St. Athanasius

Deacon at the Council of Nicaea

St. Athanasius was born around 296 in Alexandria, Egypt, and grew up in one of the most brilliant Christian cities of the ancient world. As a young deacon and secretary to Bishop Alexander, he attended the Council of Nicaea in 325, where the Church confessed against the priest Arius that the Son is 'consubstantial' with the Father—true God from true God. Defending that confession would consume the rest of his life.

Five Exiles for the Nicene Faith

Chosen bishop of Alexandria in 328, Athanasius governed his see for forty-five years, seventeen of which he spent in five separate exiles imposed under four emperors as imperial favor swung toward the Arians. Hounded by synods, slandered by rivals, hidden at times by the monks of the Egyptian desert, he refused every pressure to compromise on the divinity of Christ. The later phrase Athanasius contra mundum—'Athanasius against the world'—captures the popular memory of his lonely constancy, which kept the Nicene faith alive until its final vindication.

Foundational Writings and the Canon

His writings are foundational for Christian theology. On the Incarnation sets out with luminous clarity why God became man—'He became man that we might become god,' in his famous formulation of divinization by grace. His Discourses Against the Arians dismantled the Arian position, and his Life of Antony, the biography of the great desert father whom he knew personally, spread the ideals of monasticism across the Christian world. His Easter letter of 367 contains the earliest surviving list of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament exactly as the Church receives them today.

Death and Veneration in East and West

Athanasius died in Alexandria on May 2, 373, at peace in his see at last. Venerated from antiquity in both East and West, he is counted among the four great Doctors of the Eastern Church. Relics attributed to him have long been venerated at the Church of San Zaccaria in Venice, and in 1973 a portion was returned to the Coptic cathedral in Cairo. His feast is May 2, and he is a patron of theologians and a heavenly ally against heresy.

Significance

Every Catholic who professes in the Creed that the Son is true God owes a debt to Athanasius, who defended that truth through decades of exile and slander. His refusal to compromise, even when he seemed to stand alone, shows that fidelity to revealed truth is worth any personal cost. His writings on why God became man still guide theologians and ordinary believers toward the wonder of sharing in God's life by grace.