachings often returned to traditional culture.