The Life Of St.Athanasius 27
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The Eucharist Indeed, the same is true of the Eucharist. The cup is a sharing in the blood of Christ and the bread is a sharing in the body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16).
Thus, when the ancient church gathered for the Eucharist, it did not simply remember the historical events of the death and resurrection of Christ. No! These believers were partakers of the resurrected Lord. As Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130-202), writing in defense of the redemption of the body, put it:
For since we are his members, and are nourished by his creation —and he himself gives us this creation, making the sun to rise, and sending the rain as he wills —he declares that the cup, taken from the creation, is his own blood, by which he strengthens our blood, and he has firmly assured us that the bread, taken from the creation is his own body, by which our bodies grow. For when the mixed cup and the bread that has been prepared receive the Word of God, and become the Eucharist, the body and blood of Christ, and by these our flesh grows and is confirmed, how can they say that flesh cannot receive the free gift of God, which is eternal life, since it is nourished by the body and blood of the Lord and made a member of him. As the blessed Paul says in the Epistle to the Ephesians, that we are members of his flesh and his bones (Eph.
5:30).22
The early church lived in tension between two worlds (as do we, if we have not lost the vision). They saw themselves as living in the world, but at the same time as part of a kingdom that was not of the world—the kingdom Christ preached when
He was on earth and which He would soon return to fully establish. In the meantime, the church lives in the world in time, but owes its allegiance to the Lord above time. In the Eucharistic meal, it all comes together in a looking back to the Lord's redemptive work, a present experiencing of the Lord's redemption and rule of His people, and a looking forward to His return to establish His kingdom in fullness.
12Cyril Richardson, "Irenaeus' Against Heresies," Early Christian Fathers (New York: Macmillan, 1970), p. 338.
THE LIFE OF ST. ATHANASIUS
It was perhaps an early summer evening in A.D. 313.
Alexander, bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, waited in a beachside house for others to join him for dinner. Sitting relaxed by a window overlooking the shoreline, he observed a group of teen-aged boys playing on the beach.
Alexander soon realized that their play was not the typical roughhousing of adolescent boys; he was seeing a reenactment of certain aspects of the church's liturgy. Indeed, it became apparent that one of the boys was playing the role of bishop and that he was actually baptizing some of the others.
To the pious bishop this seemed just a bit too irreverent.
Rising, he asked that the boys be brought in to him. When they appeared, awed and a bit frightened, he asked, "What were you boys doing out there?"
All looked to one slender youth, who was obviously going to be their spokesman.
"Sir," he said, "we were just playing."
"Didn't I see some of the baptismal liturgy?" inquired Alexander.
Young Athanasius was not at all eager to admit what had been going on. But Alexander pursued the matter, and finally
Athanasius admitted, "Some of these fellows aren't in the church. I convinced them of Christ, and we baptized them."
"Don't you know better than to take such a responsibility on yourself?" Alexander asked.
"Y-yes sir!" was the stammering reply.
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To his amazement, the bishop discovered that not only was the whole thing serious rather than a pretense, but all had been conducted according to the details of the baptismal liturgy.
Since the boys obviously had faith in Jesus Christ, he was tempted to treat the baptisms as valid—and after talking it over with the other church leaders present, he did just that! Laying his own hands upon the heads of the newly baptized boys,
Alexander confirmed their baptism.
HIS MINISTRY BEGAN
That was not the end of the matter. Messages were sent to the parents of the boy-bishop and the boys who were his
"clergy" recommending that they be educated for the ministry.
So it happened that Athanasius soon became the particular prodigy of the bishop.
During the next few years the young man's whole future was shaped. He was thoroughly educated in the Scriptures and the literature of the church. He learned languages and studied the Greek classics. But most of all, he learned practical theology as he served and studied at the side of Bishop Alexander, not living the "good life' of many modern scholars. The bishop, because of his love for Athanasius, gave his life discipline and order, for Alexander realized what we seem to have forgotten:
Strong character is developed by facing difficulties, not by being sheltered from them.
