# Athanasius of Alexandria

Source: https://coptic-lore-forge.lovable.app/wiki/athanasius-of-alexandria — Coptic Orthodox Wiki (updated 2026-10-02)

Athanasius of Alexandria, known as the Apostolic and the Great, was the twentieth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, a defender of Nicene Christianity, and an influential theological writer.[^1][^2]

## Life and Patriarchate

Athanasius of Alexandria, known as the Apostolic and the Great, was the twentieth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark; his patriarchate is dated to 326–373. He was probably born in Alexandria around 296. His possible education at the Catechetical School of Alexandria is conjectural rather than established.[^1][^2]

His episcopal career included repeated exiles. In 365, amid renewed imperial pressure against bishops who had returned under Julian, he withdrew to a house outside Alexandria for four months. His biography describes this as a possible fifth exile, ending with an imperial order permitting his return. He subsequently devoted himself to theological disputes, church building, and writing until his death in May 373.[^4]

## Theological Teaching

Athanasius defended the full divinity of Christ against Arius and Christ’s full humanity against Apollinarius. A synod held under his chairmanship at Alexandria in 362 also condemned the essentials of Apollinarius’s teaching.[^5]

After receiving encouragement from Emperor Jovian, Athanasius convened a council whose synodal letter affirmed the Nicene Creed, condemned Arianism and Semi-Arianism, and maintained the coequality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son.[^6]

His teaching also addressed Christian worship and spiritual life. His *Treatise on Matthew 3* is associated with patristic interpretations distinguishing Christian baptism from John’s baptism. He also compared psalm singing to a “balm which heals the spirit.”[^7][^8]

## Writings and Monastic Connections

Athanasius wrote most of his works in Greek and was proficient in both Greek and Coptic. His early treatises *Against the Gentiles* and *De Incarnatione Verbi Dei* date to around 318. His writings also included historical tracts, apologies, letters to Serapion and to monks, and festal letters.[^9][^10]

Through his relationships with Pachomian monks and Serapion, he encouraged Egyptian monastic and ascetic life. His *Life of Antony* was dedicated to readers in Gaul and Italy.[^2]

Not every work transmitted under his name is accepted as his composition. The attribution of the *Life of Syncletica* to Athanasius is late and incorrect.[^11]

## Place in Coptic Tradition

Athanasius became a central figure in Egyptian Christian tradition and, after Chalcedon, in specifically Coptic tradition. He was remembered as a champion of orthodoxy and as a formative figure in the Egyptian church’s distinct identity.[^3]

Coptic literature developed a cycle of narratives around him, combining historically attested episodes with legend. Surviving works include a *Life of Athanasius* and an *Encomium of Athanasius* attributed to Cyril I of Alexandria; moral homilies were also transmitted under Athanasius’s name. The cycle’s account of two exiles belongs to this literary tradition rather than constituting a complete chronological biography.[^12]

## Commemoration

Athanasius I the Apostolic has different recorded commemoration dates. His feast is given as **7 Bashans** or **30 Tut**. The difference is not explained.[^13][^14]

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 723)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 730)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 9)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 729)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 445)
[^6]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 729)
[^7]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 46)
[^8]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 341)
[^9]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 730)
[^10]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 723)
[^11]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 380)
[^12]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 9)
[^13]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 121)
[^14]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 730)