May 2 is the feast day of St. Athanasius.
Athanasius was born in the summer of 299 A.D. in Alexandria, Egypt. His family probably had little money.
Emperor Diocletian began the Great Persecution in February 303, burning churches and demanding that Christians turn over their Scriptures for destruction throughout the Roman Empire. In the spring of 304, Diocletion ordered all Christians to sacrifice to the Roman gods on penalty of death. In Alexandria alone, 660 Christians were killed during the eight year persecution that lasted much of Athanasius’s childhood. He was 12 years old when it ended.
Athanasius was taken into the household of Alexandria’s Bishop Alexander and raised by the bishop. We do not know whether Athanasius’s parents were killed in the persecution or what became of them, but he had at least an aunt who lived until 339. A story from the late fourth century told that Bishop Alexander saw the boy Athanasius playing bishop on the beach on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Alexandria’s previous bishop, and took it as an omen. Alexander taught Athanasius the Scripture, and he later made him his deacon and trusted assistant.
Athanasius was about 13 years old in 312, when Constantine became emperor of the west. Constantine’s victory in the east in 324 led to rejoicing as the emperor rebuilt the burned churches, but the joy was short-lived. The emperor wanted religious unity, and not necessarily orthodoxy, and he intended to enforce it. Moreover, he gave generous financial privileges to the Church, administered by the bishops. That must have drawn the interest of some people seeking to profit.
Meanwhile, Bishop Alexander took objection to a presbyter named Arius, who had strong support from the influential and politically well connected historian, Eusebius. Arius derived his views from Origen, but carried Origen's ideas too far. Athanasius, too, was a disciple of Origen, but did follow his ideas to extreme conclusions. However, Arius contended that the Word was subordinate to the Father, and that being begotten, the Word must have been a creature. Arius was charged with heresy in 318, and he was condemned and exiled.
The First Ecumenical Council in 324 adopted the Nicene Creed, rejecting the views of Arius. Constantine had pressured some bishops into agreement, but the council still did not produce the unanimity that Constantine had wanted. Three years later, a shift in Constantine's views allowed exiled Arians to return from exile with a vague confession of faith. Although Arius himself played little role after he was exiled, his ideas flourished under the leadership of Eusebius of Caesarea, Eusebius of Nicomedia, and other influential supporters. They would challenge Athanasius for life.Over the next decades, in various regions, Councils were held either with or without Constantine’s request, adopting a series of inconsistent creeds without ending the battle over doctrine. By 360, the East was largely Arian.
Bishop Alexander died, and Athanasius was consecrated as Bishop of Alexandria on June 8, 328, barely 30 years old. He soon faced complaints for dealing too roughly with the Meletians to suppress what he thought was false teaching. While Athanasius proved himself steadfast on doctrinal correctness, he was not skilled in diplomacy. Some of his assertions made in the conflict with the Arians were questioned amidst the sometimes violent conflict. He was accused of violence toward the Meletians at least once, with some evidence to support it, although the accusations were exaggerated. However, he was never accused of false doctrine, and he managed to outlast all challenges to his place as Bishop of Alexandria during 45 years of doctrinal chaos, when others were killed, repeatedly compromised doctrine, or fled never to return to their posts.
Athanasius was excommunicated and deposed in 335. Constantine exiled him to Trier but did not remove him as bishop. East and West split in a schism around 342, only to reunite in 346 in an agreement allowing Athanasius to return to Alexandria. In 356, Athanasius was again ousted and replaced with an Arian. He fled into the desert, living among the ascetic monks.
The tide turned in 360, when Athanasius recognized that his dispute with the Meletians had become an argument over language rather than theological substance. He then formed an alliance with the Meletians. In 362, Athanasius returned to Alexandria. For the rest of his life, he was revered as an elder statesman while the Nicene Creed gained support.
In October, 362, a new edict arrived ordering Athanasius to leave Alexandria. The pagan emperor Julian complained, “He has had the effrontery to baptize Greek women married to prominent citizens in my reign! Let him be hunted down!” Another order sought to expel him in May 365, prompting Christian demonstrations for more than a month. Athanasius went into hiding for four months until yet another change in government invited his return. Altogether, he spent 17-1/2 years in exile during 5 separate time periods, under four different emperors.
After 365, the government left him in peace for the last years of his life. Athanasius died in 373, after nearly 45 years as bishop of Alexandria. The fight against Arianism was not over. In the words of Jean Daniélou:
"Athanasius died full of years and crowned with glory, but another generation had already taken over his work. Other men than he had led and would continue to lead the great battle against Anomoeism."
Bibliography:
Barnes, Timothy D., Athanasius and Constantius: Theology and Politics in the Constantinian Empire
Chadwick, Henry, The Early Church
Forbes, F.A., St. Athanasius
Frend, The Rise of Christianity
Daniélou, Jean, The First Six Hundred Years
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