Forbes, F. A. St. Athanasius. Standard-Bearers of the Faith. London; Glasgow: R. & T. Washbourne, Ltd., 1919. 978-0-89555-623-3. $7.59 98 pages
Raphael Mnkandhla
Chapter One: A Foreshadowing
This chapter introduces the reader to Alexandria the city where Athanasiu grew up
· It starts with Alexander looking back at the persecuted church relishing on examples of Bishop Peter the last martyr.
· While he waits for guests, he notices boys playing and enacting the baptism of catechumens and from there he takes young Athanasius under him as a disciple.
· Athanasius is seen as a young man who is keen to learn already wants to be a priest and knows the cost through peter.
· He is taken in a secretary by Alexander to learn and eventually becomes his advisor and is taken to Nicea
Chapter Two: Arius the Heresiarch
· This chapter introduces Arius who was at first deposed by the Bishop Peter because of his support of Meletians. After a vision from God of Christ’s garments torn Peter warns Alexander and Achilles not to restore Arius but they went against his counsel after his martyrdom and set him over one of the largest churches.
· Arius and Alexander never saw eye to eye and this the heresy started.
· After the bishop Alexander deposed of Arius, he went to gain support of Eusebius who was close to the emperor.
· The emperor had been given victory through the sign of the cross and had become a Catechumen. Constantine was deceived by Eusebius who argued it was his role to bring Arius and Alexander to reconcile. Wanting peace, he called for the council Nicaea to gather.
· Alexander was old and Athanasius accompanied him and was accused of advising him
Chapter Three: The Great Council
· The chapter begins by listing all the attendants of Nicaea and Athanasius is included.
· Constantine was there taking a humble posture as a servant who wants to see peace prevail in the church.
· Also present is Alexander, Arius arguing Jesus is not God and Athanasius is there as the deacon who is given an opportunity to speak by Alexander.
· Eusebius argues the Arians believes everything the church believes but after some time the Arians are opposed
· Hosius draws up the Nicene creed, those present with the emperor approves the creed and he declared that any who go against will be condemned promising he will uphold the law.
· The chapter ends with the emperor seeing through the deceit of Eusebius who had erased his name from the signed creed
Chapter Four: The Calm Before The Storm
This chapter describes the calm and accomplishments made before Athanasius and the church face persecution.
· Constantine begins to build the churches
· Alexander dies and installs Athanasius as bishop at the age of 30.
· Athanasius helps establish the church in Ethiopia
· Pachomius is a monk of influence and he becomes friends with Athanasius. The friendship of monks is a strength to him in times of trouble.
Chapter Five: False Witnesses
Constantine begins to waver in his loyalty to the Nicene Creed under Eusebius’s persuasion.
· He is convinced to hear Arius who confirms that he believes what the church believes. Eusebius and Arius are restored, and Constantine proves changeable.
· They begin to depose other bishops and install Arians to gain power.
· Their main target is Athanasius and the following are accusations against Athanasius his main enemy being Eusebius who was close to Constantine.
o Eusebius fought for Arius to be received for communion and Athanasius refused. Eusebius wrote to the emperor arguing he is too young and he should be threatened with exile. Athanasius replied the emperor and persuaded him it was not right.
o Meletians and Arians accused Athanasius of
§ stealing taxes
§ the Meletians accuses him of rebellion
§ Anthony visited him to encourage and draw a line to condemn the Arians
§ Accused of breaking the chalice the man who had not been ordained
§ Accused of killing Arsenious and Athanasius is summoned to come to Nicomedia. Arsenious is found presented in court the next time.
Chapter Six: A Royal-Hearted Exile
Eusebius continues accusing Athanasius.
· Athanasius is accused to being violent killing Arsenious who is brought up to show he is alive, after this they accuse him of magic.
· Athanasius accused by the Arians and called to trial knew that he wouldn’t gain a fair trial and he met Constantine to give him a fair trial.
· With the Arians having already deposed Athanasius, in front of Constantine they accused Athanasius for preventing grain to go to Constantinople which infuriated Constantine.
· Athanasius is banished for the first time. Antony even wrote to Constantine appealing to him and he refused
· In exile Athanasius continued to pastor through writing.
· Alexander was forced to admit Arius into communion, having prayed and fasted Arius died before partaking.
· Eusebius elected Gregory for bishop who used force to try to control people. All who resisted were killed scourged
· Athanasius was exiled in Rome.
Chapter Seven: The Day of Rejoicing
After four years of tyrant the Alexandrians killed Gregory.
· Even after Eusebius died, the Arians drew up their own creed, but it was rejected. In response they formed their own council
· The council of Sardica declared Athanasius innocent
· Pope Julius wrote you the Alexandrians and they rejoiced at his coming back
· Pope Julius in praise of their Patriarch. “If precious metals,” he wrote, “such as gold and silver, are tried in the fire, what can we say of so great a man, who has been through so many perils and afflictions, and who returns to you, having been declared innocent by the judgment of the whole Synod? Receive, therefore, beloved, with all joy and glory to God, your Bishop Athanasius.” Never had Alexandria seen such rejoicings. The people thronged forth from the city to meet their exiled Patriarch, singing hymns of rejoicing, waving branches of trees, and throwing rich carpets upon the road along which he was to pass. Every little hillock was crowded with people thirsting for a sight of that beloved face and figure. It was six years since they had seen him, and what had they not suffered during his absence? ( 79-80)
· Athanasius resumed work to strengthen the church, he pardoned those who were led astray and restored the work of the church.
