YOUNG BIOGRAPHERS SERIES - ATHANASIUS

Athanasius who?

Mark, the author of the of Mark, in AD 49, about 19 years after the Ascension of , traveled to in . He was also known as Mark the evangelist and as such he began to preach the gospel. As a result, a church was founded there in Alexandria.

250 years later, a short and very dark skinned man name Athanasius was born in Alexandria Egypt, the year was 298. Alexandria was a large city and was considered to be the most important trade center in the entire . He was raised in a Christian home and was taught the scriptures by his parents. He tells us about his aunt who taught him the principles of the Christian faith. At the age of 30 Athanasius became the of Alexandria and would go on to be one of the most important figures in church history.

Why was he important?

He had earned several titles. Athanasius the great, Athanasius the confessor but the best is Athanasius the Father of Orthodoxy. He earned this title by fighting a major heresy that declared Jesus to be a created being. This was a disturbingly widespread heresy. So much so, that at times, Athanasius felt like he was fighting against the whole world. This is where the phrase Athanasius contra mundum comes from. It means against the world.

But not everyone was against him. The people of Egypt always viewed him as their bishop, despite that fact that he was exiled five times under four different Roman emperors, spending almost half of his 45 years as bishop in exile.

He wasn’t just a staunch defender of truth. He was also a godly and virtuous man. St. Gregory, one of his contemporaries said he would comfort the unfortunate, provide resources for the poor, instruct the youth, father the orphans, entertain the stranger. So Athanasius was an outgoing person. He was really involved in the lives of his people.

St Gregory adds "When I praise Athanasius, virtue itself is my theme: for I name every virtue as often as I mention him who was possessed of all virtues. He was the true pillar of the church. His life and conduct were the rule of , and his doctrine the rule of the orthodox faith." He was a great example of faith and action. What a great legacy he leaves behind for us. His lifestyle challenges ours to be more involved, and to be more effective for the kingdom of God.

By the end of his life he reaped the fruit of his labors. The heresy that was once so widely accepted was all but deserted. He was finally able to live at home in Alexandria and at the age of 75 on May 2, 373 he died.

1 What was the world like during the life of Athanasius?

For over 200 years the church was under the heavy hand of persecution. It was illegal to be a christian. How do you grow a business, raise a family, invest in property knowing that can all be lost in a moment ,if the wrong person found out that you were a christian?

All this changed around 313 AD. The emperor Constantine was at war. During a decisive battle, Constantine looked up to the sun and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the words, in this sign you shall conquer! Constantine commanded his troops to adorn their shields with a Christian symbol (the Chi-Rho the first 2 letters for ), and thereafter they were victorious. From then on Constantine refused to worship the greek gods or perform pagan sacrifices. He went on to not only declare to be legal but make it the official religion of the Roman Empire.

This was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing of being able to meet publicly and share your faith without threat of jail time or fines was welcomed and greatly appreciated, but the persecution had a purifying effected on the churches. A person who wasn’t truly committed to Christ would not want to stick around the church to long. The persecution just wasn’t worth it.

Now that christianity was legal the floodgates were opened. The church quickly filled up with all kinds of people, good and bad.

So they found themselves in a new society. The secular and the sacred mixed in the same group. Now more than ever, the church needed strong leadership. This is exactly where Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria fits right in.

What is a bishop?

The word bishop in the is synonymous with the word overseer, pastor, and elder. MacArthur says, “Overseers (pastors, elders) are responsible to lead (1 Tim. 5:17), preach and teach (5:17), help the spiritually weak (1 Thess. 5:12–14), care for the church (1 Pet. 5:1–2), and ordain other leaders (1 Tim. 4:14)”. In the context of the early church, some bishops were not only responsible for one flock but they were also responsible for the leadership of the surrounding churches as well.

A bishop therefore, played the role of a shepherd to the shepherds. An overseer of overseers. As far as local ecclesiastical order goes, they were at the top. They were recognized by everyone, including the government as the head of that local church group, being invested with great influence. It became a very official role with great political implications. When a position of power is available, those who want that power will do whatever they can to get it. That is dangerous. Having a person in the place of power who is there just for the power and influence is dangerous to any group, especially the church. That is what was happening.

2 Athanasius took this role as bishop of Alexandria very seriously and was deeply loved by his congregations. After his third exile lasting 6 year, it was said that upon returning “amid such delight of the people of the city and of almost all Egypt, that they ran together from every side, from the furthest limits of the country, simply to hear the voice of Athanasius”. - (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers). He was deeply loved and honored. He was indeed a bishops bishop.

What is it about Athanasius that would inspire such delight and respect from the majority of the population of Egypt?

He was a godly leader and in every sense of the word, a true of Jesus Christ. He loved his Lord so much that every aspect of his life was committed to the service and glory Christ.

