His parents died when he was seventeen and he had already decided to dedicate his life to the service of God. He was not interested in his material inheritance and, distributing it among the poor, he left the noisy city and its many distractions in search of loneliness. In a remote area of the country the young people joined a small community of monks who had also preserved their Orthodox faith. He spent twenty years there dedicating himself to ascetic labors, until the community was discovered by the Latins who demanded that the monks submit to the authority of the Papal Church. The persecuted monks were forced to disperse.
Saint Anthony settled on a large rock by the sea. There he worked for more than a year in solitary prayer, nourishing himself on wild herbs and roots. On September 5, 1105, a violent storm broke out. A huge wave lifted the rock on which the Saint stood and carried it miraculously, as if it were a light boat, across the sea, north to the Neva River, across Lake Ladoga, then upstream along the Volkhov River, until arrived, by the will of God, to Great Novgorod. On the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the stone stood 3 versts from Novgorod on the banks of the Volkhov River near the village of Volkhov. This event is witnessed in the Novgorod Chronicle.
The Saint was delighted to learn from a Greek merchant that he was among the Orthodox. Gradually he learned the language and was warmly welcomed by the reigning bishop, Saint Nikita the Hermit (31 January and 14 May). The bishop, hearing of the miraculous journey of Saint Anthony, was amazed and looked at him as an angel of God. "The Lord has granted you great gifts, similar to those given to the ancients who were pleased with God. God transported Elijah on a chariot of fire , the holy apostles flew in the air on the clouds, and you came to us across the waters on a rock. Through you the Lord visited and blessed these newly converted peoples."
There on the shore where the Saint had landed the bishop blessed him to build a church. In 1117, the saint built a stone church in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos (in memory of the holiday on which he miraculously arrived there). The church, built during the lifetime of St. Anthony in the years 1117-1119 by the famous Novgorod architect Peter and adorned with frescoes in 1125, has been preserved to the present day.
Saint Nikita's successor, Bishop Saint Nifon, convinced Saint Anthony to become a priest and elevated him to the rank of abbot in 1131. Saint Anthony wisely guided the monks entrusted to his care, without relaxing his ascetic labors. His cell and cell-chapel were so small that his spiritual struggle could be compared to that of the holy stylites.
Another year the fishermen recovered the barrel containing the legacy of Saint Anthony, thrown into the sea many years before. The saint recognized his barrel, but the fishermen did not want to give it to him. Before the judge Sant'Antonio described the contents of the barrel and it was returned to him. The saint used the money to purchase land for the monastery. In the monastery spiritual asceticism was combined with intense physical labor.
In his humility, Saint Anthony had implored Bishop Nikita never to reveal the story of his miraculous journey, but, towards the end of his life, the Saint told the story to one of his monks, Andrew, and after his repose , on August 3, 1147, the miracle was made known to the glory of God and the edification of the faithful.
The cenobitic rule of Saint Anthony, the rock on which he was miraculously transported to Novgorod, a reed that he had kept with him during the journey, his vestments and six icons dating back to the life of the Saint are preserved in the monastery.
The relics of St. Anthony lay incorrupt in an open reliquary in the cathedral. His glorification in 1597 was promoted by Archimandrite Cyril of the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, who received healing after praying before the relics of the saint.
His memory is also celebrated (discovery of his relics) on the first Friday after the feast of the very first apostles Peter and Paul (June 29), and on January 17, on the same day on which Saint Anthony the Great is remembered. The first Life of Saint Anthony the Roman was written immediately after his death by his disciple and successor as igumen, the hieromonk Andrew. A Life, with the account of the discovery of the relics, was written by a novice of the Antoniev Monastery, the monk Niphon, in the year 1598.
Saint Anthony the Roman is considered the father of monasticism in the Novgorod region.
Troparion Tone 4:
Ancient Rome, your fatherland, you left on the rock, as on a fast ship, and on it, above the laws of nature, as an incorporeal being, you traveled on the water, guided by the providence of the Divine mind, you reached Veliky Novgorod and, having created a monastery in it, you gave your body in it to God as a sacred gift. Therefore we pray you, Father Anthony, pray to Christ God, that He may save our souls.
Kontakion Tone 8:
A pupil of Rome, you flourished in Veliky Novgorod, for you pleased God with many labors and exploits there. Therefore, you were honored by Him with the gift of miracles, and your body has been preserved incorrupt for many years. We, kissing it, joyfully cry out to you from the heart: "Rejoice, Father Anthony."