Introduction
Athanasius was born in the last decade of the 3rd century and died in 373AD. There are some legends around his childhood and where he came from, but the truth is that little to nothing can truly be known about his birth and childhood. One thing that is pretty certain is that his father was not in the picture. Some say he was raised by a pagan mother who tried everything to keep him from becoming a Christian, but that story cannot be verified. Later on in his childhood we do know that he was raised by Alexander the bishop of Alexandria where he was trained in the church, became a deacon, and was Alexander’s successor as bishop of Alexandria starting in the year 328.
Athanasius was bishop of Alexandria for 45 years, and he spent 17 of those years in exile. He was exiled 5 different times in his life, all of them at the behest of the Arians and the ongoing back and forth conflicts between the Arians and the Nicenes in the 4th century following the Council of Nicea.
Athanasius’ life and exiles endured through multiple emperors beginning with Constantine, then several of Constantine’s sons, and including Julian the Apostate, and others at the end of his life. Throughout the reigns of these various emperors the empire was in flux with how it was divided up and reunited under various emperors. Throughout this time different emperors favored and disfavored the Nicens and the Arians which led to so much of the back and forth of the many exiles of Athanasius’ life.
Athanasius was a short and small man, his opponents even calling him a dwarf, yet he was and is a giant of Church and world history who struck great terror into his enemies. Though he was a small man, his impact was anything but small.
Life and Stories
God is the ultimate story-teller and all of history and life is part of the great story that God is telling. One story-arc that God is fond of telling is the David and Goliath arc – an arc of those who are small in stature slaying giants. This is the story of Athanasius. God’s story, that is the life of Athanasius, is a story of a small, unlikely, nobody, being used to slay giants that would dare to oppose the Living God. As young David would not tolerate murderous threats breathed out by an uncircumcised Philistine against God’s people, so Athanasius could not tolerate lies breathed out against the truth of the Living of God and His Christ, no matter how great the foe who breathed them out was. As God likes to have it, the many lessons we can learn from Athanasius are lessons that are learned through the stories of his life. There is a reason these stories have endured through the many centuries since Athanasius last lived on this earth. And there is a reason these stories are told and retold again today.
The story begins when one evening after dinner, Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, was looking out his window at several young boys playing in the river. This was not an unusual sight, but what these boys were doing was unusual. Alexander came down to inspect and found these boys to be reenacting the liturgy of the church. In fact, he was taken aback at how accurate and precisely these boys were perfectly reenacting the liturgy. Upon Alexander approaching the boys, they all pointed to one boy who was playing the bishop, who was baptizing his congregants, as the ringleader of them all. It was none other than young Athanasius. At once, Alexander saw the hand of God on this young Athanasius, yet, how little he realized then how God would use this young fatherless boy. It was shortly thereafter that Athanasius was taken in by Alexander to be discipled and trained by the bishop, becoming his assistant, deacon, and then successor as bishop, of one of the most important cities in the early church.
As Brandon mentioned last week, Athanasius was not a main figure of the council of Nicea that took place in 325, as he was a young deacon at the time, yet he was present at the council and would become the figurehead of Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism. It was only three years after the council of 325 that Alexander died and communicated his dying wish that Athanasius be elected to take his place as bishop. There was some form of election process that took place for this, which was the beginning of a campaign of life-long slander against Athanasius. Lies were quickly spread that his election to the office of bishop was corrupt and manipulated. But it is clear that throughout the entirety of his life, his fellow bishops, church officers, and church congregation at Alexandria loved Athanasius and had his back through everything they endured. Athanasius equally sought the welfare and good of his church congregants, being first and foremost a pastor at heart. We can never truly know someone’s heart, but it seems true that Athanasius was concerned with the truth of God and the faithful endurance of his church above any self-seeking glory that comes from man in propagating one’s own name. After all the trials, slander, and exiles he endured, Athanasius died peacefully in his bed at the end of his life surrounded by his fellow bishops, deacons, and church congregants. Athanasius was right in the debates and controversies of his day based on the truthfulness of the arguments he made, but the love that those closest to him had for him puts the exclamation marks on his victory, and has endeared him to faithful Christians down through the centuries.
The story of Athanasius’ exiles begins after the council of Nicea when Arius was exiled as a heretic. However, there was a man named Eusebius (not the 4th century historian), who was an Arian Bishop, who some think was related to Constantine the emperor. This Eusebius was a snake who weaseled his way back into the good graces of the emperor and held a decent amount of influence over him. This Eusebius convinced Constantine to bring back Arius from exile, and acquit him of heresy charges. The emperor then sent a letter to Athanasius telling him to reinstate Arius in the church and to give him communion. Athanasius refused. So, Eusebius had false charges made against Athanasius and he was summoned to appear before Constantine where he ably defended himself and left with a letter from the emperor exonerating him of all charges. This was only the beginning.