Thus it was that at barely twenty years of age Athanasius produced a two-part work, Against the Heathen and The Incarnation of the Word of God. Anyone who has read these two books will agree that they deserve a place among the classics of Christianity. How could such a young man produce such valuable literature of the faith?
HIS TIMES
We must realize that Athanasius grew up in difficult times. It was in February, 303, before he was quite five years old, that the last great persecution was ordered by Emperor Diocletian.
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From then until he was fourteen he was part of a church that knew a similar purge could happen again at any time. It did. In 311, the new Emperor Maximin ordered renewed persecution.
The bishop of Alexandria was martyred, as were some who had been Athanasius' teachers. Close association with death and the immediate possibility of torture and martyrdom matured this young man far beyond his years.
According to Athanasius, these first two books were written specifically to teach a new believer by the name of Marcarius about the faith. Catch the simplicity of his expression.
Athanasius was no speculative theologian or philosopher. His attitude is clearly represented by his concluding words to Marcarius:
Here, then, Marcarius, is our offering to you who love Christ, a brief statement of the faith of Christ and of the manifestation of His Godhead to us. This will give you a beginning, and you must go on to prove its truth by the study of the Scriptures. They were written and inspired by God; and we, who have learned from inspired teachers who read the Scriptures and became martyrs for -the Godhead of Christ, make further contribution to your eagerness to learn.
From the Scriptures you will learn also of His second manifestation to us, glorious and divine indeed, when He shall come not in lowliness but in His proper glory, no longer in humiliation but in majesty, no longer to suffer but to bestow on us all the fruit of His cross — the resurrection and incorruptibility. No longer will He then be judged, but rather will Himself be Judge, judging each and all according to their deeds done in the body, whether good or ill. Then for the good is laid up the heavenly kingdom, but for those that practise evil outer darkness and the eternal fire. So also the Lord Himself says, "I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man seated on the right hand of power, coming on the clouds of heaven in the glory of the Father." For that Day we have one of His own sayings to prepare us, "Get ready and watch, for ye know not the hour in which He cometh." And blessed Paul says, "We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive according as he practised in the body, whether good or ill."
1St. Athanasius on the Incarnation (Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's Press, 1977), p. 95.
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A GIFT OF DISCERNMENT
You see something here that is prominent throughout the life and teaching of Athanasius. He knew salvation was through Christ, and that if one doesn't believe in the right Christ, he will miss that salvation.
Soon Athanasius was a deacon, and then head of all the deacons of Alexandria — the archdeacon. He remained a close associate and right-hand servant to his bishop.
Those were hard years for Bishop Alexander. In 319, he first faced a heresy that was to disturb the whole church for half a century and would absorb the whole life of his young deacon. In 319 a presbyter named Arius first began to teach of Christ:
"There was a time when He was not." And the war was on.
Athanasius was by Alexander's side when the bishop pleaded with Arius to repent; when Alexander called a council in Egypt, by which Arius was denounced and deposed; when the great ecumenical council of 325 convened at Nicaea to deal with the issue that now disturbed the whole church.
A letter by Alexander gives a clear picture of the problem.
The novelties they [Arius and his followers] have invented and put forth contrary to the Scriptures are these following:
(1) God was not always a Father, but there was a time when God was not a Father.
(2) The Word of God [Christ the Son] was not always, but originated from things which were not; for God who is has made Him who was not, out of that which was not; therefore there was a time when He was not; for the Son is a creature and a work; neither is He like in substance to the Father.
(3) Neither is He the true and natural Word of the Father; neither is He His true Wisdom; but He is one of the things made and created, and is called the Word and Wisdom by an abuse of terms, since He Himself originated by the proper Word of God, and by the Wisdom that is in God, by which God has made not only all other things, but Him also.
(4) Therefore He is by nature subject to change and variation, as are all rational creatures.
