Introduction
Introduction
Athanasius was born in Egypt to a Christian family sometime around 295 AD. He was given a good education by his parents, and in his youth, the local bishop, recognizing his talents, took him on as his aide. As a result he would get the chance to be present at Nicaea for the first ecumenical council of the church.
Later Athanasius would become the bishop of the city of Alexandria, the leading city in Egypt. In this position, he would become probably the single most important defender of the Christian church against the Arian heresy, which stated that Jesus was created by the father. The Nicene creed, which he helped formulate and defend, is still used as the basic statement of faith for almost all Christian churches to this day.
These works cover the full span of his life, beginning before 319 AD, when he wrote his famous, 'On the Incarnation of the Word'. At the time there were a number of different understandings of Christ circulating throughout Egypt, and Christianity was not yet a well-defined, official religion of the Roman Empire. Most of his works center around defending the Christian faith. Also included are many of his letters and the 'Life of St. Anthony', which became the defining work of early monasticism.