19. Athanasius of Alexandria The results of the incarnation of Jesus are such and so many who try to list them could be compared to those who contemplate the vastness of the sea and tries to tell their waves. (Athanasius of Alexandria) Among the many people who attended the Council of Nicaea a young Alexandrian deacon of dark complexion and short in stature as his enemies mocked him calling dwarf was. It was Athanasius, Secretary Alejandro, who would soon become one of the central figures of the dispute, and the main and most staunch defender of the Nicene faith. The early years It is impossible to know the exact venue and date of birth of Athanasius, although it seems to have been in a small village or town of little importance on the Nile, around the year 299. Since spoke Coptic, which was the language of the original inhabitants of the region that had been conquered by the Greeks and Romans, and since his complexion was dark, like the Copts, it is likely that belonged to that group, and therefore social background is in the lower classes of Egypt. Certainly Atanasio never pretended to be distinguished person, not versed in the subtleties of Greco-Roman culture. We also know that from an early date Athanasius was closely related to the desert monks. Jerome tells us that our character gave him a cloak Paul the Hermit. And Athanasius himself, who wrote the Life of San Antonio, says he used to visit this famous monk and wash hands. This last detail has suggested to some that a child Athanasius served Antonio. While this is possible, we only have evidence of it, and therefore it is risky to insure. But what is indisputable is that throughout his life Athanasius had close relations with the monks of the desert, that more than once protected him against the authorities, as we shall see. Athanasius learned monks rigid discipline to his person and an austerity that won him the admiration of his friends and at least the respect of his enemies. Of all the opponents of Arianism, Athanasius was the scariest. And this not because his logic was more subtle and which it was not because his style was not the most polished which was-not because Athanasius was endowed with great political skill which did not was- but because Athanasius was near the village, and lived their faith and religion without the subtleties of the Arians or the funeral of many other bishops of large venues. His monastic discipline, its popular roots, her fiery spirit and deep conviction made him invincible. Even before the outbreak of the Arian controversy, Athanasius had written two books, a Contra Gentiles, and other About the Incarnation of the Word. Nothing in these works of speculation Clement or Origen. But there is a deep conviction that the central fact of the Christian faith, and of all human history, is the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The presence of God among humanity, made man: this is the crux of Christianity as Athanasius understand. In a beautiful passage, Athanasius compares the incarnation of the emperors visit in a city. The emperor decides to visit her, and takes residence of the houses thereof. The result is that not only the house, but the whole city, honored and receive special protection, so that the bandits do not dare to attack. Likewise, the Monarch of the universe has come to visit our human city, living in one of our houses, and thanks to its presence in Jesus all of us were protected from attacks and wiles of the devil. Now, under the visitation of God in Jesus Christ, we are free to become what God wants us to be, that is, beings capable of living in communion with Him. As seen, the presence of God in history was the central element of faith of Athanasius, as it has been for so many other Christians through the centuries. Therefore, it should not surprise us that Athanasius saw in the Arian doctrines a serious threat to the Christian faith. Indeed, what Arius was saying was that whoever had come in Jesus Christ was not God himself, but an inferior being, a creature. The Word was the first of Gods creatures, but always a creature. Such views could not accept, as Athanasius could not accept the monks who had retreated to the desert for the love of God incarnate, or parishioners who gathered to participate in the liturgy that Athanasius going. For him, the Arian controversy was not a matter of theological subtleties, but had to do with the center of the Christian faith. When Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, sick unto death, everyone assumed that Athanasius would be his successor. But Athanasius, but did not want to live quietly offering the sacraments and worship with the people retired to the desert. On his deathbed, Alexander sought him, probably to make them see the audience that wanted Athanasius to happen; but Athanasius was not there. Finally, several weeks after the death of Alexander, and against the wishes of Athanasius himself, the young pastor was elected bishop of Alexandria. The year was 328, and that same year the emperor Constantine lifted the sentence of exile against Arius. Arianism was beginning to gain ground, and the fight was brewing. The first exile Eusebius of Nicomedia and other Arian leaders knew that Athanasius was one of his most fearsome enemies. Therefore, soon began to do everything possible to destroy, circulating rumors in the sense that practiced magic, and tyrannized his subjects among Christians of Egypt. Finally Constantine ordered him to appear before a council meeting in Tyre, where they would have to answer serious charges. In particular, he was accused of killing a man named Arsenio, bishop of a rival sect, and have cut out to use in magical rites. Athanasius was a kick, as he was ordered, and after hearing the accusation was made against him enter the room to an undercover man with a big blanket. After making sure that several of those present knew Arsenio, did discover the face of hooded, and his accusers were confused by recognizing the bishop who allegedly had been killed. Soon, however, someone said that although Athanasius had not killed Arsenio, yes had cut his hand. At the insistence of the assembly, Athanasius discovered one of the hands of Arsenio, and showed that it was intact. It was the other! Shouted some of those present, who had been persuaded by rumors thrown to roll down the Arians. Then Athanasius showed that Arsenios other hand was also in place, and sarcastically asked, Tell me, what kind of monster think is Arsenio, who has three hands At these words, some burst out laughing, while others