Athanasius spent much of his life fighting against the heresy of Arianism, yet not much against Arius himself. This is where I should take a relevant and necessary bunny trail to tell you of Arius’ death. In the year 336 after Arius was freed, he was sent on his way to Constantinople, where there was another godly bishop also named Alexander. The city had become a frenzy with factions being made between Arians and Nicenes. Eusebius, the Arian, had threatened to depose Alexander if he did not allow Arius into communion. The story goes as one historian puts it, “At his wits’ end, Alexander said farewell to the resources of human wisdom, and took refuge in God, devoting himself to continual fasting and ceaseless praying. Without telling anyone, he shut himself up in the church called ‘Peace’, went up to the altar, and prostrated himself beneath the communion table, where he poured forth his fervent prayers with weeping. He did this without ceasing for many nights and days. And he received from God what he so earnestly sought; for this was his prayer: ‘If Arius’s views are right, may I not be allowed to see the day appointed by the emperor for discussing them. But if I myself hold the true faith, may Arius suffer the penalty his ungodliness deserves, as the author of these evils…’” The story continues, “It was Saturday, and Arius was expecting to take communion with the church on the following day; but divine vengeance overtook his daring crimes. As he left the imperial palace, attended by a mob of Eusebius’s followers like guards, he paraded proudly through the city, the centre of attention. But as he approached the place called Constantine’s market, at one and the same time the terrors of conviction attacked his conscience, and a violent seizure attacked his bowels. He asked if there was somewhere nearby where he could relieve himself, and someone directed him to the back of the market. There he fainted, and his bowels came spilling out of his backside, together with streams of blood; parts of his spleen and liver poured out in the bloody flow. He died almost instantly. The disaster filled with dread and alarm the party of Eusebius of Nicomedia; and the news spread quickly through the city and indeed the whole world. The emperor, growing more earnest in Christianity, confessed that God had vindicated the Creed of Nicaea, and rejoiced at what had happened.”
Sadly, this did not put an end to the Arian heresy and its continued proponents.
More charges were constantly stirred up against Athanasius, such as that he threatened to stop grain imports to Constantinople and starve the capital city. Charges of immorality were falsely made, charges of practicing magic, and even charges of murdering another bishop to use his bones for magical rituals.
The story goes that Athanasius was charged of murdering another bishop named Arsinius. He was brought to a trial where a human hand was produced as evidence against Athanasius, saying that this was Arsinius’ hand that Athanasius had cut off when he murdered him! Athanasius’ friends knew this to be false, so during this hearing they went out and found Arsinius drunk in a tavern! They took Arsinius and wrapped him up in a large cloak and quietly brought him into the hearing. When it was Athanasius’ turn to get up and defend himself, he asked if any of the men present personally knew Arsinius. Many of the men quickly and adamantly stated that they personally knew Arsinius, to which Athansius unhooded him before all. Upon the startled realization that the reports of Arsinius’ murder were greatly exaggerated, many of the men, stirred up by the accusations, insisted that Athanasius had still cut off Arsinius’ hand! So Athanasius pulled up the sleeve on Arsinius’ right hand, to which some responded that it was the left hand that Athanasius had cut off. So, Athanasius pulls up the other sleeve exposing Arsinius’ well intact left hand, to which Athanasius declared, “I now demand a search party be made to investigate who cut off Arsinius’ third hand!”
Following this trial, Athanasius was exiled on charges of stirring up trouble! Imagine that, you get accused and exonerated of murder and then you get accused for being the one stirring up trouble!
Despite all the false accusations and slander made against Athanasius he was never afraid of any man, whether it be a fellow bishop or the emperor, for the truth was on his side. After another counsel at which Athanasius was condemned by a group of Arians, he was able to escape and he immediately went and hid along the side of the road where he knew the emperor Constantine was traveling. When the emperor approaches Athanasius jumps out in the middle of the road to stop the caravan and refuses to let them pass unless he gets a personal hearing from the emperor. Constantine does not recognize him until he gives in and the man in the road climbs into the emperor’s carriage, where the emperor sees that it is Athanasius. Athanasius ends up leaving completely exonerated by the emperor.
This is not the only story of narrow escape in the life of Athanasius. He was constantly slipping through the hands of his enemies, much like the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates for the apostles to walk out in the book of Acts. Athanasius was something of an escape artist, all by the providence of God.
