Posted on 05/04/2025 5:41:25 PM PDT by ebb tide
On May 2, the Roman Catholic Church celebrated the feast of St. Athanasius the Great, a saint also known as the “Champion of Christ’s Divinity”, “Pillar of the Church”, and “Father of Orthodoxy”. As his hagiographers state, a great portion of St. Athanasius’ life was dedicated to the defense of the Blessed Trinity and the Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ amidst the heresy of Arianism (that denied the divinity of Jesus).
St. Athanasius lived during a period when much of the Church hierarchy fell into compromise or outright Arianism.
Even when many bishops and secular rulers fell into the Arian heresy, St. Athanasius remained staunch in his profession of Faith in the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
Even when he had to suffer persecution and exile, the faithful bishop neither abandoned his flock nor denied that Jesus Christ was both Man and God.
Even when false accusations were hurled at him, St. Athanasius remained a beacon of courage amid adversity.
Eventually, St. Athanasius’ fidelity to the Catholic Faith set the stage for the Church (back in his time) to revert to the path of doctrinal clarity.
In praise of this great saint, writer Kevin Tierney penned the following in an article on Catholic Exchange, saying:
“For me, Athanasius matters because of a popular phrase that is said to describe his life: Athanasius contra mundum, or Athanasius against the world. The stories of this struggle are well known. Whether it was the constant deposition and restoration of his patriarchy at Alexandria, six hundred Roman soldiers entering the front door of his Church to arrest him while he leaves out the back, or how he traveled all over the known world because of his constant exile, Athanasius is an example to all of us about the price and reward of absolute fidelity to the Gospel.”
Adding, Tierney stated:
“Yet what animated this zeal? Why was he willing to go to such great lengths? For Athanasius, the source of this belief was simple: God incarnate became man, and that has real consequences for our lives. Though simple, this view was quite radical for its time. Though the Roman Empire professed Christianity, and even had some pious emperors, most Caesars looked at religion as still primarily a political question. They had a global empire to manage, and in that empire there were many flavors of belief. Even when Christianity became the official religion of the empire, there existed various forms of Christianity, and not all of them orthodox. While sometimes there were attempts to foster unity and orthodoxy (see the Council of Nicaea), for the most part the Caesars advocated a go-along-to-get-along type of unity. This type of unity was unacceptable for Athanasius. If Jesus Christ was God, then what we think about Jesus is of primary importance towards the faith, because erring about Christ means erring about God. Furthermore, if Christ became man to show us a new way of living, then that meant that new way of living was both possible and mandatory. All had to be subservient to that new way of living.”
Fast forward to today, and we can see that St. Athanasius’ intercession is extremely important for the Catholic Church, who is currently facing yet another pivotal papal election in the days to come.
While St. Athanasius was never elected pontiff, his life and works demonstrated virtues and qualities needed in a holy Catholic pope for our current times; These virtues include his fortitude amidst persecution, a willingness to suffer (and even die) for the True Faith, as well as his fidelity to the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
In a world where Vatican officials seem to be proclaiming all creeds except the one true Catholic Faith, and where countries like Malta and Poland that claim to be “Catholic” have anti-Christian laws and leaders, St. Athanasius’s legacy continues to inspire faithful Catholics.
During the present crisis that the Catholic Church is facing today (in terms of doctrinal clarity, pastoral unity, the lack of a truly Catholic pope, and a great loss in priestly and religious vocations), St. Athanasius provides a model of sanctity, courage in face of trials, as well as pastoral solicitude.
For centuries, the Catholic Church has asked St. Athanasius’ intercession for defense against heresies and errors that threaten to undermine the True Faith. During the present crisis that the Catholic Church is facing today (in terms of doctrinal clarity, pastoral unity, the lack of a truly Catholic pope, and a great loss in priestly and religious vocations), St. Athanasius provides a model of sanctity, courage in face of trials, as well as pastoral solicitude.
In particular, during this interregnum period of Holy Mother Church (before the upcoming papal conclave on May 7), faithful Catholics can rely on St. Athanasius’ powerful intercession to beg Almighty God for a truly Catholic pope who will reinforce Catholic orthodoxy as revealed by Jesus Christ Himself.
And as we commemorate the feast of our great saint on May 2 in prayerful preparation for the impending papal conclave, let us also recite the first few words opening the Athanasian Creed:
“Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which faith, except everyone do keep entire and inviolate, without doubt he will perish everlastingly.”
St. Athanasius, pray for us.
Ping
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