Saint Athanasius the Father of Orthodoxy

Description

As a young cleric, he was present at the Council of Nicea (325), and though he did not want to be bishop, none was found better suited for the job. He fought the Arian Heresy through every vicissitude and finally triumphed for orthodoxy. Here is a popular biography for young and old of the Saint who is called “The Champion of Orthodoxy.” .The famous Athanasian Creed is named after him. Impr. 116 pgs 3 Illus, PB

Saint  Athanasius of Alexandria is one of the greatest saints in the history of the Church and perhaps the single greatest champion of the Divinity of Christ. From an early age, he was marked for the clerical life, and even for becoming the successor of the Patriarch of Alexandria. Although still a deacon under thirty years of age, he was present in 325 at the First Council of Nicaea as the secretary of Patriarch Alexander, playing a great part in the promulgation of the “consubstantiality” of the Son and the Father. Soon after, Athanasius succeeded in the Patriarchate and became the most prominent and aggressive defender of Trinitarian orthodoxy against Arianism, which said that the Son was not God but a creature.

He underwent no fewer than five exiles and multiple rigged trials, standing up to emperors and numerous Eastern bishops who supported some form of Arianism. It goes without saying that Athanasius’s faith and dedication to Christ was undying to the last. Saint Athanasius the Father of Orthodoxy details the life of this holy and excellent bishop, Doctor of the Church, and Champion of Orthodoxy in a way accessible to young and old alike. Let the reading of this great saint’s life fill you with zeal for the truths of the faith and gain you a powerful heavenly intercessor.

F. A. Forbes was the pen name of Mother Frances Alice Monica Forbes (1869–1936) of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Raised a Scottish Presbyterian but converting when she was 31, she soon became a nun. Her multiple biographies of saints written around the turn of the last century featured prominently in English-language Catholic literature. Her works, including Saint Athanasius the Father of Orthodoxy, continue to inspire to this day.