St. Anthony of Egypt

Once when Greek philosophers tried to impress St. Anthony with their knowledge, St. Anthony said to them, "Which is older, the book, or the wisdom it contains?" Anthony was born to wealthy parents in a town near Cairo, and on his twentieth birthday he renounced his family’s affluence and became a contemplative. At first he practiced fasting, prayer, and works of piety at home, but after a while he retreated to a monastery in the Egyptian desert. Soon pilgrims flocked there to imitate his contemplative lifestyle. After he moved to an abandoned Roman fort on a mountain near the Nile River, his followers built a whole colony of monasteries there, systematizing and recording his guidelines for monastic life. Many of the orthodox bishops at the Council of Nicea (325 CE) were Egyptian Christians, and they invited Anthony to attend and assist them in the debates against Arian bishops who claimed Jesus Christ was not God. Athanasius of Alexandria, who played a pivotal role in the orthodox victory at Nicea, penned a biography of Anthony.

Sources: New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01553d.htm