· The present moment was the Patriarch’s, and he determined to use it to the full. The Bishops of Egypt gathered round him; widows and orphans were provided for; the poor housed and fed, and the faithful warned against false doctrines. The churches were not large enough to hold the crowds that flocked to them. It was a time of peace which God vouchsafed to His people to strengthen them for the coming storm. ( 80)
· This was short time of peace which Athanasius took advantage of to ordain more bishops and write to the monks who looked for guidance from him.
· Letters from Athanasius were a powerful weapon in defence of the truth. ( 81)
· Constans killed and Constantias who had pledged loyalty to Athanasius turned on him
· Athanasius yielded to leading Easter in a building that had not been dedicated and this brought charges.
· Syriannus came to Alexandria and at midnight he was surrounded
· In the dim light of the sanctuary Athanasius sat on the Bishop’s throne, calm and unmoved in the midst of the tumult. “Read the 135th Psalm,” he said to one of the deacons, “and when it is finished all will leave the church.” The words rang out through the building with their message of hope and confidence and were answered by the people. (84)
· Into the darkness of the winter’s night he fled, an exile and a fugitive once more. (85)
Chapter Eight The Invisible Patriarch
The bishops who had sided with nicea had been exiled
· St. Anthony, over a hundred years old, was on his death-bed. His monks, crowding round the dying Saint, groaned over the evil days that had befallen the Church.“Fear not,” replied the old man, “for this power is of the earth and cannot last. As for the sufferings of the Church, was it not so from the beginning, and will it not be so until the end? Did not the Master Himself say, ‘They have persecuted Me, they will persecute you also’?” Did not the “perils from false brethren” begin even in the lifetime of those who had been the companions of Christ? And yet, had not the Master Himself promised that, although she must live in the midst of persecution, He would be with His Church for ever, and that the gates of Hell should not prevail against her?’ 9 (87-88)
· In Alexandria Athanasius was declared a runaway, yet people were loyal to him as their bishop. Athanasius was denounced as a “run-away, an evil-doer, a cheat and an impostor, deserving of death.” Letters came from the Emperor ordering all the churches in the city to be given up to the Arians, and requiring the people to receive without objections the new Patriarch whom he would shortly send them.(88-89)
· Things got worse under the Arians. Churches were burned, tortured and Arians were installed
· constantias sent George to take Athanasius place. George was so dishonest, pork butcher who wanted to make money
· They had not long to wait. Even Gregory had been humane compared with George of Cappadocia. Monasteries were burned down; Bishops, priests, virgins, widows—all, in fact, who were faithful to the Church—were insulted, tortured or slain. Many died in consequence of the treatment they had received; others were forced into compliance. The troops of the Emperor, with an Arian at their head, were there to do George’s bidding. ( 90-91)
· Athanasius was invisible, but his voice could not be silenced, and it was a voice that moved the world. Treatise after treatise in defense of the true faith; letter after letter to the Bishops of Egypt, to his friends, and to the faithful, were carried far and wide by the hands of trusty messengers. The Arians had the Roman Emperor on their side, but the pen of Athanasius was more powerful than the armies of Constantius. ( 91-92)
· For six years he eluded those who searched for him because the monks hid him and were willing to die for them as one of their own. He was always warned on time.
· The Arians gave the title eternal to constantias the title that they didn’t give to Christ. Arians made statement and eventually argued that they never meant that Jesus Christ was not a creature only that he was a different kind of creature. They called themselves Semi- Arians.
· Constantius was dead, and that his nephew Julian had succeeded him as Emperor. The moment of reckoning had come. George was seized by the pagan population and literally torn to pieces; his body was burnt, and its ashes scattered to the winds. ( 95)
· Julian the apostate declared himself a pagan. He allowed everyone to practice religion as they wanted. His methods were different. Privileges were granted to the pagans which were denied to the Church; the Galileans, as Julian called the Christians, were ridiculed, and paganism praised as the only religion worthy of educated men.