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(5) The Word is foreign from the substance of the Father and is alien and separated from it.
(6) The Father cannot be described by the Son, for the Word does not know the Father perfectly and accurately, neither can He see Him perfectly.
(7) Moreover the Son does not know His own essence as it really is; for He is made for us that God might create us by Him, as by an instrument; and He would not have existed had not God wished to create us.
Accordingly, when someone asked them whether the Word of God can possibly change, as the devil changed, they were not afraid to say that He can; for being something made and created,
His nature is subject to change."
AT NICAEA
At the Nicaean Council, the young Archdeacon Athanasius from Alexandria distinguished himself by his powerful refutation of Arian spokesmen. He was there, triumphant and enthusiastic, when on June 19, 325, the Creed of the Council was signed:
We believe in one God the Father All-sovereign, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, that is, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through whom all things were made, things in heaven and things on earth; who for us men and for our salvation came down and was made flesh, and became man, suffered, and rose on the third day, ascended into the heavens, is coming to judge living and dead. And in the Holy Spirit. And those that say: "There was when he was not," and "Before he was begotten he was not," and that, "He came into being from what is not," or those that allege that the Son of God is: "Of another substance or essence" or "created," or "changeable," or "alterable," these the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes.
As Athanasius journeyed home with his bishop, the issue 2From "Deposition of Arius," St. Athanasius: Select Works and Letters, Vol. 4,
A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, ed.
Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, Second Series (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), p. 70.
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seemed settled. Most of the Arian spokesmen were in exile, and with a Christian emperor, peace seemed certain for the church.
There was peace for a while. Things were quiet in Alexandria when Alexander died in the spring of 328. It seemed that everyone wanted Athanasius to be the new bishop, although he was barely thirty. Besides, he was the choice of his predecessor.
It was therefore no surprise that when the bishops of Egypt and Libya met to choose the new bishop, their choice was
Athanasius. On June 8, 328, he was consecrated to the office.
THE OCCASION OF THE LETTERS
It was the annual custom of the bishop of Alexandria to prepare a "Festal Letter," or Easter Letter, to give the dates of the fast before Easter and also the date of Easter itself. But the letter was also a message of teaching, encouragement, and exhortation to the flock. In his first Easter Letter, Athanasius wrote, in part:
We are purified by His precious blood, which cleanses us from sin. His blood does not cry out for vengeance as did the blood of Abel (Heb. 12:24). Our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel (Eph. 6:15), and we carry the rod and staff of the Lord, our
Shepherd. We are comforted, as was the one who said, "Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me" (Ps. 23:4).
Collectively, then, as the people of God, we are completely prepared for whatever comes and do not have to worry about anything. The apostle Paul wrote, "The Lord is at hand" (Phil.
4:5). And our Savior Himself told us that He will come when He is not expected (Luke 12:40).
So, "Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:8). "Putting off the old man and his deeds, let us put on the new man" (Eph. 4:22-24), which is created in God, in humbleness of mind and a pure conscience.
Indeed, let us meditate on His law by day and by night. Also, let us rid ourselves of all hypocrisy and fraud, and free ourselves of haughtiness and deceit. Then let us take up love towards God and neighbor. Thus prepared as new creatures drinking the new wine
—the Holy Spirit — we will be able to properly keep the Feast, the season of these new fruits (from Festal Letter I).
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This excerpt typifies the lifelong attitude of this man, who focused on redemption and the life of the redeemed. Indeed, the reason for his unswerving insistence upon orthodoxy concerning Christ was the sure knowledge that salvation itself is at stake.
During the next several years, the young bishop devoted himself to the zealous care of his flock. His zeal for Christ was infectious, and the church's devotion to the Lord and His body was at a high point in Egypt. Widows and orphans received care, and the church grew.
ARIANS REAPPEAR
But the enemies of Christ were not at rest. They concocted a variety of schemes and allegations in attempts to depose
Athanasius. He cleared himself time and time again, once in a personal appearance before the emperor. The Arians were most persistent, however, and they finally prevailed upon Constantine to command Athanasius to appear at a council in Tyre.
