Athanasius was the great soldier of faith who fought bravely for truth. St. Basil describes him as the Divine doctor given to the Church. St. Gregory of Nazianzus depicts him as the Pillar of the Church. His life was eventful and he became famous as the fighter against Arius' heresy. Athanasius was born in Alexandria around AD.295. In those days, Alexandria was a great centre of learning and Athanasius was able to become familiar with the various branches of learning. He had heard a great deal about Christian heroes who had faced persecution with unflinching courage. He had also heard about the Saints who spent their lives in contact with God in the deserts and forests of Africa. Therefore, he decided to become a Christian full of saintliness, knowledge and faith. When he was boy, he once told his friends about Christian faith. The force of his words made them accept baptism. Alexander, the Metropolitan of Alexandria was surprised at this Thereafter; Athanasius studies and training were perused directly under his supervision. Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria made Athanasius stay with him, taught him theology, logic, and physical sciences, and gave him training in spiritual life. Subsequently, Athanasius decided to have first-hand knowledge of the ascetic life of African forests and deserts. He went in search of St. Anthony with the blessings of Alexander of Alexandria. He met him and stayed with him for some time as his disciple and helper. This contact with the saint helped him produce the work Life of Anthony. Then, Athanasius returned to Alexandria. Bishop Alexander made him a deacon in 319 and appointed him as his secretary. It was at this time that he produced the works Against Pagans (Oratio Contra Gentes) and On the Incarnation. Those were the days when Arius' heresies were rocking the Church Athanasius realized that Arius' denial of Christ's divinity would ruin the basis of Christian faith. Immediately he started using his tongue and pen against Arius. He argued that the basis of Christian faith is that God saved man by incarnation, and that if Jesus Christ is not God, we had not been saved. In the end, Emperor Constantine convened the synod of Nice to resolve the issues including this. Athanasius attended the synod as the Secretary of Bishop Alexander. The synod lasted for three months and Athanasius' voice reverberated in it. It was very difficult to take decisions against Arius. Athanasius stood firmly for the phrase ‛ομοουσιον τω πατρι′ (of the same substance with the Father) to qualify the Son. He was not ready to accept even the phrase ‛ομοιουσιον τω πατρι′ (of the similar substance with the Father) suggested by moderates like Eusebius of Caesarea. The essential part of the Creed about faith in the Son of God was written in the Nicene Synod under the leadership of Athanasius. In 328 AD, he succeeds Alexander in the see of Alexandria. Then he visited the Churches under his jurisdiction and confirmed the believers in true faith. The problem created by Arius was a headache to him. They influenced the Emperor and brought forward many allegations against Athanasius. At last, the exiled Arius and his companions were called back; Athanasius was accused of theft, adultery and murder. However, they failed to prove their allegations. Later he was accused of treason and false witnesses were presented against him. The allegation was that Athanasius blocked the ship bringing corn from Egypt to Byzantium. Hearing the words of the false witnesses the Emperor ordered Athanasius to be exiled to Tyre in 335 AD. Athanasius was banished five times and brought back five times according to the disfavour or favour of the rulers who succeeded Emperor Constantine in the east and in the west. Athanasius had to spend seventeen years in banishment suffering persecution. However, he was not prepared to give up his faith or compromise it in any adversity. Once some one told him, The whole world opposes Athanasius. However, he retorted, Athanasius contra Mundum . The believers, gradually, realized the way in which Arius and his followers abused Athanasius and they prevailed upon Emperor Valence to call Athanasius back (366 AD) and entrust him with the administration of Alexandrian Church. Thereafter, Athanasius enjoyed peace in life. The great Athanasius consecrated Peter as Metropolitan to succeed him and died on 2 May 373. LITERARY CONTRIBUTIONS OF ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA • Apologetic works i) Treatise against the Pagans (Oratio Contra Gentes) is a refutation of pagan beliefs. It deals with the emptiness of pagan