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Also known as: Athanasius
of Egypt; Athanasius the Great; Champion of Christ's Divinity; Champion of
Orthodoxy; Father of Orthodoxy; Greek Doctor of the Church; Holy Hierarch;
Pillar of the Church
Profile
Studied the classics and theology in Alexandria. Deacon and secretary to
bishop Alexander of Alexandria. Attended the Council of Nicea in 325 where
he fought for the defeat of Arianism and acceptance of the divinity of
Jesus. 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. Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt c.328. When the dispute over Arianism
spilled over from theology to politics, Athanasius got exiled five times,
and spent more than a third of his episcopate in exile. Biographer of
Saint Anthony the Abbot. Confessor of the faith and Doctor of the Church,
he fought for the acceptance of the Nicene Creed.
Born: c.295 at Alexandria, Egypt
Died: 2 May 373 at Alexandria, Egypt; relics in San Croce, Venice,
Italy
Name Meaning: immortality (Greek)
Representation
bishop arguing with a pagan; bishop holding an open book; man in episcopal
robes and standing over a defeated heretic
Readings
For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.
Saint Athanasius
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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 by Saint Athanasius
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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 by Saint Athanasius
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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.
Saint Athanasius
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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 by Saint Athanaius
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