St. Athanasius the Great

As a young deacon Athanasius went with his bishop to the Council of Nicaea, and three years later he became Patriarch of Alexandria himself. For the next 45 years he defended the Creed of Nicaea against the Arians, who taught that the Son of God was a created being. Emperors exiled him five times, and he spent years hiding with the monks of the desert, so that people spoke of “Athanasius against the world.” His book On the Incarnation says, “God became man so that man might become god.” His festal letter of 367 is the first to list the 27 books of the New Testament.

• Feast: January 18 (New Calendar)
• Lived: c. 296–373
• Place: Alexandria