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href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vaW1nMTgyLmltYWdlc2 hhY2sudXMvbXkucGhwP2ltYWdlPTN0cmlhbnRhZmlsbGFsajUuZ2lm" target="_blank">Although Saint Athanasios was, according to English historian Gibbon, more capable of ruling the Roman Empire than all of the sons of Constantine, nevertheless for all his greatness he remained one of the most tragic figures of the early Christian era. Of small stature and boundless vigor, Athanasios rose to prominence in the hierarchy, yet remained at heart an unworldly and unyielding monk. He was at the center of religious strife in a critical period of early Christianity and was in out of favor with the emperors perhaps in one of the stormiest career of any clergyman.Born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 297 A.D., Athanasios was associated with the Alexandrian chancery at an early age, having been ordained deacon in the year 319 and subsequently made a priest. His brilliance was shown in his sermons "Against the Arians", written to answer the widely spreading heresy of Arianism which had been condemned in 318 by a local synod. According to Arius, an elderly priest of Alexandria, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were three separate essences or substances, which is contrary to Orthodox teaching. The spread of Arianism prompted Emperor Constantine to convene the First Ecumenical Synod in Nicaea (325 A.D.), where Athanasios brilliantly opposed the false doctrine of Arius. Nevertheless, the controversy was to last for another two centuries. The conciliatory tone of the Synod of Nicaea was not enough to put an end to the heresy; Arius would not comply with its decisions and thus fled to Palestine.At the age of thirty Athanasios was made bishop of Alexandria. Although Arius assured the emperor that he accepted the Creed of Nicaea, the suspicious Athanasios defied the imperial order for Arius' reinstatement. For this he was banished, taking refuge in Treves, France, the place of his first exile, from which he returned in 337 after Constantine's death. The same year though, his enemies conspired to have him again banished by a synod in Antioch. Athanasios, eluding those who would have him imprisoned, traveled to Rome to plead his case before Pope Julius I. Although a council at Sardica favored Athanasios, he did not return from exile until 345, after the death of the usurper Bishop Gregory.Once again his enemies sprang into action and at a council in Milan in 355, Athanasios was deposed. Thus, after ten years of fruitful rule, he took refuge with the monks of the Egyptian desert whom he greatly admired and whom he had befriended. While with the monks he wrote the "History of the Arian Heresy", which displays his vehemence and ironic humor.In 361 A.D. Athanasios was again restored as bishop of Alexandria and immediately resumed his struggle against Arianism. After a series of lengthy and complicated discussions, councils, synods, and other forums of debate, a creedal formula was adopted which satisfied those whose middle view led them to be called Semi-Arians. Peace had hardly arrived when another storm came in the form of the regeneration of paganism under the Emperor Julian the Apostate. In the autumn of 363, Athanasios was again put to flight, only to return a short time later, after the death of the emperor. He enjoyed a comparative calm until he was removed by Emperor Valens during another resurgence of paganism. Four months later, the aging bishop was recalled and allowed to live out his life in comparative peace.Greatly admired by the Orthodox and hated by the heretics he so adamantly opposed, Athanasios stirred the emotions of the Christians as perhaps no other Father of the Church. His theological doctrine in clear and uncomplicated in the strictest Orthodox tradition, and his encouragement of monasticism was a labor of love. He died May 2, 373.