St. Athanassios The Apostolic: 20th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark (296 AD - 373 AD): Celebrated May 15th Born in Alexandria in 296 AD. His father was a Coptic priest and not a pagan as commonly claimed. When he was a boy, Pope Alexandrus (19th pope) saw him from his window in the house of the Patriachate role playing the baptism of new comers as if he was the bishop (in those days only the bishops were permitted to administer baptism). It is told that some of the boys were pagan, and pope Alexandrus after discussion with the clergy considered their baptism, by young Athanassios, valid and they did not need baptism repeated. The Anglican Historian Dean Stanley considers this story to be an extremely important event in the shaping of the life of St. Athanassios and his entrance to the priesthood! After this event, Athanassios became a spiritual son to pope Alexandrus and he took him in as a personal secretary. At the time the Synod of the Church of Egypt included about 100 bishops in Egypt (Masr), Alexandria, and Pentapolis (5 Western Cities). The patriarch of Alexandria was called pope, meaning dear father and patriarch, meaning father of the father. St. Cyril the Pillar of faith (24th pope) mentioned that Athanassios lived under the same roof with pope Alexandrus and was treated as a dear son. On April 30, 328 AD. Pope Alexandrus departed, and on June 21, 328 AD. Athanassios ascended to the Throne/Chair of St. Mark as the 20th pope and patriarch . St. Athanassios was on the Chair for 45 years. He had a very active and most fruitful life that includes the authorship of the Nicene Creed of Faith, the debate with Arios, more than 3 dozen major theological publications, teaching and preaching weekly for 45 years, and the honor of being ordered exiled five (5) times. Only the last order to exile did not take place because of the will of the people who loved their pope and were willing to die for the assurance that no one else takes his place as pope and patriarch. First Exile: Caused by a petition by Arios to the Emperor Constantine in which Arios cried the tears of crocodiles and falsely accused pope Athanassios of causing strife against the emperor. He also accused him of practicing witchcraft. Pope Athanassios was found innocent of all the charges against him, but the emperor insisted on restoring Arios to the priesthood, because Arios had many friends in the imperial staff. When pope Athanassios refused to break the rules of the Ecumenical Council of Nicea, he was exiled. Second Exile: Was by the order of Constandus, son of Constantine, who under the influence exerted by the followers of Arios sent a Byzantine clergy named Gregorius to take the place of pope Athanassios by force. The people of Alexandria resisted the decree and many were killed by the Roman Soldiers. St. Athanassios was sent to Rome as the place of exile. In Rome, a council was convened by Julius, the bishop of Rome in 340 AD. The council found pope Athanassios innocent of all charges and requested his return to his seat. Another council in Sardikia, found in favor of pope Athanassios. Both councils excommunicated the followers of Arios, requested the removal of Gregorius, and requested the return of Athanassios to his seat. Pope Athanassios returned to Alexandria. And in describing the magnificent of the way he was received, St. Gregory the speaker of divine things used the analogy that it was the like the flood of the River Nile, the huge number of people that flowed to Alexandria to receive their honored pope. Third Exile: It was now Constance, the other son of Constantine, that was moved by the followers of Arios to exile pope Athanassios. They had even more influence on the palace and caused Constance to hold 12 councils against pope Athanassios. The emperor sent 5000 soldiers to capture pope Athanassios. They attacked the Church as the pope was giving the sermon after the evening prayers. The clergy surrounded the pope and smuggled him to safety under the cover of darkness and many of the faithful were trampled to death under the feet of the soldiers. Pope Athanassios was taken to a safe hiding place in Alexandria and later on was moved to a hiding place with the monks in the desert near Thebes in southern Egypt. During his time of hiding, Gregorius the Cappadocian was appointed on the Church of Alexandria by the emperor, by force. The will of the people and the solidarity of the bishops of the See of St. Mark prevailed. Gregorius who was appointed by the power of the sword, was excommunicated by the solidarity and spiritual power of the Holy Synod of the Church. When Julian became emperor, after the death of Constance, and in a clever attempt to gain the loyalty of the people of Egypt, Julian restored pope Athanassios to his seat. Fourth Exile: Julian like the emperors before him was influenced by the followers of Arios, so shortly thereafter he requested the removal of the Anathemas against the followers of Arios. Pope Athanassios held a council in Alexandria in 362 AD. The council made rules concerning the return of the followers of Arios to the Orthodox faith, and the pope increased his efforts to preach those outside the Orthodox faith. The rules did not gain acceptance by the emperor and St. Athanassios was ordered to be exiled again. St. Athanassios fled in a boat to southern Egypt. The boat was followed by one carrying the ruler of Alexandria. The pope managed to escape and he told the followers