The Noble Champion of Christ
In these alone the teaching of godliness is proclaimed. No one may add to them, and nothing may be taken away from them.
Athanasius, Thirty-Ninth Festal Epistle
Life is often difficult, full of peaks and valleys. People of faith are no different. Even the most devout face rejection, opposition, and criticism. Such is life for most of us, and such was life for Athanasius, who was bishop of Alexandria during a pivotal time in the church’s doctrinal development. Some years he was a hero, others he was an outcast. He knew what it meant to fly like an eagle and then plunge into despair. At one point, alone and despairing, he declared, “Athanasius against the world.”
Athanasius valued doctrinal purity above all else. Most people who attend church today would not recognize his name, but Athanasius from Egypt had a dramatic impact on what the contemporary church believes.
The church was born into difficulty. Persecution began with the arrest, torture, and crucifixion of Jesus. That persecution, led by Jewish religious leaders, spread to the church. The apostles, Peter in particular, were frequently arrested and tossed in jail. Although Peter and Paul served the church a great many years, both died a martyr’s death.
The persecution of the church was then carried out by Roman leaders and continued for over two centuries. With the arrival of Constantine, things changed. The church gained respectability, and perhaps more importantly, legality. Christians could now meet and worship as they saw fit. This was, of course, a good thing, but as with many good things there came a price. The price the church paid was the newfound willingness of Christians to turn on one another.
The early centuries were spent in survival, followed by the painful process of defining the church’s core beliefs. From its beginning, the church had to defend itself against heresy. In the first century the apostle Paul battled the Gnostics. He and Peter also faced off against the Judaizers, a group who taught Gentiles must first become Jews before they could become Christians. The lines of these battles were clearly drawn and the doctrinal issues easily recognized. Later, however, the task became more difficult as doctrinal concerns grew more complicated.
What Is Jesus?
One such issue dealt with the nature of Jesus Christ. There was little question about who Jesus was, but there was question about what he was. Exactly how does Jesus relate to God the Father? Certainly God is deity, but can the same be said of Jesus? Was Jesus created? And the biggest question of all: Was there ever a time when Jesus wasn’t?
To some this may not seem an issue worth debating, but to the early leaders of the church, especially Athanasius, such questions were crucial. To Athanasius the whole concept of salvation rested in the answer. Jesus had to be fully man to die on the cross, and he also had to be fully God to bring about salvation. These arguments are tied to the Trinity, arguably one of the most difficult concepts for humans to grasp. It has no earthly analogy. The orthodox view of the Trinity is easy to state but hard for many to wrap their minds around: there is one and only one God, but there are three persons of the Godhead.
The whole debate comes down to three descriptive terms: coequal, coeternal, and consubstantial. Does Jesus have the same standing as God the Father (coequal)? Does Jesus have an eternal past and an eternal future the same as God the Father (coeternal)? Does Jesus have the same essence (not similar essence) as God the Father (consubstantial)?
For those with no theological background this might seem confusing and even insignificant, but it was a divisive issue in Athanasius’ day.
Athanasius was a young and, by all accounts, brilliant deacon in the church in Alexandria, Egypt. He felt, as did his bishop and many others, that such distinctions were worth fighting for. Counter to Athanasius’ view was the teaching of an elderly priest in the Alexandrian church named Arias, who was soon to embark in a number of heated debates with Athanasius.
In 325, Constantine, in an effort to put an end to the squabbling, called for a gathering of bishops. By convening the council, Constantine demonstrated his power over the church. As many as eighteen hundred bishops were invited to the city of Nicaea, but only about three hundred came. This Council of Bishops, under the emperor’s order, set about to determine the truth of the matter. Although not himself a bishop, Athanasius was granted permission to press his case before them. When the debate was over, his view prevailed and Arius was exiled. The final verdict? Jesus was Creator, not created, and this decision is summed up in the approximately forty-six words (in English) of the Nicene Creed:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
The nature and position of Jesus had been defined for the church.
More Tension
Athanasius became bishop of Alexandria in June of 328, but would spend much of his time in exile.
Arius signed an altered version of the first Nicene Creed, and Constantine ordered Athanasius to restore the man to fellowship in the Alexandrian church. Athanasius refused. Soon rumors and trumped-up charges were leveled against him, including murder, sorcery, and treason. Constantine was forced to exile Athanasius. This was the first of five exiles he would endure, including two years in Germany, seven years in Rome, six years in the Egyptian desert, followed by nearly another year in the desert, and then four months living in his father’s tomb. He was exiled by four different emperors. Political influence played a large role in his returns and subsequent exiles. It is estimated that of the forty-five years he served as bishop of Alexandria, seventeen years were spent in exile. At the age of seventy, he was able to return home. He died in peace. Ultimately, the church would uphold his theological arguments about the nature of Christ.
Athanasius shaped the church in yet another way. In one of his annual letters to the churches in his diocese, he listed the twenty-seven books he believed were inspired and appropriate for the church to read. He wrote, “In these alone the teaching of godliness is proclaimed.”1 It’s the same list of books as those in the current New Testament.