2 May 2020 - St Athanasius - Saturday of the 3rd week of Easter - John 6:60-69

       We hear the disciples of Jesus say in the Gospel today that his teachings are hard for them to understand.  Jesus is talking to them about his identity as the Son of Man, about him giving his disciples his body and blood, about his relationship with the Father.  At the end of this passage, it says that many of the disciples went away dejected, not being able to understand his teaching and returning to their former way of life.   Jesus’ human and divine identity was the subject of a great deal of discussion and controversy in the Early Church.  The Arian heresy arose as a part of this controversy, named after Arius, a teacher and presbyter who lived in Alexandria, Egypt in the 4th century.  Arius argued that Jesus was a created being with divine attributes rather than a being who was eternally divine.  Arius and his beliefs were labeled as heresy at the Council of Nicea in 325.  Jesus’ eternal divine nature was professed in the Nicene Creed.  I bring up the Arian heresy because the saint we celebrate today, Athanasius, was instrumental in defeating the Arian heresy.  Athanasius was a strong voice in this debate in his role as Bishop of Alexandria, an important leadership position in the Early Church.  This controversy and debate was so heated in the Early Church that Athanasius was exiled five different times for his defense of the doctrine of Christ’s divinity. His writings on the Arian heresy are considered important theological works in the history of the Church, earning Athanasius the title of Doctor of the Church.  Among his celebrated writings is the Life of St Anthony, a biography of the famous Desert Father.  This biography of Anthony and his teachings are said to have had a great influence on the development of monasticism in the Western Church.  We celebrate St Athanasius today and unite our prayer to his.