The Saints: St. Athanasius

295 - 373 / Feast – May 2

Born to Christian parents in Alexandria, Egypt, Athanasius was a deacon when he accompanied his bishop to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. He was elected bishop of Alexandria in 328 and presided there for 45 years. But, because he vigorously opposed the heresy of Arius, a priest of Alexandria who denied Christ’s divinity, he was exiled five times for a total of 17 years. In exile, he wrote the defenses of the faith that earned him the honorific title “doctor of the Church.”..