So much of Christianity today is characterized by emotion. We look at people and judge their devotion to God by how high they lift their hands or how furrowed someones brow gets when they pray so urgently. And we present Christianity to people as a way to be successful, or as the cure all when we should be presenting Christ himself as the Lord of all.

The gospel is about a person and not about a product. We are not trying to “sell” the gospel to increase our numbers but with compassion we seek to bring people to the foot of the cross. To come face to face with Jesus himself. And to know Him for who he really is. Athanasius wasn’t a Christian because it brought blessings, If he was he definitely would not have lasted very long as a Christian. He was a Christian because Christianity was true. I am a Christian because Christianity is true.

The most important question you can ask about any worldview is not how does it make you feel but is it true.

The world that we live in today wants to treat truth as a matter of opinion. People treat truth like they treat flavors of ice cream. No one goes into Licks and waits for someone to buy vanilla just to say, “you can’t do that, vanilla is wrong.” No they say, “you like vanilla? I don't like vanilla but its no big deal, its just ice cream.” Truth matters and having the right information is critical and in some cases it’s a matter of life and death.

We live in a relativistic society. This country is secular and that is how people think. It was no different for our friend Athanasius. He lived in a culture where truth didn’t matter but was treated as a flavor of ice cream. The truth about our fallen state matters. The truth about God’s justice matters. The truth about the gospel matters. The truth about who the says who Jesus really is matters. This was the foundation of the life of Athanasius. He was convinced by the truth, convicted by the truth, transformed by the truth, then lived his life as a defender of the the truth.

3 That is why he was so loved by his people. He told them the truth. And consequently that is why he was so hated by his enemies. He refused to seek peace just for the sake of peace but would rather call out false teachings and warn people about the dangers of those heresies. He would also call out the false teachers labeling them as heretics and he was hated for it.

The story of Athanasius is a story about swimming upstream when the world is going the wrong way and trying to drag you along with it. Its a story about perseverance in difficult circumstances. Its about standing up for the truth no matter who believes it because it is still true.

What was the major battle of his day?

The major battle of his day was over the deity of Jesus Christ. There was a local elder of one of the churches in Alexandria named Arius who upheld this. This is what is know as the Arian controversy. His argument was, if the Son of God were truly a Son, he must have had a beginning. There must have been a time, therefore, when he did not exist. He believed Christ to be the first created being. He used verses like John 14:28, “The Father is greater than I.” And Proverbs 8:22, “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.” Proverbs is speaking about wisdom. It is made clear just by reading it in its context but a false teacher is crafty and will trick you if allowed.

Why did people believe this?

It was appealing to believe this from a human perspective because ultimately it was a man that became a savior. Arius used man centered, philosophical speculation, to interpret the Bible and that is how he came to these conclusions. In a time when the church was an open door, and church leadership was also considered in one form or another to be a political office, this heresy began to thrive. There were songs written about these teachings that helped spread this heresy throughout the whole empire.

Athanasius, having the understanding that you need to allow the Bible to be the foundation of belief and practice could not be silent over this controversy. Athanasius was a prolific writer and this was his primary means of fighting this battle. In his writings he would focus on key aspects of the Arian doctrine and biblically tear it down showing that the scriptures taught contrary to Arius’s teachings.

His push back was so significant that a major divide began to form. Keep in mind that Athanasius was not a bishop at this time. He was an assistant to the current bishop of Alexandria. He would not become the bishop until after the death of Alexander in 327 being 2 years after the Council of Nicaea which we will get to. But this was how he because that Father of Orthodoxy.

4 What is Orthodoxy?

Orthodoxy is the collection of doctrinal statements that make up our belief system. The church desperately need this in order to maintain its identity over and against the secularism that was threatening to take over the entire church through these heresies.

Up until this point there was never a need for a formal statement from the church about the deity of Jesus Christ. It simply had never been challenged in this way with such force before. This was a tremendous crisis of belief.

What did the Emperor think of all this?

Constantine did not like the controversy. It was bringing massive divisions throughout the empire. He know this had to be settled and the the only way to do that was to call a council. This would be the first general council in the history of the Church since the Apostolic Council of in Acts 15. Constantine invited 1800 bishops which made up all the bishops in all the churches. Athanasius counted 318 bishops in attendance. He was not a bishop at the time nor was Arius but they were invited along with several other non bishop leaders.

What did the council of Nicaea accomplish?

The Council lasted from May through August, about 4 months. The result was the Nicene Creed. A statement of orthodoxy that would define biblical Christianity.

