Life of Saint Athanasius Saint Athanasius spent over seventeen years being banned from his own country by four different emperors. There were many great theologians and Church fathers, but Athanasius was one of the most important Church Fathers in ecclesiastical history. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria was born in 293. He was a theologian, ecclesiastical statesman, and a leader of Egypt. He had a lot of enemies, and defended against heresies. He studied philosophy and theology in Alexandria. Athanasius succeeded Bishop Alexander when he died in 328, and during his first few years in office he went to places like Libya and Egypt, and he got important contacts with Monks while there. In between this time, he was exiled many times, but returned home for a few years of …show more content…
He died May 2, 373, peacefully and surrounded by his supporters. He spent some of his last years fixing some of the damage done during the years of his exile. He kept preaching, writing, and even made his view of the Incarnation more known. The life of Athanasius, one of the greatest Church Fathers, was well-lived for Christ; he opposed Arianism, he was exiled for his beliefs, and wrote some of the greatest works of theology in Church history. Saint Athanasius spent many years of his life opposing Arianism. Athanasius defended the Trinity, which is one of the biggest beliefs and a core element in Christian faith. The Trinity is the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, all three united as one. During the fourth century, Arius went around teaching that Jesus the Son was different in divinity to God the Father. He points out many Scriptures proving that Jesus is saying that the Father and Son are clearly different, showing that they