There, in 335, all the old charges were renewed and again proven false. New ones were also brought; for example,
Athanasius was charged with cutting off a man's hand.
The Arian accusers brought in a box, which was opened and paraded before the whole council amid gasps of horror. In that box was a hand which, they explained, Athanasius had taken from a man named Arsenius, murdering him in the process.
Further, Athanasius had used the hand for magical purposes.
But Athanasius had gotten wind of this plot well ahead of time and had managed to locate and trace the movements of this Arsenius, who was very much alive. When the hand was produced, he asked his accusers, "Did you know Arsenius personally?"
From several the reply was prompt and eager, "Oh yes, certainly."
So Athanasius had Arsenius brought in, wrapped in a cloak, and they had to agree that it was he. Then, as the council waited expectantly for an explanation of how his hand had been lost, Athanasius turned back the man's cloak to show that at
THE LIFE OF ST. ATHANASIUS
least one hand was still there. Then, as the whole council waited in breathless anticipation, he turned back Arsenius' other sleeve. There was a second hand! Now Athanasius took advantage of the shock. "Where," he inquired, "did he grow the third hand which you have in the box?"
THE YEARS OF EXILE
Nothing, however, was going to deter the Arians from their aim. They brought more charges, which Athanasius knew would require investigation, and he knew what he had to do: He had to see the emperor. Along with four Egyptian bishops, he left
Tyre secretly and sailed to Constantinople.
There he requested an audience with Constantine, which the dumbfounded emperor granted.
Meanwhile, the Arians had excluded all testimony but their own on another of their ridiculous charges, and the council had deposed Athanasius. The Arian accusers left for Jerusalem, but they were immediately summoned to Constantinople to appear for Athanasius' hearing. There they blithely changed their whole approach and tossed up a brand new charge: Athanasius, they said, had prevented the sailing of grainships from Alexandria to the capital city. That hit Constantine where he lived, and without even investigating the charge he exiled the great bishop to Treves in Gaul. Athanasius left on February 8, 336.
There is no record of an Easter Letter to Athanasius' flock in the years 336 and 337, so we do not know whether he wrote any or not. While he was gone, Arius died, but there was no weakening of the strength of the heretics. Constantine also died and was succeeded as emperor by his sons, Constantine II,
Constans, and Constantius. Constantius, emperor in the East, allowed Athanasius to return on November 23, 337.
The attitude of the good bishop during his exile is reflected in his Easter Letter of 338:
Although I committed all my affairs to God, I still wanted to celebrate the Feast with you, disregarding the distance between us. For although distance separates us, the Lord who gives the
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Feast is the Feast (1 Cor. 5:7). He bestows the Spirit, bringing us together in mind, in harmony, and in the bond of peace (from Festal Letter VIII).
Back in Alexandria, the storm had not abated. The Arians had sent a man named Pistus to take over as bishop during the absence of Athanasius. However, this man commanded no following, and nothing came of his appointment. Meanwhile,
Athanasius called the Egyptian bishops together and composed a letter dealing thoroughly with all the weak charges the Arian bishops had made against him. Athanasius was reinstated. But the Arians were not finished. They called a council at Antioch and again deposed Athanasius, sending a man named Gregory to take his place. This man, backed by a pagan governor, instituted a reign of terror among the Christians in the city.
Athanasius escaped and sailed for Rome on April 16, 339.
This time it would be more than seven years before Alexandria saw its beloved bishop. The city of Rome, however, was undoubtedly greatly influenced by this man. He was not just theologically orthodox; he also lived and breathed his personal intimacy with Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of man.
Emperor Constantius proved to be an Arian sympathizer, so in the east the Arians made great headway. However, they pulled so many disgusting tricks that even Constantius became disenchanted with them. Besides, his brother Constans threatened war if Athanasius were not allowed to return. So Athanasius received a letter from Constantius asking him to come back home!
