Anthony of Supraśl ( pl, Antoni Supraski) was a Ruthenian monk and martyr, now venerated in the Polish Orthodox Church.

Biography

Anthony was born on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

family, although his social status and

lay name A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of registration of the birth and which then ap ...

remain unknown. According to tradition, in his youth he was known for his angry character, having eventually killed a man in a bar brawl. Wishing to atone for sin, he entered the

Supraśl Orthodox Monastery The Monastery of the Annunciation in Supraśl ( pl, Monaster Zwiastowania Najświętszej Marii Panny w Supraślu; be, Супрасльскі Дабравешчанскі манастыр; russian: Супрасльский Благовещенск ...

some time before 1506, where he received the name Anthony. Considering his penance insufficient, Anthony asked the abbot for permission to go to a Muslim country, where he might receive martyrdom, which was then refused. Anthony had only received permission to go to

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

, where he made his vows of

Great Schema The degrees of Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monasticism are the stages an Eastern Orthodox monk or nun passes through in their religious vocation. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the process of becoming a monk or nun is intentionally slo ...

and took the name Onuphrius. He then went to Thessalonica, into the Church of the Theotokos Acheiropoietos, which had been converted into a mosque, and began to pray demonstratively. He was arrested and thrown into prison, demanded by the kadi to convert to Islam, which he consistently refused while attacking the religion. Finally, he was sentenced to be burned at the stake. Going to the place of execution, Anthony continued to denounce Islam, and even spat on the face of one of the guards. At this point, he was fatally hit by a club. His body was burned.

References

*Charkiewicz, J. ''Święci ziemi białoruskiej''. Bratczyk, Hajnówka 2006, *Mironowicz, A. i M. ''Święty Antoni Supraski''. Białystok 2014. {{authority control Polish saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church 1516 deaths 16th-century Eastern Orthodox martyrs Christian saints killed by Muslims Christians executed for refusing to convert to Islam People associated with Mount Athos