2 May 2018 - St Athanasius - homily - Wednesday of the 5th week of Easter - Acts 7:51—8:1A

       We are connected to Jesus like the branches are connected to a vine - that is what Jesus tells us in the Gospel today.  We are nourished in the faith in order to bear fruit for our Lord and our Savior.  We are connected to the faith of the Apostles, to those who debate in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles as to what is required to become a disciple of Christ.  

      As we are also connected to the community of saints, we celebrate a very interesting saint from the Early Church today: St Athanasius.  Even though Athanasius lived several hundred years after Jesus, in his day, the Church was still debating Jesus and his identity. Alexandria, Egypt was a great center of learning and commerce in the Ancient World, having been founded in the 4th century BC by Alexander the Great.   Athanasius was the Archbishop of Alexandria in the 4th century for 45 years, an incredibly long amount of time. Yet, during that long time he was Archbishop, Athanasius was exiled by different emperors 5 different times.   More than 6 years of that time of exile was spent in the desert.  Athanasius also had to flee Alexandria 6 additional times when he feared for his life. He 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. There are currently only 36 men and women who have been given such a distinction.  As Archbishop, Athanasius battled Arianism, a Christian belief named after Arius, a priest who lived in Alexandria in this same era. Arius and those who supported Arianism saw Jesus the Son as being subordinate and inferior to God the Father. In fact, Arius saw Jesus as a being who did not exist at the beginning of time, who was created and a separate and distinct entity from the Father. Many emperors and Church leaders of this era held this same heretical belief. The writings and teaching of Athanasius defended the doctrine of the Trinity and are fundamental as to how we understand the three persons of the Trinity today in the Church’s teachings. 

        As we reflect up the significance of the risen Christ in our lives during this joyful Easter season, may we unite our prayers and petitions with Athanasius and all the community of saints.