From the Easter Letters he wrote in exile, one can see that Athanasius kept his flock continually in mind. From Rome, his letter of 341 contained these words:
We have indeed experienced numerous attacks and much bitter persecution aimed at the church. Heretics, unfamiliar with the faith and corrupt in their thinking, have risen up against the truth and are violently persecuting the church. Some of the brothers and sisters have been whipped and others have been torn apart on the rack. This ill treatment has become so vicious that it has even spread to the bishops. Nevertheless, it is not appropriate for us to neglect the Feast because of such things (from Festal Letter X).
THE LIFE OF ST.ATHANASIUS
THE GOLDEN DECADE
Back home once again, Athanasius experienced what has been called the "golden decade" of his life. When he arrived on October 21, 346, a great celebration took place. People met him as far away as a hundred miles from the city. Thus began his longest uninterrupted term in the office of bishop. His return brought a great revival in Alexandria; widows and orphans were fed and clothed, there was great peace in the churches of Egypt, and the quality of life in general was raised.
During these years Athanasius gathered the necessary materials to write his major book, Apology Against the Arians, as well as other valuable works. His deep sense of the value of our redemption is reflected in a preserved fragment of his Easter
Letter of 348:
Let us now keep the Easter Feast, brothers and sisters. For as our Lord reminded His disciples of Passover, He reminds us that Passover will be here in a few days (cf. Matt. 26:2). On that Passover the Jews betrayed the Lord, but we celebrate His death as a Feast, for because of it we were delivered from our afflictions.
Yes, and though we were scattered, now we assemble eagerly together; though we were lost, we have been found; though we were far from Him, we have been brought near; though we were strangers, we have become His. For He suffered for us, and was nailed on the cross. As the prophet says (Isa. 53:4), He bore our sins and was afflicted for us in order to take away all our grief, sorrow, and mourning. When we are thirsty, He brings us to the Feast and satisfies us, as He promised when He stood and cried,
"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37).
Constantius became ruler of the whole Roman Empire in 350. The Arians had not forgotten their enemy; they knew that as long as Athanasius was bishop in Alexandria they could never take over the whole church. Indeed, even their present holdings were not safe.
In 353 and 355, councils were held at Arles and Milan, respectively, and the emperor forced the attending bishops, under pain of exile, to sign condemnations of Athanasius. Many orthodox bishops were exiled, and a government official arrived
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in Alexandria in January, 356, to take Athanasius. The people protested, and Athanasius held a great final service with Psalm
136 recited, the people responding after each verse, "for His mercy endureth forever."
THE ESCAPE
The beloved bishop escaped the hands of the soldiers and went into the Egyptian desert, lost from public view for six years and fourteen days. It seemed that Arianism had finally triumphed, but it was really going down for the third time.
Athanasius never left Egypt; in fact, he was often in Alexandria itself. And although the government bitterly persecuted the people, the man the Arians had appointed bishop was never able to take full charge.
Athanasius continued to write, primarily against the Arians, but also on the coessentiality of the Holy Spirit—an important topic in view of future developments. He also continued to guide the churches. In the meantime, the emperor's soldiers searched for him frantically but futilely.
This alone is testimony to three important facts. First, it is a testimony to the loyalty and devotion of the people of God, who successfully hid and protected their bishop during this entire period. Secondly, the love, sovereignty, and power of God is visibly displayed by the very fact that this champion of the truth remained alive and safe through all those years in which his life was in jeopardy. And third, it is a testimony to the character of Athanasius. He was no fearful weakling, but a man of great moral fiber — not soft and flabby physically, mentally, or spiritually. He was a bright and vivid man of strong conviction, committed totally to the providence of God. Never did he shrink from speaking the truth.
In his letter to the bishops of Egypt, written during this period, he wrote:
[The Lord said] "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves"
(Matt. 7:15) and [spoke] by the mouth of His holy Apostles,