Another such time was during the reign of the emperor Constantius. During that time, the local governor sought to arrest Athanasius for the emperor. The story is described by one historian, “…when Athanasius was celebrating communion in one of the churches, the governor ordered the building to be surrounded and suddenly burst into the room leading a group of armed soldiers. Chaos ensued, and Athanasius ordered the congregation to sing Psalm 136, with its refrain: ‘For His mercy endureth forever.’ The soldiers pushed their way through the crowd, while some sang and others sought to escape. The clergy who were present formed a tight circle around Athanasius, who refused to flee until his flock was safe. But at that point he fainted, and somehow the clergy carried him to safety. From that moment, Athanasius seemed to have become a ghost. He was sought everywhere, but the authorities could not find him. He had taken refuge among the monks of the desert, his faithful allies. These monks had means of communication among themselves, and whenever the officers of the empire approached the bishop’s hideout, he was simply transferred to a safer place.”
Later on in Athanasius’ life, after Constantine’s sons died, their cousin Julian, who was called Julian the Apostate, came to power. You can tell by his name that he turned away from the Christian faith and it was his desire to revive the old Roman paganism. After the Christianity of the previous few emperors, this was a difficult task, which did not succeed. But his strategy was to try and stir up division and infighting between the Christians and bishops. At the time, Athanasius was already in exile, along with other Nicene bishops. So Julian thought that if he released Athanasius and the other bishops then that would cause division and fights to break out again amongst the Christians. Throughout his life, Athanasius proved that he was wise and understanding, and did not seek out martyrdom or trouble for trouble’s sake. So, understanding that this was the strategy of Julian, upon his return from exile, Athanasius focused on attacking paganism, which he was very skilled at doing. This did not please Julian, as you can imagine, so after a series of events and time, Julian sought to force Athanasius back into exile.
The story goes that as Athanasius was escaping to a place of hiding, he took a boat in the night. It is said that Julian sent hired assassins to take out Athanasius. After some time Athanasius sees that there is another boat following behind him. Little did he know that these were his hired assassins. Being hired assassins, they were not completely familiar with what Athanasius looked like. Athanasius, being the man that he was, ordered his boat to turn around and head straight for the boat that was following them. As they approached, one of the Assassins unwittingly called out to Athanasasius, “Have you seen Athanasius!?” To which, Athanasius responded, “I have and you are quite close!” To which the assassins were very grateful for his assistance and wished him a good night.
Legacy
Athanasius has left us a remarkable legacy. The story of orthodox Christianity cannot be told without him. He labored in writing and preaching against the heresy of his day and though his foes were many, the truth won out in the end. His impact on orthodox Christianity has been felt throughout history down to the present day. Even if a Christian does not know Athanasius today, they are yet influenced by him in ways they do not even know. Yet, in his own day, his future influence on the church could hardly have been guessed.
So many were against Athanasius and Nicene orthodoxy during his day that one bishop in trying to persuade Athanasius to compromise said, “Athanasius, the whole world is against you!” To which Athanasius replied, “Well then, it is Athanasius against the world.” And thus comes the popular phrase, “Athanasius Contra Mundum.” Athanasius was a small man in the minority, but with the truth of God on his side, he was proven to be in the majority. A small man, yet a giant of history.
Athanasius would’ve much preferred to live a quiet and peaceful life, tending to his flock, writing, and preaching. But God’s providence would have it otherwise. It was a life filled with controversy, which was necessary for the future peace of the church.
Athanasius leaves a number of fantastic works which are absolutely worth reading today.
Works/Theology
One such work is titled Contra Gentes, or Against the Heathen, which is essentially a succinct apologetic against paganism, wherein he shows its irrationality and impossibility, as well as describing its defeat by Christ and the Christian faith.
One of my personal favorite titles of Athanasius is his work, On the Incarnation. I highly recommend you pick up a copy and read it if you have not. In it he writes about the incarnation in view of Christ’s work of redemption in defeating the enemy. In it, he refutes the Jews, by interpreting Daniel’s 70 weeks’ prophecy as finding its fulfillment in the incarnation proving Christ was the Messiah who came at the appointed prophesied time. He also refutes the pagans, saying that the reason Jesus was put to death by being lifted up in the air on the cross was to defeat “the prince of the power of the air.” Since the air was the domain of the devil, Christ was lifted up into it to defeat the devil and make a way for us to salvation. He brings it together saying, “How could He have called us if He had not been crucified, for it is only on the cross that a man dies with arms outstretched? Here, again, we see the fitness of His death and of those outstretched arms: it was that He might draw His ancient people with the one and the Gentiles with the other, and join both together in Himself.”
Another favorite work of mine is Athanasius’ letter to a man named Marcillinus. In this letter he writes to this man about the Psalms, how and when to use them, whether praying or singing them. He basically goes through different scenarios and which Psalms are best to sing and pray in certain situations. Based on his instruction it is clear that the Psalms were dearly used by Athanasius himself, through the many trials, sufferings, and exiles of his own life. He writes as a man who has experienced the soul of the Christian life through the use of the Psalms in his own experiences. For example, you can tell Athanasius is speaking from experience and his own use of the Psalms when he instructs, “…if when you are persecuted you are chased out into the wilderness, don’t be afraid as if you were all alone. Instead, knowing you have God there, rise up early in the morning and sing to him Psalm 63.” Or this, “When you desire to put to shame the opinions of the Greeks and the heretics because knowledge of God does not come from them but is found only in the catholic church, knowing this is the case you are able to sing and to recite the words in Psalm 76.”