that the persecution by Julian is like a summer cloud, will soon disappear. Shortly thereafter, Julian was killed in a war with the Persians. St. Athanassios returned to his seat. Fifth Exile (Did not take place): After Julian was killed, Yustus ruled and was followed by Vance. Vance was also a follower of the teachings of Arios. He ordered the pope exiled. The pope did hide near the cemetery where his father was buried, near Alexandria. The emperors tirade caused 30 bishops to be killed and when he realized the strong allegiance of the public with their pope (dear father), he lifted his order and pope Athanassios returned with great honor to the Chair of St. Mark. This was in 368 AD. He was 72 years of age at the time and continued to serve the people with dignity and great zeal. He is the first pope to wear the habit of a monk. And he also is, the first pope to ordain a monk, Antonius, a priest, and later on elevated him to the rank of Hegomen (Arch-priest). The Heresy of Arios, and Athanassios Role in Defending the Orthodox Faith: Alexandria was a great center for learning even before Christianity came to Egypt in 48 AD. It was called the second Athens because of the many discussions and debates that took place there. In the third century the Gnostics were very strong in Samaria and around the beginning of the fourth century their teachings were becoming popular in Alexandria. Philosophers grew long beards and wore long flowing robes in those days. They sat around and crowds gathered around them to hear new and uncommon arguments. Of those Gnostics two were well known in Alexandria: Paul of Samosta, and Sabillius from Libya. Pope Alexandrus was teaching against the Gnostic philosophy, and Arios a priest in Alexandria was critical of the pope. Arios started to teach against the Gnostics , but in his disobedience to the hierarchy of the Church, he fell in his own heresies, referred to Ariosism. Arios denied the divinity of Christ making him one of the early creations of the Father. He also denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The Church of Alexandria had to convene an ecumenical (universal) council of all the bishops of the empire to look into the heresies of Arios. The Role of Athanassios at the Council of Nicea (325 AD): When the council of Nicea was convened in 325 AD. Athanassios, was only a deacon, accompanied pope Alexandrus as his secretary. He was 29 years of age. The council consisted of 318 bishop who assembled at Nicea. There was also other delegates as observers and assistants. Arios who was an older priest from Alexandria was brought in front of the council. By acclamation, Athanassios was selected to debate the old priest. And by the help of the Holy Spirit and his knowledge of the Holy books he debated all the issues related to the divinity of Christ and the issues related to the Holy Trinity. All the arguments Athanassios used were supported by biblical passages from the Holy Bible, both Old and New Testament verses. Arios acted as if he agreed with the arguments presented, but as soon as he was outside the council meetings place, he changed his mind and returned back to his old arguments. For this reason, the Council of Nicea ex-communicated him and all those who follow his teachings. The Council also published the Creed of Faith, also referred to as the Nicene Creed of Faith authored by Athanassios, and concluded with issuing 24 Cannons (Laws) known as the Cannons of the Council of Nicea. Athanassios also prepared a lengthy thesis in which he defended each sentence in the Creed of Faith with verses from the Holy Bible, but the Council found it not necessary to publish the thesis and was satisfied by the concise words in the Creed of Faith as a universal expression of the Christian belief in the Holy Trinity, and the Divinity of Christ. For this reason every true Christian owes St. Athanassios a debt of gratitude for preserving the true Orthodox faith. After the Council works were concluded and his return to Alexandria, Ariosism continued in certain parts of Asia minor, especially in the higher echelons of the imperial government. For this reason Athanassios spent the following 45 years defending the Orthodox faith to the last breath and with great courage he faced persecution by 6 emperors who ruled in his days. As stated before, he was exiled 5 times and considered it a great honor to spend his whole life defending the true Orthodox faith. Hence comes the famous saying; when he was told that: “The world is against Athanassios”, he replied: “And Athanassios is against the whole world” In Latin they stated it: “mundus contra Athanassius, athanassius contra mundus” The last three years of his life, he concentrated on teaching and preaching with dignity and great intensity. He was on the Chair of St. Mark for 45 years and departed in peace on May 15, 273 AD. May his blessings be with us. Glory Always be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A Holy Trinity, One God. Amen. (C) 1997; Dr. W.A. Hanna, St. Mary & St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church; 1843 Ross Ave.; St. Louis, MO 63146; USA P.S. We added a link to the DIDACHE (Teachings of the 12 Apsotles). Please Visit St. Mary & St. Abraam Church Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/2894 Please Consider Sending a Donation: St. Mary & St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church 1843 Ross Ave. St. Louis, MO 63146; USA (Building Loan/Essays Book)