Saint Athanasius 4th Century was Exiled 5 Times and had Conflict with 4 Roman Emperors
Saint Athanasius was born in either 296 or 298, and he died on May 2 373. He was also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, or, among Coptic Christians, Athanasius the Apostolic. Saint Athanasius was a Christian theologian and the 20th patriarch of Alexandria. His intermittent episcopacy spanned 45 years, June 8, 328 – 2 May 2, 373. Amazingly, he had five exiles, and he had conflicts with four different Roman emperors. Saint Athanasius was a Church Father, the chief proponent of Trinitarianism against Arianism. He was a noted Egyptian Christian leader of the fourth century.
Saint Athanasius Biography
Saint Athanasius was born to a Christian family in Alexandria sometime between 293 and 298. We do not know much about his early life, but there has been a lot written about that. Historian Cornelius Clifford places his birth no earlier than 296 and no later than 298, based on the fact that he does not indicate first-hand recollection of the Maximian persecution of 303, which he suggests Athanasius would have remembered if he had been ten years old at the time.
Secondly, the Festal Epistles (which Saint Athanasius wrote) state that the Arians had accused Athanasius, among many charges, of not having yet attained the canonical age of 35 and thus could not have been properly ordained as patriarch of Alexandria in 328. The accusation must have seemed plausible, which would put his birth in 293.
Saint Athanasius Exiles
Saint Athanasius was exiled a whopping five times. In his first exile, Saint Athanasius’ first problem lay with Meletius of Lycopolis and his followers, who had failed to abide by the First Council of Nicaea. That council also anathematised Arius. He was accused of mistreating Arians and Meletians. He answered those charges at a gathering of bishops, but was deposed. On 6 November, both sides of the dispute met with Emperor Constantine I. At that meeting, the Arians claimed Athanasius would try to cut off essential Egyptian grain supplies to Constantinople. He was found guilty and sent into exile to Augusta Treverorum in Gaul.
When Emperor Constantine I died, Saint Athanasius was allowed to return to Alexandria. Shortly thereafter, however, Constantius II renewed the order for Athanasius’s banishment in 338. During this time, Gregory of Cappadocia, an Arian bishop, was installed as the patriarch of Alexandria, usurping the absent Athanasius. Athanasius did, however, remain in contact with his people through his annual Festal Letters, in which he also announced on which date Easter would be celebrated that year. He was exiled for a second time.
Through the influence of the Eusebian faction at Constantinople, an Arian bishop, George of Cappadocia, was appointed to rule the see of Alexandria in 356. Saint Athanasius, who remained in the neighborhood of the city, finally withdrew into the desert of Upper Egypt. Constantius’ persistence in his opposition to Athanasius, combined with reports Athanasius received about the persecution of non-Arians by the Arian bishop George of Laodicea, prompted Athanasius to write his emotional History of the Arians, in which he described Constantius as a precursor of the Antichrist. That got him exiled a third time.
In 362, Emperor Julian, noted for his opposition to Christianity, ordered Saint Athanasius to leave Alexandria for a fourth time. Athanasius left for Upper Egypt, remaining there with the Desert Fathers until Julian’s death on June 26, 363. Athanasius returned in secret to Alexandria, where he received a document from the new emperor, Jovian, reinstating him once more in his episcopal functions. His first act was to convene a council which reaffirmed the terms of the Nicene Creed.
The accession of Emperor Valens gave a fresh lease of life to the Arian party and resulted in a fifth exile for Saint Athanasius. He issued a decree banishing the bishops who had been deposed by Constantius but who had been permitted by Jovian to return to their sees. The news created the greatest consternation in Alexandria, and the prefect, in order to prevent a serious outbreak, gave public assurance that the very special case of Athanasius would be laid before the emperor.
Saint Athanasius Veneration
Saint Athanasius was originally buried in Alexandria, but his remains were later transferred to Venice, Italy. During Pope Shenouda III’s visit to Rome in 1973, Pope Paul VI gave the Coptic Patriarch a relic of Saint Athanasius, which he brought back to Egypt on May 15. The relic is currently preserved under the new Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo. However, the majority of Athanasius’s corpse remains in the Venetian church.
All major Christian denominations that officially recognize saints venerate Saint Athanasius. Western Christians observe his feast day on May 2, which is the anniversary of his death. The Catholic Church considers Athanasius a Doctor of the Church. Gregory of Nazianzus (330–390), also a Doctor of the Church, said: “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 bishops, and his doctrine the rule of the orthodox faith.”
Conclusion
Saint Athanasius lived long ago, but as a doctor of the church, he left extensive writings. Among these were “First Letters to Serapion,” “Letter Concerning the Decrees of the Council of Nicaea,” and the two-part work “Against the Heathen” and “The Incarnation of the Word of God.” Several other letters and books survive. It is the case that saints from long ago who wrote a lot give us something to know them by.
