Athanasius was Bishop of Alexandria,
Egypt in the fourth century for 45 years.
Alexandria was one of the great centers of Christianity and of learning
in the ancient world. Yet, during that
long time he was bishop, Athanasius was exiled by different emperors 5
different times. More than six years of
that time of exile was spent in the desert.
He also had to flee Alexandria 6 additional times when he feared for his
life. Athanasius is one of that select
group of men and women who have been named as a Doctor of the Church for their
contributions to spirituality, theology, and Church doctrine. Athanasius was active in the fight against
Arianism, a belief in the Church that saw Jesus, the Son of God, as subordinate
to the Father. The writings of
Athanasius were important to the way our understanding of the Trinity developed
in the early Church. On of his quotes
about Jesus as God is this: “Jesus that I know as my Redeemer cannot be less
than God.”
“Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all
the nations.” We hear this refrain in
our psalm today. Many of us might wonder
how we are to proclaim God’s deeds to a world that often times does not want to
listen to Christ’s message. We can think
of all the opposition that Athanasius faced in his lived, how even in the face
of exile and threats against his life, he never gave up. We also may be faced with various challenges
in living out our faith and in proclaiming God’s world. May Athanasius and the other saints serve as
inspirations and as examples of faith as we try to live our lives as disciples
of Christ in the modern world.
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