Saint Athanasius 2022 Walid H.

Ghareeb

Saint Athanasius

St. Athanasius (Pl.1) was one of the great leaders of the early Church. His great
struggle for the truth brought him near to martyrdom. He spent the fifty years of his
adult life in a bloodless, martyrdom fighting for the true Christian faith. Athanasius
was a true champion of the truth; he did not flinch even from the threats of
Emperors.1

I- His Life:
St. Athanasius was born in 295 A.D. in Alexandria; he was from a wealthy family.
When he was only five years old, the great persecution under Diocletian began. 2

In 313 A.D. the persecution finally came to an end when Constantine the Great
became the first Christian emperor. In the same year Pope Alexander was
consecrated as the new Patriarch of Alexandria.3

Pope Alexander was impressed with St. Athanasius, so he guided his formal
education, and also served as his mentor in the things of the Church. St. Athanasius
grew in wisdom and knowledge. He was ordained to the diaconate, then Pope
Alexander appointed him to be his personal archdeacon, during that time there was
a new scourge called Arianism. In 328 A.D., Pope Alexander died and St. Athanasius
was chosen as his successor; the new Patriarch of Alexandria and Egypt.4

Emperor Constantine who sympathized with the Arians, exiled Athanasius. After
the death of the emperor, he returned to Alexandria, but shortly after his return a
synod deposed him. Athanasius had to leave Alexandria and retired to the monks in

1
Molloy, M., Champion of Truth: The life of St. Athanasius, Indiana, 2003,without numbering.
2
Elders, L., The Alexandrian and the Cappadocian Fathers of the Church in the writings of Thomas Aquinas, online
article, 2019, p .325.
https://catholicebooks.wordpress.com/2021/01/02/
3
Molloy, op.cit
4
Anatolios, K., “Athanasius”, in The Early church fathers Harrison, C., (ed.) London, 2004, P.1.

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Saint Athanasius 2022 Walid H. Ghareeb

the Egyptian desert. Then a new emperor called him back, Athanasius tried to unite
the Christians in Alexandria so he was exiled again. Soon he was recalled and spent
the last seven years of his life in peace, He died in 373 A.D.

St Athanasius was originally buried in Alexandria, but his remains were later
transferred to the Chiesa di Tomb of Zakaria and St. Athanasius in Venice. (Pl.2)
There is also a shrine for him; where a portion of his relics are preserved under St.
Mark’s Cathedral, Cairo.5 (Pl.3)

II- Writings, and books of St. Athanasius:

During his third exile he reached the peak of his literary career, he wrote the book
“Life of Antony”; this book resulted that the monastic life spread all over Europe,
Asia, and Africa. Augustine declared himself a convert to the life of integrity by
reading this book. 6

He also wrote the Biography, and teachings of St. Syncletica; Mother of nuns who
founded the first monastic community in the world for women in Alexandria. She
lived till the age of 80, she suffered of cancer in the last three years of her life.7

The are many Festal letters which contain the Biblical Canon of St. Athanasius, it
was written in Greek, it was copied to be sent for the churches and the monasteries
which were under his supervision, and it was translated into Coptic. One of festal
letters belongs to St. Athanasius preserved now in the British Museum (No.
EA32961) Athanasius composed about 107 Canons, related to the priesthood.8

5
Elders, op.cit, p . 325
6
Saad, M., “Life of Antony by Saint Athanasius”, Watani International 23 July 2006, p.2
7
Malaty, T., The Coptic Orthodox Church as Asetic Church, online book, 2019, P.66
https://ml.coptic-treasures.com/book/an-ascetic-church-father-tadros-yakoup-malaty/
8
Riedel, W., The Canons of Athanasius of Alexandria the Arabic and Coptic versions., London, 1904, P. IX

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Saint Athanasius 2022 Walid H. Ghareeb

There is an Ostracon No. O.3588 (Pl.4) in the Coptic Museum which includes parts
of his festal letters.9

A Manuscript was discovered contains many sermons for St. Athanasius, one
belongs to the famous find of al-Hamuli and are now kept at the Pierpont Morgan
Library and Museum in New York; He is warning his congregation against adultery.
He gives many biblical quotations about the punishment of adulterers, then he moves
to the most attractive part of the homily, in which he narrates five stories that convey
the same spiritual message against adultery.

One of these stories talking about his conflict with George, who was a follower of
Arius and who tried to usurp Athanasius’s episcopate. Athanasius confesses that God
helped him to overcome this crisis, and the audience understand that; God through
his two archangels, Michael and Gabriel, supports the innocent bishop, who believes
in the true Orthodox faith.

Another story about a rich man from Pentapolis who tried to take a large amount of
money from a boy. In this story, the archangels saved the boy and his money.10

There are also some quotations for St. Athanasius:

“The Holy Spirit is from the Father and the Son, not as made or created nor as
engendered but as proceeding”.

“The name ‘person’ can be used for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but
names which signify the divine essence, such as eternal, cannot be used in the plural,
when we apply this to God’s essence there is only one eternal”.

