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Athanasius of Alexandria

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]

Also known as: Athanasius I · Saint Athanasius the Great · Athanasius the Apostolic · Saint Athanasius · Athanasius the Great

Published 10/2/2026Updated 2 revisionsPage history

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.12

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.”78

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.910

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.1314

References

Sources

  1. 1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 723)
    ATHANASIUS I, the Apostolic Saint, twentieth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (326-373). ... Athanasius was probably born in Alexandria around the year 296 ... It is possible that his early education took place in the CATECHETICAL SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA; it is also possible that he could have attended classes in the Museon where he became conversant with Neoplatonism.
  2. 2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 730)
    Together with the discomfiture of Arianism and the firm establishment of the Nicene Creed, Athanasius, through his relations with the Pachomian monks and Serapion, was able to give monasticism and ascetic life in Egypt tremendous encouragement and support. ... As a biographer of Saint Antony, he dedicated his life of the great saint to the people of Gaul and Italy. His theology remained the solid rock on which future generations of theologians continued to build. He was canonized, and the next generation described him as the Apostolic and the Great.
  3. 3.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 9)
    Athanasius was always considered a central figure not only in the Egyptian tradition in general but also (after CHALCEDON) in the specifically Coptic tradition. He was seen both as the founder of the Egyptian church as a well-defined autochthonous entity and as the champion of orthodoxy, of which the Egyptian church then became the depositary.
  4. 4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 729)
    In 365, Valens ordered the expulsion of the bishops that had been allowed to return by Julian. ... Athanasius quietly made his escape through the Church of Saint Dionysius and took refuge for the next four months in a house outside the city. This short period might be considered a fifth and self-inflicted exile. It was terminated by the advent of an imperial notary named Barasides, who came forth with another imperial order for the release of the prelate and his return to his episcopal throne. From the time of his return to Alexandria until his death in May 373, Athanasius was occupied by disp
  5. 5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 445)
    The essentials of the teaching of Apollinarius had already been condemned in a synod held in Alexandria under the chairmanship of Saint Athanasius the Apostolicos in 362. It should be noted here that Saint Athanasius of Alexandria defended the full and perfect divinity of Jesus the Christ against Arius, and he was also the one who defended the full and perfect humanity of Jesus the Christ against Apollinarius.
  6. 6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 729)
    He received an encouraging letter from the new emperor Jovian (363-364) instructing him to exercise the duties of his episcopal office and prepare a formal statement delineating the Orthodox elements of the faith. Athanasius at once summoned a council, which, under his leadership, framed a synodal epistle that affirmed the Nicene Creed and condemned Arianism and Semi-Arianism, while it denounced the triple definition of the hypostasis and maintained the coequality of the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son.
  7. 7.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 46)
    This basic distinction between Christian baptism and earlier baptisms was clearly brought out in the writings of the early fathers. ... Similar interpretations permeate the writings of other Fathers, such as ATHANASIUS of Alexandria (c. 296-373) in the Treatise on Matthew 3, CYRIL OF JERUSALEM (c. 315-386) in Catechetical Lecture 3 and 4, and Augustine (354-430) in Epistle 51.
  8. 8.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 341)
    Likewise, ATHANASIUS of Alexandria (c. 296-373) likened the singing of Psalms to a "balm which heals the spirit."
  9. 9.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 730)
    Athanasius is known to have written most of his works in Greek ... Athanasius, like many educated Copts, was proficient in both Greek and Coptic. ... While Athanasius was still in his twenties, around the year 318, he wrote two short treatises: Against the Gentiles and De Incarnatione Verbi Dei
  10. 10.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 723)
    These include his historical tracts, encyclicals, an apology to Constantine, another apology against the Arians, his letters to Serapion and to the monks, and his festal letters
  11. 11.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 380)
    The little that is known about Syncletica is furnished by a Vita sanctae Syncleticae, transmitted by numerous Greek manuscripts, that at a late date was arbitrarily attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria. It is modeled on the Vita sancti Antonii, which probably explains this incorrect attribution.
  12. 12.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 9)
    Coptic literary tradition therefore devoted great attention to Athanasius, creating around him a web of events based on historically attested episodes, which soon gave way to a complex, but still fairly unified, legend. This legend included two exiles, one in lonely, barbarian lands, the other in the Egyptian desert, where he was hidden by some monks ... Of the former category, two have been preserved: the Life of Athanasius ... and the Encomium of Athanasius attributed to CYRIL I of Alexandria. The texts whose authorship was credited directly to Athanasius are mostly homilies of a moral natur
  13. 13.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 7 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 121)
    ATHANASIUS I THE APOSTOLIC (feast day: 7 Bashans), fourth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
  14. 14.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 730)
    According to the Copto-Arabic Synaxarion, his commemoration date occurs on 30 Tut.

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