Subj : May 2nd - St. Athanasius To : All From : rich Date : Sat May 01 2021 10:14:26 From: rich May 2nd - St. Athanasius The young Athanasius, whom the children designated as "bishop", performed the Baptism, precisely repeating the words he heard in church during this sacrament. Patriarch Alexander observed all this from a window. He then commanded that the children and their parents be brought to him. He conversed with them for a long while, and determined that the Baptism performed by the children was done according to the Church order. He acknowledged the Baptism as real and sealed it with the sacrament of Chrismation (sometimes called confirmation is the holy mystery by which a baptized person is granted the gift of the Holy Spirit through anointing with oil). From this moment, the Patriarch looked after the spiritual upbringing of Athanasius and in time brought him into the clergy, at first as a reader, and then he ordained him as a deacon. It was as a deacon that St. Athanasius accompanied Patriarch Alexander to the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea [1]in the year 325. At the Council, St. Athanasius refuted the heresy of Arius. His speech met with the approval of the Orthodox Fathers of the Council, but the Arians, those openly and those secretly so, came to hate Athanasius and persecuted him for the rest of his life. After the death of holy Patriarch Alexander, St. Athanasius was unanimously chosen as his successor in the See of Alexandria. He refused, accounting himself unworthy, but at the insistence of all the Orthodox populace that it was in agreement, he was consecrated bishop when he was twenty-eight, and installed as the archpastor of the Alexandrian Church. St. Athanasius guided the Church for forty-seven years, and during this time he endured persecution and grief from his antagonists. Several times he was expelled from Alexandria and hid himself from the Arians in desolate places, since they repeatedly tried to kill him. St. Athanasius spent more than 20 years in exile, returned to his flock, and then was banished again. There was a time when he remained as the only Orthodox bishop in the area, a moment when all the other bishops had fallen into heresy. At the false councils of Arian bishops he was deposed as bishop. Despite being persecuted for many years, the saint continued to defend the purity of the Orthodox Faith. He wrote countless letters and tracts against the Arian heresy. When Julian the Apostate (361-363) began a persecution against Christians, his wrath first fell upon St. Athanasius, whom he considered a great pillar of Orthodoxy. Julian intended to kill the saint in order to strike Christianity a grievous blow, but he soon perished himself. Mortally wounded by an arrow during a battle, he cried out with despair: "You have conquered, O Galilean." After Julian's death, St. Athanasius guided the Alexandrian Church for 7 years and died in 373, at the age of 76. Numerous works of St. Athanasius have been preserved; four Orations against the Arian heresy; also an Epistle to Epictetus, bishop of the Church of Corinth, on the divine and human natures in Jesus Christ; four Epistles to Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis, about the Holy Spirit and His Equality with the Father and the Son, directed against the heresy of Macedonius. Other apologetic works in defense of Orthodoxy have been preserved, among which is the Letter to the emperor Constantius. St. Athanasius wrote commentaries on Holy Scripture, and books of a moral and didactic character, as well as a biography of St. Anthony the Great (January 17), with whom St. Athanasius was very close. St. John Chrysostom advised every Orthodox Christian to read this Life. [1]Council of Nicaea First Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, held in 325 on the occasion of the heresy of Arius (Arianism). As early as 320 or 321 St. Alexander(Born c. 250; died 326-328/), Bishop of Alexandria, convoked a council at Alexandria at which more than one hundred bishops from Egypt and Libya anathematized Arius. The latter continued to officiate in his church and to recruit followers. Being finally driven out, he went to Palestine and from there to Nicomedia.) Comment: Athanasius suffered many trials while he was bishop of Alexandria. He was given the grace to remain strong against what probably seemed at times to be insurmountable opposition. Athanasius lived his office as bishop completely. He defended the true faith for his flock, regardless of the cost to himself. In today's world we are experiencing this same call to remain true to our faith, no matter what. Quote: The hardships Athanasius suffered in exile, hiding, fleeing from place to place remind us of what Paul said of his own life: =E2=80=9C[O]n frequen= t journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches=E2=80=9D (2 Corinthians 11:26-28). Bible Quote: Even a fool, if he will hold his peace, shall be counted wise: and if he close his lips, a man of understanding.=C2 =C2 [Proverbs 17:28] DRB <><><><> DEAR JESUS, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .