St. Athanasius the Great of Alexandria was the twentieth patriarch of the See of St. Mark, who is still revered by many Christians today for defending the Christian faith against an infectious heresy of his time. He inspired millions, not only through his forty-five year ministry, but also through his apostolic works that continue to be theological references.
Biography
This apostolic saint was most likely born in Alexandria between 295 and 298 AD, and he most likely received his education at the Catechetical School of Alexandria.
Historians have shared an interesting story of St. Athanasius’ first encounter with his mentor and predecessor, patriarch Alexander I. One day, Alexander happened to be watching a group of children play on the seashore. He noticed that they were re-enacting the sacrament of baptism, and that young St. Athanasius was acting as the bishop. Alexander confirmed the authenticity of their re-enactment of the sacrament and took up mentoring the “boy-bishop” who ultimately became his secretary and his close companion.
Ultimately, St. Athanasius became the successor of Alexander I in 328 AD. His ministry was particularly challenging, because his struggle against Arius and his sympathisers continued after the Council of Nicaea. Moreover, he was exiled five times, causing him to be away from his flock for more than seventeen years. The saint departed in 373 AD, and his commemoration occurs on the 30th of the Coptic month of Tut according to the Coptic Orthodox Synaxarium.
Defending the Faith
The most notable achievement of St. Athanasius is his defense of the correct faith in the Council of Nicaea (325 AD), which he attended as the secretary to patriarch Alexander I of Alexandria. He refuted the presbyter Arius, who attacked the co-equality and co-eternity of the Son with the Father. St. Athanasius defended the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son using the famous term “Homoousion.” Therefore, he explained persuasively that the Son is “consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things came into being” (The Nicene Creed). Unfortunately, the Council of Nicaea did not terminate the Arian controversy. Hence, St. Athanasius worked faithfully for the rest of his ministry, in order to drive the heresy out of the Byzantine Empire.
Works
His works show that his knowledge was centred on the Holy Scriptures, and they include, “historical tracts, encyclicals, an apology to Constantine, another apology against the Arians, his letters to Serapion and to the monks, and his festal letters”. Some of his most widely referenced accomplishments are his two-volume work of Against the Gentiles and On the Incarnation, and the Life of Saint Antony.
He most likely wrote the former in his twenties, before the Arian heresy and the Council of Nicaea. In Against the Gentiles, he explains the widespread worship of idols, which preceded Christ. He then uses On the Incarnation, to present the solution to the separation of mankind from God as a result of sin. Therefore, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the incarnated God, has reconciled us with Him.
St. Athanasius most likely met and spent time with St. Antony the Great during the patriarch’s six-year exile in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. The Life of Saint Antony is a trusted biography of the world’s first monk, which was dedicated to the people of Gaul and Italy. Therefore, St. Athanasius was able to spread the monastic way to the West.
References
Athanasius and John Behr. On the Incarnation. Popular Patristics Series. Yonkers, N.Y.: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2011.
Atiya, Aziz Suryal. The Coptic Encyclopedia. New York: Macmillan, 1991.
Donker, Gerald J. The Text of the Apostolos in Athanasius of Alexandria. Edited by Roderic L. Mullen. Vol. 8. Society of Biblical Literature: The New Testament in the Greek Fathers. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011.