Commemoration of Athanasius
of Alexandria, Pastor and Confessor
May 2, 2012
May 2 is the Commemoration
of Athanasius of Alexandria, Pastor and Confessor.
Athanasius (c. 296-373) was
the principal champion of Christian orthodoxy against the Arians. Arians
rejected the Nicene Creed by denying the full divinity of the Second Person of
the Holy Trinity, claiming that "there was a time when the Son was
not." It is not an exaggeration to say that by his tireless defense of the
phrase in the Nicene Creed, "of one Being (homoousios) with the Father," he preserved orthodoxy for the
Church in the East.
Athanasius was born in Alexandria about 295 of Egyptian parents. He received a good
education in the classics and in the Christian Scriptures and theology. For a
time he seems to have served Antony, the founder of Christian monasticism, who had
sought increasingly barren and remote places for his spiritual struggle.
Athanasius’ biography of Antony
became a classic and inspired many to become monks and ascetics for centuries.
About the year 312,
Athanasius entered the Alexandrian clergy and was ordained a deacon about 319
by Bishop Alexander. Athanasius accompanied the bishop to the Council of Nicaea
in 325 where Arius's views were condemned and the Nicene Creed was written.
Alexander, before his death in 328, designated Athanasius his successor, and
the choice was confirmed by the Egyptian bishops. The new bishop made extensive
pastoral visits to the entire Egyptian province, but he faced vicious attacks
by the numerous schismatics who had opposed his selection as bishop. Though
embroiled in controversy for much of his ministry, the pastor heart
demonstrated in these visits never left him.
Athanasius was summoned to
the Council of Tyre in 335, which found him guilty of a number of charges, but
since the council was composed almost entirely of his enemies, he appealed
directly to the emperor Constantine, who had him exiled to northern Gaul. When Constantine died in 337, his son allowed Athanasius to resume
his episcopal duties, but at the Arian controlled Synod of Antioch in 337 or
338 he was deposed again. This time Athanasius appealed to Rome with the support of other victims of anti-Nicene
reaction. Pope Julius I convened a synod that declared Athanasius innocent of
the charges against him. Since the Eastern bishops refused to accept the
verdict, Athanasius remained in the West, traveling through Italy and Gaul.
Eventually Athanasius was
allowed to return to Alexandria. He arrived in October 346, welcomed by the ninety-year-old
Antony, and enjoyed a decade of relative peace, writing
and promoting monasticism. Upon the death of the emperor Constans in 350,
however, the enemies of Athanasius renewed their attack upon him. They got the
Council of Aries in 353 and the Council of Milan in 355 to condemn him. These
councils were again dominated by anti-Nicene representatives who could not
tolerate an orthodox bishop. (The Arians had significant influence in the Imperial Court located in Constantinople, which is how all these hand-picked pro-Arian
councils managed to be convened.) In February 356 a detachment of soldiers
interrupted a vigil service with the intention of arresting Athanasius. He
escaped into a boat on a canal. The troops followed. After rounding a bend,
Athanasius had the boat turned around. The troops sailed right past them as
Athanasius’ boat quietly moved back to the church. For the next six years he went
into hiding in the Libyan
desert, moving secretly
from place to place, supported by loyal monks and clergy who enabled him to
make several secret visits to Alexandria. He spent his time writing and keeping in touch
with developments in the world.
In 361 a new emperor,
Julian the Apostate, set the exiled bishops free. Athanasius returned to Alexandria in February 362 and convened a synod that
anathematized Arianism, supported the Nicene Creed, and made room for
reconciliation with his opponents. The effort at reconciliation again reveals
the pastoral heart of the man. Julian, however, promoted a revival of paganism,
and, not interested in a strong Christianity, was alarm that Athanasius might
succeed in reconciling the factions under the Nicene Creed. He had Athanasius
exiled yet again in October 362. The emperor died the following June, and
Athanasius returned to his see. In February 364, the co-emperor Valens resumed
the persecution of those opposed to the Arian creed, and yet again Athanasius
went into hiding for four months before he was permitted to return to Alexandria, where he remained until his death May 2, 373. During his forty-five-year episcopate he was
almost murdered twice, had been exiled five times and had spent altogether
seventeen years away from his see.
After Athanasius, Basil the
Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory Nazianzus completed the struggle and
secured the final victory of Nicene orthodoxy at the Council of Constantinople
in 381.
The writings of this small
but dauntless man are mainly reflect the battles he had to fight and so are
very important in our understanding of Nicene orthodoxy. His Defense against the Arians and The History of the Arians are the best
sources of knowledge about Christianity in the period from 300 to 350. His
brilliant pamphlet On the Incarnation,
written in his youth, and his Discourse
against the Arians remain among the clearest and most forceful explanations
of the unity of the Triune God and of the Incarnation of Christ. His Life of St. Antony was immensely popular
and had a wide influence in spreading monastic ideals. Since Alexandria was
recognized as having the best astronomers, it was the duty of the Bishop of
Alexandria to send, soon after the Epiphany each year, a Festal or Easter
letter announcing the proper date for the beginning of Lent and the celebration
of Easter day. Even in exile, Athanasius continued the practice and they are a
wonderful example of his pastoral heart. In the Easter letter he sent in 367,
his thirty-ninth, Athanasius produced the oldest surviving list of the
twenty-seven books in the New Testament, although in a different order than in
modern Bibles, and declared them to be "the springs of salvation."
The Athanasian Creed,
though not composed by Athanasius, is named in his honor because it confesses
the doctrinal orthodoxy he championed throughout his life. We, like many
others, use it on Trinity Sunday, which is the First Sunday after Pentecost.
By his tireless defense of
the faith, Athanasius is recognized as one of the four great Greek doctors
(that is, teachers) of the church; the others are Basil the Great, John
Chrysostom, and Gregory Nazianzus.
Appropriate prayers include:
- For a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ as the Son of God
- For tireless pursuit of the truth, even when opposed by powerful forces
- For single-minded devotion to the Triune God
- For reconciliation between quarreling parties in the Church
- For those who do not believe in the divinity of Christ
- For Egypt
- For those persecuted for remaining faithful to the Triune God
Collect for the Day: O God of truth, you raised up your servant
Athanasius to be a courageous defender of the truth of Christ’s divinity:
Strengthen us by his teaching to maintain and proclaim boldly the Christian
faith against all opposition, trusting solely in the grace of your eternal
Word, who took upon himself our humanity that we might share his divinity; who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and Forever. Amen.
Blessings in Christ
Pastor John Rickert
No comments:
Post a Comment