Saint
Athanasius the Great (also known as Athanasius of Egypt; Athanasius
of Alexandria; Champion of Christ's Divinity; Champion of Orthodoxy;
Father of Orthodoxy; Holy Hierarch; Pillar of the Church) is a Greek
Church Father, as well as a Doctor of the Church.
He
was born around 295 A.D. in Alexandria, Egypt. He studied the
classics and theology in Alexandria and was deacon and secretary to
bishop Alexander of Alexandria and as such attended the Council of
Nicea in 325 where he fought for the defeat of Arianism and
acceptance of the divinity of Jesus.
Upon
Alexander's death in 328, Athanasius succeeded him as bishop. He
formulated the doctrine of homo-ousianism which says that Christ is
the same substance as the Father; Arianism taught that Christ was
different from and a creation of the Father, a creature and not part
of God.
Athanasius spent
seventeen of the forty-six years of his episcopate in exile when the
dispute over Arianism spilled over from theology to politics, and he
fought for the acceptance of the Nicene Creed.
Refusing
to readmit Arius to ecclesiastical communion, he was accused on false
charges by Eusebius of Nicomedia, and brought to trial at Tyre, in
335, but, as he could not hope for a fair trial, he withdrew from
Tyre, appealing to the Emperor Constantine who banished him to Trier.
He returned to his see in 337 with the permission of Constantine II,
but again met with opposition by the Eusebian faction, and fled to
Rome, where his innocence was proclaimed by Pope Julius.
After
the death of Gregory, Bishop of Alexandria, in 345, Athanasius again
returned to his see. He was condemned at a council in Milan around
355, in which his enemies predominated, and he was exiled to Egypt,
where he lived among the monks for seven years. After another short
occupancy of his see he was banished, in 364, by Emperor Valens.
He
was recalled by his flock after four months, and spent the remainder
of his life proclaiming the Divinity of Christ, thus well deserving
the title Father of Orthodoxy. His writings include History of the
Arians and On the Incarnation.
Saint
Athanasius died in Alexandria, Egypt in 373 A.D. of natural causes.
Saint
Jerome included Athanasius in his book "Lives of Illustrious
Men", and is as follows:
Athanasius
the bishop
Athanasius
bishop of Alexandria, hard pressed by the wiles of the Arians, fled
to Constans emperor of Gaul. Returning thence with letters and, after
the death of the emperor, again taking refuge in flight, he kept in
hiding until the accession of Jovian, when he returned to the church
and died in the reign of Valens. Various works by him are in
circulation; two book Against the nations one Against Valens and
Ursacius, On virginity, very many On the persecutions of the Arians,
also On the titles of the Psalms and Life of Anthony the monk, also
Festal epistles and other works too numerous to mention.
Below
are some quotations from various works by Saint Athanasius the Great:
For
the Son of God became man so that we might become God.
*
* * * * * *
Brethren,
how fine a thing it is to move from festival to festival, from prayer
to prayer, from holy day to holy day. The time is now at hand when we
enter on a new beginning: the proclamation of the blessed Passover,
in which the Lord was sacrificed. We feed as on the food of life, we
constantly refresh our souls with his precious blood, as from a
fountain. Yet we are always thirsting, burning to be satisfied. But
he himself is present for those who thirst and in his goodness
invites them to the feast day. Our Savior repeats his words: If
anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
He
quenched the thirst not only of those who came to him then. Whenever
anyone seeks him he is freely admitted to the presence of the Savior.
The grace of the feast is not restricted to one occasion. Its rays of
glory never set. It is always at hand to enlighten the mind of those
who desire it. Its power is always there for those whose minds have
been enlightened and who meditate day and night on the holy
Scriptures, like the one who is called blessed in the holy psalm:
Blessed is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked, or
stood where sinners stand, or sat in the seat of the scornful, but
whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law
day and night.
Moreover,
my friends, the God who first established this feast for us allows us
to celebrate it each year. He who gave up his Son to death for our
salvation, from the same motive gives us this feast, which is
commemorated every year. This feast guides us through the trials that
meet us in this world. God now gives us the joy of salvation that
shines out from this feast, as he brings us together to form one
assembly, uniting us all in spirit in every place, allowing us to
pray together and to offer common thanksgiving, as is our duty on the
feast. Such is the wonder of his love: he gathers to this feast those
who are far apart, and brings together in unity of faith those who
may be physically separated from each other.
from
an Easter letter
*
* * * * * *
The
Word who became all things for us is close to us, our Lord Jesus
Christ who promises to remain with us always. He cries out, saying:
See, I am with you all the days of this age. He is himself the
shepherd, the high priest, the way and the door, and has become all
things at once for us. In the same way, he has come among us as our
feast and holy day as well. The blessed Apostle says of him who was
awaited: Christ has been sacrificed as our Passover. It was Christ
who shed his light on the psalmist as he prayed: You are my joy,
deliver me from those surrounding me. True joy, genuine festival,
means the casting out of wickedness. To achieve this one must live a
life of perfect goodness and, in the serenity of the fear of God,
practice contemplation in one's heart.
This
was the way of the saints, who in their lifetime and at every stage
of life rejoiced as at a feast. Blessed David, for example, not once
but seven times rose at night to win God's favor through prayer. The
great Moses was full of joy as he sang God' s praises in hymns of
victory for the defeat of Pharaoh and the oppressors of the Hebrew
people. Others had hearts filled always with gladness as they
performed their sacred duty of worship, like the great Samuel and the
blessed Elijah. Because of their holy lives they gained freedom, and
now keep festival in heaven. They rejoice after their pilgrimage in
shadows, and now distinguish the reality from the promise.
When
we celebrate the feast in our own day, what path are we to take? As
we draw near to this feast, who is to be Our guide? Beloved, it must
be none other than the one whom you will address with me as our Lord
Jesus Christ. He says: I am the way. As blessed John tells us: it is
Christ who takes away the sin of the world. It is he who purifies our
souls, as the prophet Jeremiah says: Stand upon the ways; look and
see which is the good path, and you will find in it the way of
amendment for your souls.
In
former times the blood of goats and the ashes of a calf were
sprinkled on those who were unclean, but they were able to purify
only the body. Now through the grace of God's Word everyone is made
abundantly clean. If we follow Christ closely we shall be allowed,
even on this earth, to stand as it were on the threshold of the
heavenly Jerusalem, and enjoy the contemplation of that everlasting
feast, like the blessed apostles, who in following the Savior as
their leader, showed, and still show, the way to obtain the same gift
from God. They said: See, we have left all things and followed you.
We too follow the Lord, and we keep his feast by deeds rather than by
words.
from
an Easter letter
*
* * * * * *
You
will not see anyone who is really striving after his advancement who
is not given to spiritual reading. And as to him who neglects it, the
fact will soon be observed by his progress.
*
* * * * * *
The
Word of God, incorporeal, incorruptible, and immaterial, entered our
world.
Out
of his loving-kindness for us he came to us, and we see this in the
way he revealed himself openly to us. Taking pity on mankind's
weakness, and moved by our corruption, he could not stand aside and
see death have the mastery over us. He did not want creation to
perish and his Father's work in fashioning man to be in vain. He
therefore took to himself a body, no different from our own, for he
did not wish simply to be in a body or only to be seen.
By
dying for others, he immediately banished death for all mankind. The
corruption of death no longer holds any power over mankind, thanks to
the Word, who has come to dwell among us through his one body.
from
a talk
Copyright
© 2012 Steve Smith. All Rights Reserved.