pantheism and it shows reasonableness and the necessity of Christianity. ii) Treatise on the Incarnation of the Word (Oratio de incarnatione Verbi) (ca. AD. 318). The purpose of this work is to show that the incarnation is the sole remedy for man's fallen nature, and his single hope of restoration. • Dogmatic works i) Discourses against the Arians: (inter AD. 358-362). It is the longest and the most important dogmatic work of Athanasius. It contains four books. The first book deals with the eternal origin of the Son from the Father and the substantial unity of the Son with the Father. The second and third books give an explanation to the relevant passages of the scripture, gives proves to the first book and the fourth book deals with the personal distinction of the Son from the Father. ii) Four letters to Serapin of Thmuis: The four letters of Athanasius to Bishop Serapion of Thmui is written at the end of 359 and early in 360 AD, They deal with the personality of the Holy Sprit, His Divinity and emanation in refutation of the pneumatomachian doctrine. iii) The Encyclical letter to All Bishops everywhere is Athanasius earliest extant polemical writing, belonging to about the middle of the year 339 AD. It is a call for all bishops and his fellow ministers, to assist him in rescuing his Churches from Gregory, the usurping Arian bishop. iv) The letter concerning the Decrees of the Council of Nicea is a genuine Athanasian work of the year 350 AD. It is a defence of Nicene terminology. v) Letter to Adelphius: The letter is in response to one of Adelphius to Athanasius, in which Adelphius had reported the Arian charge of creature worship against the adherents of Nicene Christology. In his reply, Athanasius makes the special point that Orthodox Christians do not worship the human nature of Christ as such, but the incarnate word. vi) Letter to Epictetus of Corinth (AD. 370/371). It contains the answers to the questions regarding the Holy Trinity and Christology. • Festal letters It was an ancient custom for bishops of Alexandria to send festal letters after Epiphany announcing the date of Easer. In his letters, Athanasius gave instructions with regard to the fasting and about the Easter festival. These are very valuable to know the history of Early Christian practices of the Easter. • Exegetical works Though Athanasius wrote commentaries on many books of the Old Testament, only the commentary on Psalms is available now. • Ascetical writings Athanasius composed a biography of St. Anthony as a model of dedicated life. This work helped in the east and the west to arose the feeling of admirations for the ascetic and the monastic life. MAIN TEACHINGS OF ATHANASIUS OF ALEXANDRIA Teachings of Athanasius may be summed up as follows:- • The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit are of the same substance (‛ομοουσιος). • Jesus Christ is perfect God and perfect Man. • Jesus Christ was not a servant, though he took the form of a servant: though by himself he was not poor, yet he made himself poor. • Christ is God’s high priest (Heb.6:20) and the unique mediator between God and man (Heb.8:6; 9:15; 12:24; 1 Tim.2:5), he is God’s perfect image (Col.1:15), first-born of all creation as well as responsible for all creation, truly begotten from the Father not made, and the first-born from the dead (Col.1:18). • T0 save us from our sins, Christ the only holy one who had no sin, carried our sins for us, died for us and was resurrected for us, His sinless perfection is the witness of the Bible (Jn.8:46; 8:29). • He was not adopted by the father, but the father adopted us in Him. • The incarnation and death for redemption are inseparable, because redemption is possible only by the incarnation of God himself who died for our sins. • Even though the Trinity is a mystery, it is the supreme Truth. Athanasius' main teaching on Christ is contained in the phrase ‛ομοουσιος (consubstantial) and in this statement He became man so that we might be made God; and He manifested Himself in the flesh, so that we might grasp the idea of the unseen father; and he endured the insolence of men, so that we might receive the inheritance of immortality (On Incarnation 54:3). The doctrine of salvation would have been in danger, if the heresy of Arius had gained momentum. Athanasius found in the Incarnation and Crucifixion a single act of God in His attempt to redeem humanity. He refused to see them as two different actions. Athanasius taught about the Divinity of the Holy Spirit and His emanation from God. If The Holy Spirit were not God, it would not be possible for human beings to become divine.