Athanasius the Great

c. 296/298 – 2 May 373

Also known as Athanasius of Alexandria

Champion of Christ's divinity against Arianism; exiled repeatedly but unbroken.

Feast Day

January 18

Also May 2

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Commemorated as

Our Father among the Saints Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria

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Education

Life

St. Athanasius the Great was the twentieth Patriarch of Alexandria and the foremost defender of the divinity of Christ during the fourth-century Arian controversy. Born in Alexandria around 296–298 into a well-to-do family that afforded him a thorough classical education in grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy, he rose to prominence as a deacon and theological adviser to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria.

He served as secretary to Alexander at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and, while still a young man of about twenty-seven, played a leading role in countering Arian positions. Elected bishop of Alexandria a few years later, he held the see for some forty-five years (c. 328 – 373). His unwavering insistence on the Nicene term homoousios (consubstantial) as the test of orthodoxy provoked sustained opposition, and he was driven from his see five times across more than seventeen years of exile under four different Roman emperors.

His tenacity in the face of imperial and ecclesiastical pressure gave rise to the phrase 'Athanasius against the world.' He is venerated as a saint across the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions, and the Church of the East. The Byzantine Church keeps his feast on 18 January, with a further commemoration on 2 May, the day of his repose.

In his own wordsReadHide

For He was made man that we might be made God; and He manifested Himself by a body that we might receive the idea of the unseen Father; and He endured the insolence of men that we might inherit immortality.

On the Incarnation of the Word, §54.3 · NPNF2 Vol. 4 (Archibald Robertson, PD)

Timeline13 momentsReadHide

c. 296–298Birth in AlexandriaBorn in Alexandria — possibly at Damanhur in the Nile Delta — into a prominent, well-to-do family that provided him a classical education in grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy.
c. 318–323Early theological treatisesComposed the paired works Against the Heathen (Contra Gentes) and On the Incarnation (De Incarnatione), establishing his theological framework on the divinity of Christ. Some accounts place On the Incarnation before he was twenty.
319Ordained deaconOrdained a deacon by Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, becoming his secretary and theological adviser.
325First Council of NicaeaAccompanied Alexander to Nicaea as his secretary, playing a leading role against Arian teaching. The council adopted homoousios to counter Arianism; the Coptic tradition credits Athanasius as primary author of the Creed.
c. 328Elected Patriarch of AlexandriaBecame the twentieth Patriarch of Alexandria, beginning an episcopate of about forty-five years, despite his youth and the opposition of rival factions.
335–337First exile (Trier)Condemned at the Synod of Tyre and exiled to Trier by Constantine I, where he was received kindly by Bishop Maximinus.
338–346Second exileBanished under Constantius II amid Eusebian opposition; Gregory of Cappadocia was intruded into the see in 340, and Athanasius fled to Rome where Pope Julius championed his cause. He was vindicated by the Council of Serdica.
346–356Decade of relative peaceAfter Gregory's death and a reconciliation with Constantius, Athanasius returned and governed his see in relative peace until the Council of Milan (355) condemned him again.
356–362Third exile (Egyptian desert)On the night of 8 February 356, armed men burst into the Church of St. Thomas during services to arrest him; he escaped and spent some six years among the monks of the upper Egyptian desert while George of Cappadocia replaced him.
362–363Fourth exileExpelled by Julian the Apostate. Julian's death on 26 June 363 allowed Athanasius to return under the emperor Jovian.
364–365Fifth exileBriefly exiled under Valens before being restored within a few weeks.
367Thirty-ninth Festal LetterIn his Festal Letter of 367 he listed the twenty-seven books of the New Testament as they are received today.
2 May 373Repose in AlexandriaDied peacefully in Alexandria, aged about seventy-five to seventy-seven, surrounded by his clergy.

Contributions & Legacy

5 contributionsReadHide

The Arian Controversy

The central work of Athanasius's life was the defense of the full divinity of Christ against the teaching of Arius, who held that the Son was a created being subordinate to the Father. Against this, Athanasius argued that the Father's begetting of the Son was an eternal relationship rather than an event within time.

At the First Council of Nicaea in 325 he served as secretary and theological adviser to Bishop Alexander, taking a leading part against the Arian positions. The council adopted the term homoousios — 'consubstantial' or 'co-essential with the Father' — which Athanasius thereafter upheld as the very test of orthodoxy. His insistence on this term, and his refusal to compromise with successive imperial efforts at conciliation, made him the chief target of the Arian and Eusebian factions for the rest of his life.

Exiles and Endurance

Across his forty-five-year episcopate, Athanasius was driven from Alexandria five times — by some accounts as many as seven — spending more than sixteen of those years in exile under four different emperors. His first exile (335–337) sent him to Trier following condemnation at the Synod of Tyre on charges that included being below the canonical age at his consecration, imposing taxation, and an alleged murder.

His second exile (338–346) came under Constantius II, who supported the Eusebian party; Gregory of Cappadocia was forcibly installed in the see, and Athanasius found refuge in Rome under Pope Julius before being vindicated at the Council of Serdica. His third and longest exile (356–362) followed an armed attempt to seize him during services in the Church of St. Thomas on 8 February 356; he withdrew for some six years to the deserts of upper Egypt, living among the monks. A fourth exile fell under Julian the Apostate (362–363) and a brief fifth under Valens (364–365). His perseverance through this period gave rise to the saying 'Athanasius against the world.'

Writings and Legacy

Athanasius was a prolific theologian whose works shaped the doctrinal vocabulary of the Church. His early paired treatises Against the Heathen and On the Incarnation set out his understanding of the divinity of Christ. Against the Arian factions he wrote the Four Orations against the Arians and the Apology against the Arians (Apologia contra Arianos), together with the Apology to Constantius and the History of the Arians, which document the controversies of his age.

His Life of Antony, an account of the desert monk with whom he was closely associated, became one of the most influential works of early monastic literature. In his Festal Letter of 367 he identified the twenty-seven books of the New Testament still received as canonical today. The Catholic tradition has called him the greatest champion of orthodox belief the Church has known, and the Coptic Church titled him 'Defender of the Faith.'

Personal Description

A traditional account describes Athanasius as slightly below middle height, spare but well-knit in build, with an aquiline nose and eyes of intense but kindly brilliance.

Relics & Shrines

Athanasius was originally buried in Alexandria. His relics were later transferred to Italy and are housed at the Church of San Zaccaria in Venice. A portion was restored to Egypt on 15 May 1973 by Pope Shenouda III and is now preserved beneath St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo.

Works & Further ReadingReadHide

Notable Works

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Notes

'Athanasius against the world.'

Sources: Synaxarion