| Saint Athanasius was born at the end of the third century (about 295) in Alexandria, Egypt. He was educated, ordained a deacon and, three years after the Council of Nicea (at which he played a leading role), was named Bishop of Alexandria. At the Council of Nicea (in the year 325) Athanasius, then a deacon, became the great champion of the faith against Arianism. Hated and feared by the Arians, who taught that Jesus was only the adopted Son of God, they used all manner of detraction and calumny to destroy him. Five times he endured exile from his episcopal See, for a total of seventeen years. "But all his sufferings could not break his resistance. He was convinced that he fought for the truth...Despite his uncompromising hostility towards error and the fierceness with which he opposed it, he had the quality, rare in such a character, of being able, even in the heat of battle, of tolerance and moderation towards those who had in good faith been led astray." We appreciate this outstanding Doctor of the Church not just for his teaching against heresy, but for his other contributions as well. He wrote the biography of Saint Athony the Hermit, in which we learn of the beginnings of the monastic movement. His letters are important historical and often doctrinal documents. For Saint Athanasius, the Church is the instrument through which salvation is transmitted. It is the Church that forms the believing community "into a liturgical, institutional, and theological celebration of the divine incarnation." "An outstanding defender of the truth of Christ's divinity", Athanasius is a prototype of the great bishops of the fourth and fifth centuries. These were men and saints like Basil, John Chrysostom, Ambrose, and Augustine. They were learned, pastoral and responsive to the needs and challenges of the times. They were bishops, who after the Scriptures, are transmitters of divine revelation. After his fifth exile Saint Athanasius was called back to his See when the people threatened revolt. By then Athanasius had been vindicated, and the emperor, fearing the people, recalled him. The last eleven years of his life were spent in peace. He died on May 2, 373, and is revered and honored as one of the great figures of Christianity. |
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