· The results were not what the Emperor had expected, and he complained bitterly that there were so few who responded to his efforts to enlighten them. As for the Church, she knew at least what she had to expect; an open enemy is less dangerous than a false friend. ( 96)
Chapter Nine: A Short-Lived Peace
Athanasius has a short-lived peace but he took advantage of it. He pardoned the people that had been deceived of Arianism.l
· He returned after 6 years. Many pagans who had watched the behavior of the Christians under persecution now came forward and asked to join the Church, amongst them some Greek ladies of noble family whom Athanasius himself instructed and baptized. News of this reached the ears of the Emperor Julian, who was already furious at the influence that this Christian Bishop of Alexandria was exercising throughout the whole empire. (99)
· Julian sends a letter to the governor of Egypt to depose Athanasius. The Patriarch had been barely eight months in Alexandria when the Governor of Egypt received a message from his Royal master. “Nothing that I could hear of would give me greater pleasure,” he wrote, “than the news that you have driven that miscreant out of the country.” (100)
· The people were inconsolable, but Athanasius comforted them. “This time it is only a passing cloud,” he said; “it will soon be over.” Then, recommending his flock to the most trusted of his clergy, he left the city, an exile once more. It was not a moment too soon. Scarcely had he vanished when the messengers of Julian arrived. ( 101)
· Athanasius runs to the desert and Julian kept on with his paganism.
Chapter Ten: The Last Exile
Athanasius is led to exile again but welcomed all at Hermopolis. Julian was persistent in finding him and seemed he would succeed but news came that he had died and replaced by Jovian.
· Jovian was on Athanasius side he wrote to him. “Jovian—to Athanasius, the faithful servant of God,” it ran. “As we are full of admiration for the holiness of your life, and your zeal in the service of Christ our Saviour, we take you from this day forth under our Royal protection. We are aware of the courage which makes you count as nothing the heaviest labours, the greatest dangers, the sufferings of persecution, and the fear of death. You have fought faithfully for the Truth, and edified the whole Christian world, which looks to you as a model of every virtue. It is therefore our desire that you should return to your See and teach the doctrine of salvation. Come back to your people, feed the flock of Christ, and pray for our person, for it is through your prayers that we hope for the blessing of God.” (110-111)
· The Arians tried to accuse him and Jovian argued for Athanasius.
· Jovian had been but a few months on the throne, when he died suddenly on his way from Antioch to Constantinople. He was succeeded by Valentinian, who, unfortunately for the peace of the Church, chose his brother Valens to help him in the government, taking the West for his own share of the empire, and leaving the East to his brother. (113)
· Athanasius faced persecution again with the governor looking for him. For four long months he remained in concealment, at the end of which time the Governor, fearing an outbreak amongst the people, for the whole of Egypt was in a ferment, persuaded Valens to let him return in peace to his see. ( 116)
Chapter Eleven: The Truce of God
The people wanted Athanasius as their bishop and this time whenever the emperor tried to install another bishop the people were in uproar.
· His pen was still busy. One of his first acts on his return to Alexandria was to write the life of St. Anthony, a last tribute of love and gratitude to the memory of his dear old friend. The book was eagerly read; we are told in the “Confessions of St. Augustine” how two young officers of the Imperial army, finding it on the table of a certain hermitage near Milan and reading it, were so inspired by enthusiasm for the religious life that they embraced it then and there. ( 118)
· Many of the persecuted Bishops looked to Athanasius for the comfort and encouragement which they never sought in vain. He was always ready to forget the past, and to make advances even to those who had been his bitterest enemies. Let them only accept the creed of Nicæa, he said, and he would admit them to communion. ( 118-119.)
· Athanasius corresponded with Basil who was also being hard pressed by the Arians and encouraged him. His example helped him to stand against the opposition.
· He continued to influence many through writing.
· In 366 Pope Liberius died, and was succeeded by Pope St. Damasus, a man of strong character and holy life. Two years later, in a Council of the Church, it was decreed that no Bishop should be consecrated unless he held the creed of Nicæa. Athanasius was overwhelmed with joy on hearing this decision. The triumph of the cause for which he had fought so valiantly was now assured. His life was drawing to an end. Five years later, after having governed his diocese for forty-eight years—years of labour, endurance, and suffering—he passed peacefully into the presence of that Lord for whose sake he had counted all his tribulations as joy. ( 123-124)
· Great summary of his life : From his earliest youth he bad stood forth as the champion of Truth and defender of the Faith—a gallant warrior who had not laid down his arms until the day of his death. Where a weaker man would have lost courage, he had stood firm; suffering had only served to temper his spirit, as steel is tempered by the fire. Amongst men who were capable of every compromise he had remained loyal and true, and few have been more loved or hated than he. To his own people he was not only their Bishop, but a Saint, an ascetic, a martyr in all but deed; above all, an intensely lovable personality, whose very greatness of soul only made him more compassionate. To the outside world he was a guiding light, a beacon pointing straight to God and Heaven. He was a living example of the truth that a man may be large-minded and yet strong; that he may hate error, yet love the erring—stand like a rock against heresy, yet be full of compassion for heretics.
· Scarcely was he dead when he was honoured as a Saint. Six years after his death, St. Gregory Nazianzen speaks of him in one breath with the patriarchs, prophets, and martyrs who had fought for the Faith and won the crown of glory. His influence is with us to this day, his memory lingers in the words of that Nicene Creed which was his war-cry; for it is largely owing to his valour that we possess it still. And through all his works breathes the same spirit—the spirit that nerved him to fight and suffer—an intense love and devotion to Him who was the Lord and Master of his life—Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. ( 124-125)