Athanasius of Alexandria: the African bishop who stood “against the world”

He was exiled five times by Roman emperors and spent years in hiding among desert monks. His enemies accused him of murder, sorcery and treason. Yet Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria in Egypt, refused to change his position. He believed the church’s teaching about Jesus was at stake, and he defended it for nearly half a century. Later generations summed up his courage in a Latin phrase: Athanasius contra mundum, Athanasius against the world.

Alexandria and Nicaea

Alexandria, in northern Egypt, was one of the great cities of the Roman world and a major centre of Christian learning. Athanasius was born around 296. As a young deacon, he served Bishop Alexander of Alexandria. A priest named Arius taught that the Son of God was created and not eternal. The teaching spread widely and divided the church.

At the Council of Nicaea in 325, church leaders affirmed that the Son is “of one substance” with the Father. Athanasius attended as Alexander’s assistant.

Five exiles and the desert monks

He became bishop of Alexandria in 328 and spent his life defending the Nicene faith. Political and church opponents repeatedly had him removed. He was exiled five times, sometimes to distant cities and sometimes hiding in the Egyptian desert. Athanasius was close to the monks of the Egyptian desert and wrote a life of Antony, the famous hermit, which spread the monastic ideal.

His book On the Incarnation explains why the Word became flesh, and it is still widely read. In a letter in 367, Athanasius listed the 27 books now known as the New Testament, the earliest known list matching the modern canon.

Death, lessons and the Creed

He died in 373, back in Alexandria. Athanasius is a reminder of Africa’s central role in early Christian thought. He is honoured by the Coptic, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches. His life shows courage in holding to conviction under pressure. A later creed, known as the Athanasian Creed, carries his name, though scholars believe it was written after his death. It reflects the teaching he defended about the Trinity.

The Nicene Creed is recited in churches across the world every Sunday. Much of the reason it survived is a stubborn bishop from Alexandria who would not back down.