9
Awad, H., ""Two Biblical Ostraca from the Coptic Museum in Cairo".", Life in Egypt during the Coptic Period,
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 21, September, 2016, P.244.
10
Saweros, Ibrahim, “The Perception of St. Athanasius of Alexandria in Later Coptic Literature”, in Gawdat Gabra,
and Hany N. Takla (eds), Christianity and Monasticism in Northern Egypt: Beni Suef, Giza, Cairo, and the Nile Delta,
Cairo, 2017, P.110

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Saint Athanasius 2022 Walid H. Ghareeb

“The God and man are one Christ. One can try to explain this union by that of the
body and the soul, but not in the sense”.11

“If a soldier goes out to war and killed twenty of the enemy’s soldiers, he is
decorated, but if in the time of peace, he goes out in the street and kills one man, he
is condemned.12

III- Opposition to Arianism:

In the year 313 A.D. the persecution of Diocletian finally came to an end when
Constantine the Great became the first Christian Emperor. Later on, A new scourge
soon came upon the faithful, but this time the attack came from the Church.

It was called Arianism, it was started by a priest of Alexandria named Arius, who
promoted a theology that departed from the ancient faith of the Church. He taught
that Christ was not the divine and eternal son of God the Father, but merely a created
being.13

The Arianism was condemned by Pope Alexander and the bishops of Egypt, but it
continued to grow and spread. They called for Council of the Church to deal with it.
In 325 A.D. about three hundred bishops, along with many other clergy, gathered at
Nicaea in Asia Minor. Among those in attendance was the young deacon Athanasius,
acting as secretary to Bishop Alexander. The council started in May 325 A.D. and
continued until July.14

At the Council the bishops pronounced Arianism to be a heresy and they reaffirmed
the true faith of the Apostles. This affirmation was summarized by the Council in

11
Elders, op.cit, p.340
https://catholicebooks.wordpress.com/2021/01/02/
12
Anon, Practical Spirituality Father Athanasius Iskander, Canada, 2005, P.60
13
Molloy, op.cit.
14
Anatolios, op.cit, P. 9.

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Saint Athanasius 2022 Walid H. Ghareeb

the famous statement of faith known as the Nicene Creed. In addition, Arius and his
followers were condemned. However, this was not the end of the Arians.15

When St. Athanasius became the Patriarch of Alexandria and Egypt, he became the
staunchest defender of the truth that had been proclaimed at Nicaea. The Arians
understood fully that the Patriarch was their principal enemy, and they worked
against him. They gained a following with hierarchs and civil authorities in the East,
they even persuaded the emperor Constantine to send St. Athanasius to an exile in
335 A.D.16

This exile was the first of many, as he was exiled on five separate occasions for a
total of seventeen years. The Patriarch spent the rest of his life fighting against the
Arians. For this reason, he is called "Father of Orthodoxy" as through his efforts,
Arianism was overcome and the true Christian faith was preserved.17

15
Molloy, M., op.cit.
16
Loc.cit.
17
Loc.cit.

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Saint Athanasius 2022 Walid H. Ghareeb

Bibliography:
- Abd El-Tawab N., “Conservation of the Mural Paintings of the Greek
Orthodox Church Dome of Saint George, Old Cairo- Egypt”, European
Scientific Journal, vol.10, No.2, (2014).
- Anatolios, K., “Athanasius”, in Harrison, C., (ed.) The Early church fathers,
London, 2004.
- Anon, Practical Spirituality Father Athanasius Iskander, Canada, 2005.
- Awad, H., ""Two Biblical Ostraca from the Coptic Museum in Cairo".", Life
in Egypt during the Coptic Period, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 21, September,
2016.
- Elders, L., The Alexandrian and the Cappadocian Fathers of the Church in the
writings of Thomas Aquinas, online article, 2019
https://catholicebooks.wordpress.com/2021/01/02/
- Malaty, T., The Coptic Orthodox Church as Asetic Church, online book, 2019.
https://ml.coptic-treasures.com/book/an-ascetic-church-father-tadros-yakoup-
malaty/
- Molloy, M., Champion of Truth: The life of St. Athanasius, Indiana, 2003.
- Riedel, W., The Canons of Athanasius of Alexandria the Arabic and Coptic
versions., London, 1904, P. IX
- Saad, M., “Life of Antony by Saint Athanasius”, Watani International 23 July
2006.
- Saweros, Ibrahim, “The Perception of St. Athanasius of Alexandria in Later
Coptic Literature”, in Gawdat Gabra, and Hany N. Takla (eds), Christianity
and Monasticism in Northern Egypt: Beni Suef, Giza, Cairo, and the Nile
Delta, Cairo, 2017.

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Saint Athanasius 2022 Walid H. Ghareeb

Pl.1: It shows St. Athanasius, after; Anatolios,K., Athanasius, London: Routledge, 2005.

Pl.2: It shows Tomb of Zaccaria and St. Athanasius in Venice, after;

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Tomb_of_Zaccaria_and_Saint_Athanasius.jpg, 1
December, 2022.

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Saint Athanasius 2022 Walid H. Ghareeb

Pl.3: It shows Athanasius’ shrine under St. Mark’s Cathedral, Cairo, after;
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Tomb_of_Zaccaria_and_Saint_Athanasius.jpg, 1
December, 2022.

Pl.4: Is shows, Ostracon No. O.3588 in the Coptic Museum, after; Awad, H., ""Two Biblical Ostraca from the
Coptic Museum in Cairo".", Life in Egypt during the Coptic Period, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 21, September,
2016, P.244.