St. Anthony’s Feast

On January 17 the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of St. Anthony the Great, born in 251. At 12, he was left an orphan and abandoned himself to solitude by going to the desert, where he founded a monastery. When he was 104 years old, he became involved in an open dispute with the adherents of the Aryan doctrine and defeated them. He died the next year and was buried in a secret place. Later on, his relics were discovered and moved to Vienna. According to the Bulgarian folk tradition, the day of St. Anthony is celebrated for protection against illness. People believe that once there lived two twin-brothers, the smiths Anthony and Atanas, who invented the pair of pliers. Therefore the days of St. Anton (January 17) and St. Atanas (January 18) are celebrated as feasts of all smiths, cutlers and farriers. On January 17, all people called Anton, Antonia, Andon, Donka, celebrate their name day.