But perhaps the most prominent theme in this letter is his Christo-centric interpretation of the Psalms. He says that the Psalms are not ignorant of Christ and speaks of Him some way in every Psalm. This is but a snapshot of Athanasius’ view of the whole of Scripture, that they testified and spoke to Christ, the Logos, the Word of God. One biographer says, “For Athanasius, Christ is the substance of Scripture and the criterion of correct interpretation.” And also in the letter, Athanasius says, “If you want to teach someone about the resurrection, sing what is in Psalm 66.”
Athanasius also wrote a biography on an ascetic monk named St. Antony, whom he had spent some time with. We mentioned earlier how the monks of the desert were an ally to Athanasius during his hiding and exiles. While I find the ascetic lifestyle unbiblical, it is clear that God used the monks in various providential ways throughout church history, one such way was preserving and helping Athanasius and Nicene orthodoxy.
Athanasius also circulated what is called his Festal Letters throughout his life. These were letters written around the time of Easter speaking of Christ and encouraging and edifying fellow bishops. They contain some very rich and profitable teachings.
He also of course wrote many orations and other writings against the Arians which were widely circulated and greatly influential in his battle against the Arian heresy.
There is also the Athanasian Creed, which Athanasius did not write himself, but it was named after him, yet it is thoroughly Athanasian and nourishing to the Christian soul. It is lengthy for a creed, and for time, we will not read it, though I encourage you to become familiar with it.
Application
There is so much more to be said and quoted from, but we must conclude by considering some applications from the life of Athanasius to our own.
Athanasius was unwavering for the truth. He had great pressure and every opportunity to compromise, and yet he would not. Compromise cannot be had with falsehood and lies. Athanasius ably knew the truth, He knew the Word of God, and He knew Jesus Christ. That truth cannot be compromised. In that regard, we too must learn to be unwavering when the truth of the gospel is on the line.
Athanasius also loved the Church. He was first and foremost a churchman, a pastor, and fellow worker alongside other faithful bishops. He was unwavering on the truth, and yet he also knew the need for his fellow Christians, and unlike so many throughout history, he really did not waste time fighting his own brethren. There are many men today who want to be unwavering for the truth, but cannot see where the lines are, and turn and eat their own brethren. We do not want to make this mistake. We must be people who love the people of the Church, even with other non-essential differences.
Athanasius was the constant target of much slander and unjust treatment from the Arians and from the governing authorities, yet he patiently endured all of it. He is a great model of joyful and patient enduring of trials and mistreatment. At times when his congregation would be full of sorrow and tears that he was forced to exile, time and again he would encourage them, telling them not to lose heart, for it is but a momentary cloud that will pass. He was a man of deep convictions, and was completely willing to suffer for them. We must pray to have that spirit and attitude of Christ cultivated within us.
From his life and sufferings we learn that our suffering is not in vain. His sufferings could not compare to how greatly God would use him to influence, preserve, and build up His Church in the truth. And certainly his sufferings could not compare to the glory that Athanasius has now been enjoying for centuries in the presence of Christ.
We also need to know and remember that Athanasius was not the only bishop persecuted and exiled during these times. Many faithful Nicene bishops were targeted as well and suffered alongside Athanasius. Athanasius is the figurehead of that time, but not a single other Christian was forgotten by Christ. They too received their reward. We must know that we should not seek to be the figureheads of our time, for that is the certain way to not finish well. We must be content to be unmovingly faithful, and be content to be rewarded by Christ, and let God raise up the figureheads He desires.
We also see God’s own work of redemption and the hope of the gospel in Athanasius’ life. A fatherless boy, was given a great father in the faith, and became a great father in the faith to many, even to us today. Whatever broken situation we were born into matters not to God. He has given fathers and mothers of the Church to care for His orphans. God loves to redeem the lowly and the nobodies and use them greatly bring down the giants in the land.
Finally, all of this shows us that Athanasius was and is a great model for Christian courage. I pray that God would raise up not just another Athanasius for our day, but that He would raise up a million Athanasius’. Athanasius is called all sorts of names by mainstream historians. They will criticize him for being mean, stubborn, or a trouble maker, but depending who is saying that, that just might mean you are right over the target. Whatever accusations are leveled at him by ivory tower PHD’s, accusations of being wrong or being cowardly cannot truthfully be made of Athanasius.
Leave a Reply