The Desert Fathers
Early Christian communities had faced persecution and martyrdom, but after after the decree of the emperor Constantine, the large scale persecutions stopped and Christians could now take their place in society. But new dangers surfaced, the danger of being assimilated into the pagan culture and values of their age. The antidote to this was to practice asceticism and in this new era asceticism became the hallmark of true commitment to the faith. Many felt that the world was too much with them, and in order to escape from the noise of the world they decided to escape into the desert. Those early Christians who sought to lead a life marked by exceptional ascetic rigor while pursuing constant prayer and fighting the temptation to return to the world became known as the Desert Fathers. Saint Anthony of the desert is regarded as the first of the desert fathers.