could not but say that the Arians had been tricked. The council ended in complete disarray, and Athanasius was free. The Bishop of Alexandria took this opportunity to present its case before the emperor. He went to Constantinople and one day before the horse jumped the Emperor, he grabbed the bridle, and not let go until Constantine promised to give it a hearing. Perhaps due to the influence of Eusebius of Nicomedia in court such methods were necessary. But who knew Constantino know that in that action the young bishop had won both the respect and hatred of the emperor. When some time later Eusebius of Nicomedia told Constantine Athanasius had boasted to stop shipments of wheat from Alexandria to Constantinople, Constantine believed what the Arian bishop said, and ordered that Athanasius was exiled to Trier, in the West. But soon after Constantine died -after being baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia- and was succeeded by his three sons Constantine II, Constans and Constantius. The three brothers after the killing of all his relatives to which we referred earlier, decided that all bishops were exiled for his opposition to Arianism could return to their offices, and Athanasius was able to return from exile. The many vicissitudes But the return of Athanasius to Alexandria was not the end but the beginning of a lifetime of struggle and repeated exiles. In Alexandria there were some who supported the Arians, and now said that Athanasius was not the legitimate bishop of that city. Who intended to qualify for this position was a certain Gregory, Arian, who had the support of the government. Since Athanasius did not want to give the churches, Gregory decided to take them by force, and therefore such outrages occurred Athanasius decided that, in order to avoid further insults and profanities, was better than he was absent from the city and you left the field open to Gregorio. However, when he arrived at the port and tried to get passage, he discovered that the governor had forbidden to leave the city, or to be offered passage to do so. He finally managed to convince one of the captains to get him secretly harbor of Alexandria, and take him to Rome. The exile of Athanasius in Rome was fruitful, as both the Nicene as the Arians had asked the Bishop of Rome, Julius, who lend their support. Now the presence of Athanasius greatly contributed to the triumph of the Nicene cause in that city, and finally assembled a synod declared that it was the rightful bishop Athanasius of Alexandria, and Gregory was a usurper. Although for now, given the political situation, this did not mean he could return to Alexandria Athanasius, yes meant that the Western church lent him moral support, with which Gregory could not tell. Finally, after a long series of negotiations, Constant, who had been left as sole emperor in the West after the death of his brother Constantine II, appealed to his other brother, Constantius, who ruled in the East, that he be allowed to Athanasius back to his city. Since then Constancio had reason to try to win the friendship of his brother, acceded to the requests of the latter, and again Athanasius was able to return to Alexandria. The excesses of Gregory in Alexandria had been such that people now Athanasius received as a hero or a liberator. People took to the streets to acclaim. And the monks descended from desert to welcome you. In those samples in popularity of Athanasius, his enemies dared not attack him directly for some time, and Athanasius and the Church of Alexandria enjoyed a period of relative peace which lasted ten years, during which Athanasius strengthened partnerships with other Orthodox bishops through a voluminous correspondence, and also wrote several treatises against the Arians. But the Arian Emperor Constantius was decided, and was willing to get rid of the champion of the Nicene faith. While Constant lived, Constancio dared not openly attack Athanasius. After such a Magnentius tried to usurp the throne West, and Constantius was forced to concentrate their efforts in the campaign against him. Finally, in 353, Constantius felt strong enough to unleash their proarriana policy. By force was forcing all bishops to accept the Arian doctrine. It is said that when he ordered a group of bishops condemn Athanasius responded that they could not do, since the canons of the church for an order prohibiting someone without giving him a chance to defend himself. This angered the Emperor replied: My will is also a canon of the church. In view of this attitude by the Emperor, many bishops signed the condemnation of Athanasius, and those who refused to do so were sent into exile. In the meantime, Constancio did everything possible to alienate Athanasius of Alexandria, where it was too popular. He wrote a letter saying she was willing to give the audience that he had asked. But Athanasius replied politely that there had been a mistake, because he had not requested an audience with the emperor, and in any case not want to waste the time of his master. The emperor then sent concentrate on Alexandria legions all available nearby, fearing that an uprising occurred. Once the troops were available, the governor ordered Athanasius, on behalf of the emperor, to abandon the city. Athanasius replied by showing the old written order in which Constantius gave him permission to return to Alexandria, and told the governor that certainly must be some mistake, because the emperor could not contradict that. Later, when Athanasius was celebrating communion in one of its churches, the governor did surround the temple, and suddenly burst into the sanctuary in front of a group of armed soldiers. The tumult was huge, but Athanasius did not flinch, but ordered the faithful to sing Psalm 136, For His mercy endures forever. Soldiers way through the crowd opened, while some sang and others tried to escape. About Athanasius pastors who were present formed a circle. Athanasius refused to flee until it is sure that her flock was safe. In the end, amid the tumult, Athanasius fainted, and it was then that his clerics took to get her away from church and put it safe. Thereafter, Athanasius appeared to be a ghost. Everywhere he was wanted; but authorities could not find him. What had happened was that he had taken refuge among the monks of the desert. These monks had ways of communicating with each other, and each time the emperors officers approached the hiding place of the bishop simply made him move to another monastery. For five years Athanasius lived among the monks of the desert. And