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible, and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father the only-begotten, that is, of the essence of the Father (ek tës ousias tou patros), God of God (theon ek theou), and Light of Light (kai phõs ek phõtos), very God of very God (theon alëthinon ek thou alëthinou), begotten, not made (gennëthenta ou poinëthenta), being of one substance with the Father (homoousion tõ patri); by whom all things were made in heaven and on earth; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down and was incarnate and was made man; he suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. And we believe in the Holy Ghost. And those who say: there was a time when he was not; and: he was not before he was made; and: he was made out of nothing, or out of another substance or thing (ë ex heteras hupostaseõs ë ousias), or the Son of God is created, or changeable, or alterable; they are condemned. All but 2 bishops signed the statement. They along with Arius were sent into exile. 4 years later through political connections however, Arius would return from exile.

This council did not settle the issue. It laid a foundation but people like Athanasius

5 would have to put up with severe persecution for decades before they would see significant change. This was due mostly to the political secularization of the church leadership of his day.

Did things get easier for Athanasius once he became Bishop?

No. Once Athanasius become bishop his troubles only multiplied which brings us to his 5 exiles.

The First Exile of Athanasius (336–338) under Emperor Constantine, for 2.5 years [11 Jul 335 – 22 Nov 337]; in Trier (Germany).

His enemies came up with a plot to get rid of Athanasius. They bribed Arsenius, a Bishop in southern Egypt. He was to disappear so that the rumor could be started that Athanasius had killed his and cut off one of his hands for magic. Constantine was told and asked for a trial to be held in Tyre. Meanwhile one of Athanasius’ deacons had tracked Arsenius who was hiding in a monastery and taken him captive and brought him secretly to Tyre. At the trial the accusers produced a human hand to confirm the indictment. But Athanasius was ready. “Did you know Arsenius personally?” he asked. “Yes” is the eager reply from many sides. So Arsenius is brought in wrapped in a cloak. They demanded an explanation of how he had lost his hand. He exposes Arsenius’ hands and as a joke says you want me to explain how he lost his third hand, revealing who was under the cloak. Athanasius was not found guilty of murder but they did find him guilty for another made up charge. He was accused of trying to starve people by preventing wheat shipments from Alexandria. He was banished for 2.5 years. Constantine died the next year, and the empire was divided among his three sons, Constantius (taking the East), Constans (taking Italy and Illyricum), and Constantine II (taking the Gauls and ). One of Constantine II’s first acts was to restore Athanasius to his office in Alexandria (November 23, 327). Both Constantine 2 and Constans were for Athanasius while Constantius was against him.

6 The Second Exile of Athanasius (339–346)under Emperor Constantius, for 7.5 years [16 Apr 339 – 21 Oct 346]; lived at .

Two years later a leader of the Arians had persuaded Constantius to get rid of Athanasius. He took the ecclesiastical power into his hands, declared a guy named Gregory the bishop of Alexandria, and using force to take control churches. Athanasius was forced to leave the city to spare more bloodshed. So this was a violent ordeal. He was in exile for 7.5 years.

Constantines other two sons who supported Athanasius threatened Constantius with war if he would not bring Athanasius back.

The Third Exile of Athanasius (356–362)under Emperor Constantius, for 6 years [9 Feb 356 – 21 Feb 362]; in the desert. On January 18, 350 Constans was murdered. This freed Constantius to fight against Athanasius and the Nicene theology. Constantius sent Syrianus his military commander to get rid of Athanasius On Thursday night, Feb. 8 [356], in the packed Church of Theonas . . . the largest in the city, Syrianus surrounded the building. Athanasius had the deacon to read the Psalm 136 while the people responding at each verse “for His mercy endureth for ever.” The soldiers has broken through and in the chaos, Athanasius escaped. From that moment

Athanasius was gone for 6 years. Athanasius fled to Upper Egypt, where he stayed with his friends, the desert .

6 years later, A new emperor named Julian came to power and had revered all the banishments that were done under Constantius.

The Fourth Exile of Athanasius (362–364)under Emperor Julian, 10 months [24 Oct 362 – 5 Sept 363]; in the Egyptian desert. Once Julian realized what kind of a Christian Athanasius was, he was banished again. He returned to the Egyptian desert to be with the monks once more. After 10 months, he was once again allowed to return home.

7 The Fifth Exile of Athanasius (365–366)under Emperor Valens, 4 months [5 Oct 365 – 31 Jan 366]; in his father's tomb The new emperor Valens gave order that all the bishops expelled under Julian should be removed by the civil authorities. On October 5, 365 Roman officers broke into the church and searched for Athanasius, but the he was warned and had escaped one last time—his fifth exile at the age of 76. Valens, was afraid of a possible riot over the bishop, so he issued an order to allow2 Athanasius to return.

How was the end of his life?

He spent the last years of his life fulfilling his calling as a pastor and overseer of pastors. He carried on extensive correspondence and gave great encouragement and support to the cause of orthodoxy around the empire. He died on May 2, 373. (75 years old)

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