St. Athanasius became known as the Father of Orthodoxy when he attended the First Council of the Catholic Church, the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. He became highly regarded for defending the dogma regarding Christ’s divinity with vigor and fury against the heresy of Arianism which purported that God was ‘uncreated’ and, therefore, eternal, but Christ, the Son was created, and therefore, not eternal. It was also well-known that St. Athanasius had a profound devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A Well Educated Man
The well-educated St. Athanasius was born in Alexandria and despite having a profoundly extensive education lived a very difficult life due to his life-long calling to fight against the heresy of Arianism in his time. It was Athanasius who, after fighting to disprove the heresy at the Council of Nicaea, also assisted in making sure that the very rebellious and power hungry founder of the heresy, Arius, was excommunicated. Many years went by however, wherein various intrigues and subversive activities occurred involving Arius.
Five Exiles in a 17-year Period
After a period of time, Athanasius was asked to readmit Arius to the faithful for which he staunchly refused. Arius’s response was to kidnap a bishop and place him in hiding and accuse St. Athanasius of his murder. He was exiled five times in a seventeen year period, and as the various powers that be came in and out of power – he was favored one minute and exiled the next. He spent at least six years in the desert, which is part of the reason he became known as a Desert Father of the Church.
A Bishop for 47 Years
It is an interesting thing that St. Athanasius served for forty seven years as the Bishop of Alexandria, and even in such a position, he was exiled and asked to return again and again. He was persevering under severe trial and never gave up the fight for Holy Mother Church.
Exoneration for St. Athanasius
It was only in his last seven years of life that he finally was able to receive complete exoneration, rebuild the Nicene Church and proclaim victory over what was considered one of the most powerful heresies in the Catholic Church, Arianism. He wrote most of his famous works while in exile except for his work on the incarnation which was written earlier. He introduced monasticism to the Western World. He died on May 2nd, 373.
St. Athanasius’s Written Works
Apologia to Constantius, Defense of Flight, Letter to the Monks, History of the AriansEleven Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours, Against the Pagans, On the Incarnation of the Word of God, Discourses against the Arians, Festal Letters, Letter Concerning the Decrees of the Nicene Council, Athanasian Creed
Sources: The 33 Doctors of the Church – By Fr. Christopher Rengers, A Catholic Dictionary – By William Addis, The Writings of the Early Church Fathers (Thirty Eight Volumes): Ante-Nicene, Nicene and Post Nicene – Hendrickson Publishers, Dictionary of Saints – By John J. Delaney, Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics – By Chas S. Clifton, A Scholastic Miscellany: Anselm to Ockham – Edited by Eugene R. Fairweather, A Short History of Christian Doctrine: From the First Century to the Present – By Bernhard Lohse
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