Athanasius

Life

Athanasius was born in Alexandria, Egypt. As a young man he studied under Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, and became a deacon (a cleric who assists the bishop). In 325 he accompanied Alexander to the Council of Nicaea. In 328 he succeeded Alexander as bishop of Alexandria and held that office until his death in 373.

During his episcopate he was exiled five times under pressure from emperors and his opponents. His periods of exile are reported to have totaled about seventeen years.

Ministry and Contributions

• The Arian controversy: Arianism regarded the Son as a creature made by the Father. Against this view, Athanasius spent his life defending the confession of the Nicene Creed that the Son is "of one substance" (homoousios, meaning "of the same essence") with the Father. This position later became the foundation for the formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity.
• Writings: In On the Incarnation of the Word, he explained that the Word of God became man—that is, the Incarnation—in order to save fallen humanity. His other works include Orations Against the Arians and the Life of Antony, which contributed to the spread of monasticism.
• The canon list: In his Easter letter of 367 to the churches (the Thirty-Ninth Festal Letter), he listed as canonical the twenty-seven books of the New Testament recognized today. This is regarded as the earliest surviving document to give exactly this twenty-seven-book list. In the same letter he set apart works such as the Didache and The Shepherd of Hermas as books that, though not canonical, were suitable reading for those newly receiving instruction in the faith.
• The Athanasian Creed bears his name. Scholars, however, generally regard it as a document composed in the Latin-speaking West in the fifth or sixth century.

Influence on the Korean Church

Korean Protestant denominations, regardless of tradition, confess the divinity of Jesus Christ and the Trinity. Seminary courses in church history and doctrine treat the Nicene Creed and Athanasius as the historical roots of this faith. The twenty-seven New Testament books used by Korean churches are likewise identical to the list he set forth. Similarly, the practice among Korean denominations of treating the doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ as key criteria in deliberations on declarations of heresy stands in continuity with the Nicene tradition.

Assessment

The Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Coptic Orthodox Church venerate him as a saint and Church Father. Protestants also hold him in high regard as a Church Father who upheld orthodox Christology. Many use the phrase "Athanasius against the world" (Athanasius contra mundum) to honor his steadfast confession of faith in the face of political power.

He has also drawn criticism. During his lifetime, his opponents accused him of violence and abuse of authority. The Synod of Tyre condemned him in 335, though his supporters regarded the verdict as the result of slander by his opponents. Some modern historians take a critical view of his treatment of opponents and his political conduct. They also note that much of the source material on his era comes from his own polemical writings and should therefore be read with a balanced perspective.