Athanasius of Alexandria | |
|---|---|
| Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria | |
 Icon of St Athanasius | |
| Church | Early Church |
| See | Alexandria |
| Predecessor | Alexander |
| Successor | Peter II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 296–298 |
| Died | 2 May 373 (aged 75–77) Alexandria, Roman Egypt Philosophy career |
| Occupation | Pope of Alexandria |
| Notable work |
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| Era | Patristic Age |
| School |
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| Language | Coptic, Greek |
Main interests | Theology |
Notable ideas | Consubstantiality, Trinity, divinity of Jesus, Theotokos[1] |
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| Sainthood | |
| Feast day |
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| Venerated in | |
| Attributes | Bishop arguing with a pagan; bishop holding an open book; bishop standing over a defeated heretic (Arius) |
| Shrines | Church of San Zaccaria in Venice, Italy, and Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt |
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Athanasius I of Alexandria[note 1] (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, or, among Coptic Christians, Athanasius the Apostolic, was a Christian theologian and the 20th pope of Alexandria (as Athanasius I). His intermittent episcopacy spanned 45 years (c. 8 June 328 – 2 May 373), of which over 17 encompassed five exiles, when he was replaced on the order of four different Roman emperors. Athanasius was a Church Father,[3] the chief proponent of Trinitarianism against Arianism, and a noted Egyptian Christian leader of the fourth century.
Conflict with Arius and Arianism, as well as with successive Roman emperors, shaped Athanasius' career. In 325, at age 27, Athanasius began his leading role against the Arians as a deacon and assistant to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria during the First Council of Nicaea. Roman Emperor Constantine the Great had convened the council in May–August 325 to address the Arian position that the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, is of a distinct substance from the Father.[4] Three years after that council, Athanasius succeeded his mentor as Patriarch of Alexandria. In addition to the conflict with the Arians (including powerful and influential Arian churchmen led by Eusebius of Nicomedia), he struggled against the Emperors Constantine, Constantius II, Julian the Apostate and Valens. He was known as Athanasius Contra Mundum (Latin for 'Athanasius Against the World').
Nonetheless, within a few years of his death, Gregory of Nazianzus called him the "Pillar of the Church". His writings were well regarded by subsequent Church fathers in the West and the East, who noted their devotion to the Word-become-man, pastoral concern and interest in monasticism. Athanasius is considered one of the four great Eastern Doctors of the Church in the Catholic Church.[5] Some argue that, in his Easter letter of 367, Athanasius was the first person to list the 27 books of the New Testament canon that are in use today.[6] Others argue that Origen of Alexandria was the first to list the twenty-seven books of the New Testament in his Homilies on Joshua (only there is a textual variant as to whether or not he included Revelation).[7][8] Athanasius is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church,[9] the Catholic Church,[10] the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism.
- ^ "The rejection of the term Theotokos by Nestorius Constantinople and the refutation of his teaching by Cyril of Alexandria". Egolpion.com. 24 June 2012. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "St. Takla Haymanout Coptic Orthodox Website".
- ^ Laos, Nicolas (2016). Methexiology: Philosophical Theology and Theological Philosophy for the Deification of Humanity. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 217. ISBN 978-1-4982-3385-9.
- ^ "First Council of Nicaea". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ^
Chapman, John (1909). "Doctors of the Church". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Livingstone, E. A.; Sparkes, M. W. D.; Peacocke, R. W., eds. (2013). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. pp. 91–92. ISBN 978-0-19965962-3. OCLC 1023248322.
- ^ Gallagher, Edmon L. "Origen via Rufinus on the New Testament Canon." New Testament Studies 62.3 (2016): 461-476.
- ^ Michael J. Kruger (19 October 2015). "What is the Earliest Complete List of the Canon of the New Testament?".
- ^ "Online Chapel – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America". www.goarch.org.
- ^ Online, Catholic. "St. Athanasius – Saints & Angels". Catholic Online.
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