during those five years the Nicene cause suffered heavy blows. The imperial policy is no longer hiding in supporting the Arians. By force, several synods were in favor of Arianism. In the end, to the elderly Osio de Córdoba and Bishop of Rome, Liberius signed confessions of Arian faith. Although there were many bishops and other church leaders who were convinced that Arianism was not acceptable, it was difficult to oppose when the state supported him so strongly. Finally a council held at Sirmium enacted what later Blasphemy of Sirmium, which was a document that openly rejected the faith proclaimed at the Council of Nicea was called. Constancio unexpectedly died, and was succeeded by Julian the Apostate. Since Julian had no interest in supporting either of the two contending sides simply ordered all orders issued against exiled bishops were canceled. The purpose of Juliano was that the two sides mutually them bleed while he went ahead with its program to restore paganism. But in any case the result of the advent of Juliano power Athanasius was able to return to Alexandria and engage in theological urgent task of diplomacy. The theological agreement During his years of struggle, Athanasius had realized that the reason why many opposed the Nicene Creed was that they feared that the assertion that the Son was of the same substance of the Father could be understood as meaning that no distinction made between the Father and the Son. For that reason, some preferred to say, instead of of the same substance, similar substance. The two Greek words are homoousios (of the same substance) and homoiusios (similar substance). The Council of Nicea had said that the Son was homoousios with the Father. Now some said that although the declaration of the council seemed dangerous, were willing to say that the Son was homoiusios with the Father. Previously, Athanasius would have insisted only on the Nicene formula, and declared that those who insisted on saying similar substance were as heretics as the Arians. But now, after several years of experience, the old bishop of Alexandria was willing to see the legitimate concern of these Christians who, while not want to be Arians, were not willing to completely abandon any distinction between the Father and the Son, since that distinction was in the Bible and was church doctrine from its very inception. Now, through a series of negotiations, Athanasius came to these Christians, and showed them that the Nicene formula could be interpreted in a way that would do justice to the concerns of those who preferred to say similar substance. Finally, at a synod meeting in Alexandria in 362, Athanasius and his followers declared that it was acceptable to speak of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as a substance (a hypostasis), provided that this does not understand as if there were no distinction between the three, as well as three substances (three hypostasis), provided that this is not understood as if there were three gods. Based on this understanding, most of the church was gathering again in their support for the Council of Nicaea, until we shall see later, according to the Second Ecumenical Council, held at Constantinople in 381, ratified the Nicene doctrine. However Atanasio not live to see the final triumph of the cause to which he had devoted most of his life. Continue the vicissitudes Although Julian was determined not to persecute Christians, they soon began to disturb the news that arrived from Alexandria. In other cities the restoration of paganism marched more or less slowly. But in Alexandria was not going. Indeed, the bishop of that city, while devoted to heal the wounds caused by long years of controversy, is also dedicated to strengthening the church. His reputation was such that programs Juliano had no success. Moreover, the old bishop openly opposed to the designs of the emperor, and that opposition inspired the masses. In view of all this, Julian decided to send Athanasius to a new exile. After a series of episodes that do not need to tell here, it became clear that Julian wanted Athanasius leave, not only Alexandria, but also Egypt. Athanasius was forced to accede to the former, since in the city there was really nowhere to hide. But he decided to stay in Egypt, hiding once again among the monks. To avoid this, the imperial troops were ordered to arrest him. It was then that occurred the famous episode narrated below. Athanasius was in a boat which traced the Nile, heading the dwellings of the monks, when the boat faster, leading to the soldiers pursuing him came. Have you seen Athanasius? Cried the other boat. Yes, he answered them Athanasius in all truth, he goeth before you, and if you apresuráis you will give scope. At news, the officer ordered the rowing hasten the pace, and soon left behind Athanasius and his. As we have seen, however, the reign of Julian did not last long. At his death happened Jovian, who, besides being tolerant of all parties in dispute, felt a deep admiration for Athanasius. Again the Alexandrian bishop was recalled from exile, but could not stay long at its headquarters before the new emperor called him to Antioch, to the famous Bishop instruct you about the true faith. When he finally returned to Alexandria Athanasius, it seemed that his long string of exiles had come to an end. But still remained to Atanasio one more, because a few months Jovian died and his successor, Valente defender Arians said. For various reasons there were riots in Alexandria and Athanasius, fearing that the new emperor blamed for these riots, and to try to take revenge upon the faithful of the city, decided to retire again. But it soon became clear that Valente, while doing everything possible to restore the preponderance of Arianism not dare touch the venerable bishop of Alexandria. The experiences of Constantius and Julian sufficient to show that the small Athanasius was a giant who was best left alone. Therefore, Athanasius could stay in Alexandria, shepherding his flock, until death claimed him in the year Athanasius never saw the final triumph of the Nicene cause. But who read their works you will notice that your belief in the justice of this cause was such that always trusted that before or after his death, the Nicene faith be imposed. In fact, after the first struggles, Athanasius began to see around them in various regions of the empire, other giants began to rise towards the same cause.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 19:53:43 +0000
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