Saint Athanasius the Great , this living and immortal example of virtue and God-pleasing life, was born in Alexandria, the famous capital of Egypt, in 658. His parents were Christians, pious and virtuous people. Even in Athanasius's youth, the following incident foreshadowed his future great episcopal activity.
One day, Athanasius was playing with his peers on the seashore. The children imitated what they saw in church, portraying through their play the clergy of God and church rites. They chose Athanasius as their bishop; he also named some presbyters and others deacons. These latter brought other children to him—pagans who had not yet been baptized. Athanasius baptized them with seawater, pronouncing the words prescribed for the sacrament of holy baptism, as he had heard from the priest in church. To this, he added a lesson appropriate to his childhood. At the same time, Saint Alexander 659 was Patriarch of Alexandria . He chanced to glance out the windows of his house, which stood on an elevated spot near the sea, and seeing children playing, he watched in amazement as Athanasius performed the baptism. He immediately ordered all the children to be brought to him. Questioning the children in detail, the patriarch sought to discover whom they had baptized, how they had been questioned before baptism, and what their answers had been. He learned that they had performed their game in accordance with church regulations. After consulting with his clergy, he recognized Athanasius's baptism of the pagan children as genuine and completed it with chrismation. He then summoned the children's parents, who were acting as priests, and advised them to raise them for the priesthood. Saint Alexander then instructed Athanasius's parents to raise him in piety and book learning, and then, when he came of age, to bring him to him and dedicate him to God and the Holy Church.
When Athanasius had sufficiently studied the sciences and received a broad intellectual education , his parents brought him to the holy Patriarch Alexander and, just as Anna had once done to Samuel ( 1 Samuel 1 ), dedicated him as a gift to God. Soon after, the patriarch ordained him a cleric and ordained him a deacon in the Alexandrian Church . It is impossible to recount how, in this capacity from his youth, he courageously fought against heretics and what he suffered at their hands; but it is also impossible to remain silent about some of his most remarkable exploits and deeds. At that time, the impious Arius was spreading his insane heresy and shaking the entire Church with his pernicious teachings. Although he had already been cursed at the First Ecumenical Council of the Holy Fathers in Nicaea , excommunicated from communion with the Church of Christ, and condemned to imprisonment, despite being deposed and barely alive, he did not cease his struggle against Orthodoxy. He began to act through his disciples and associates, spreading the poison of his heresy everywhere. Having many intercessors before the emperor, especially Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, 663 along with other bishops who held the same heresy, Arius, through them, begged Constantine the Great for mercy, so that he would be released from imprisonment and allowed to return to Alexandria. Eusebius cunningly convinced the emperor that Arius was not introducing any teaching contrary to Orthodoxy and was not preaching anything inconsistent with the teachings of the Church, but was suffering from the bishops' cunning out of envy, and that their dispute was not about faith, but merely over empty, abstract words .The Emperor, in his simplicity and good nature, unaware of the heretics' cunning and treachery, believed the false assurances and ordered the dispute to cease, lest discord arise between the churches. Without investigating the matter at all, he, in his mercy, allowed Arius to return to Alexandria. And so this impious heretic, to the general calamity of the Church, returned to Alexandria. This circumstance was extremely difficult and distressing for the Orthodox, especially for Saint Athanasius, as a warrior of Christ and a staunch defender of the true traditions of Orthodoxy. At that time, he had already been elevated to the rank of archdeacon. This warrior of Christ persecuted the heretic, who had invaded the Church of Christ like a wolf, exposing his evil intentions with both his writings and his preaching. At the same time, Athanasius urged the most holy Archbishop Alexander to write a letter to the emperor, and he himself wrote alongside him, exposing the emperor's naiveté in which, having believed the deceptions and fables of heretics, he now accepted Arius, who had turned his back on the Orthodox Church, rejected by God Himself and all the holy fathers, and allowed him to undermine the laws of the Fathers. But the emperor, at the instigation of Eusebius, responded with an even harsher letter, threatening them with defrocking if they did not remain silent. The pious and good emperor acted thus not to satisfy his anger or because he was inclined toward Arianism, but out of zeal, though not wisely, for the avoidance of discord among the churches. Loving peace with his meek heart, the Tsar sought peace where it absolutely could not exist: for how can heresy live in peace with Orthodoxy?
Soon after, Saint Alexander died; Athanasius was unanimously elected as his successor to the Alexandrian See by all the Orthodox, as a vessel worthy of such peace . 665 Then the secret weed-sowers, the Arians, fell silent for a time, not engaging in open conflict with Athanasius. But then, at demonic instigation, they revealed their deceit and openly revealed the poison of their simmering malice, for Saint Athanasius refused to receive the impious Arius into ecclesiastical communion, even though the latter had an imperial decree to that effect. Everywhere, the Arians began to stir up hostility against the innocent and spread malicious slander, striving to have him, worthy of the heavenly mansions, not only cast down from the earthly episcopal throne but also banished from the city. But Athanasius remained steadfast, singing with David: “Though an army should set itself against me, my heart will not fear” ( Ps. 27:3 ).
The mastermind of this insidious plot was Eusebius, who bore only the name of piety 666 , but in reality was a vessel of impiety. Taking advantage of the emperor's meekness and assuming that now was an opportune time, he and his associates incited everyone to dethrone Athanasius. Eusebius believed that if he deposed Athanasius, he would easily overcome the other Orthodox and establish the Arian doctrine. He began spreading unjust and false accusations against the righteous man, which the heretics believed to be credible. To this end, he hired Ision, a follower of Meletius 667 , Eudomon, a man skilled in guile, and Callinicus, a man of great malice. The accusations against Athanasius were as follows:
1) as if he forces the Egyptians to pay taxes on priestly vestments, linen clothes, altar curtains and fabrics and other church utensils;
2) as if he is ill-disposed towards the king and disdains the king’s orders;
3) that he was covetous and sent a chest full of gold to one of his friends for safekeeping. Added to this was the accusation against the false priest Ischyrus , who was cunning, crafty, and sly in his malice. Having assumed the title of presbyter without the usual ordination, he committed so many evil, unlawful, and criminal deeds that he deserved not only defrocking and vilification, but also severe punishment. Having learned all about Ischyrus, Blessed Athanasius, always meticulous and cautious in handling such matters, sent the priest Macarius to Mareotis to investigate all of Ischyrus's unlawful deeds. Ischyrus, however, fearing interrogation and exposure, fled from there and, arriving in Nicomedia, began slandering Athanasius to Eusebius. Eusebius and his accomplices accepted Ischyr, this apostate from God and violator of sacred canons, as a true priest and treated him with respect: for it is natural to love one's own kind, whether in malice or virtue. They themselves, burning with anger at Athanasius from extreme hatred, greeted Ischyr with great joy. They encouraged his audacity and impudence and promised to honor him with the rank of bishop if only he could bring forth some slander or calumny against the righteous man. Ischyr, cunning and skilled in such matters, strove to bring charges against the innocent Athanasius. He claimed that, on Athanasius's orders, the priest Macarius, having entered the church like a bandit, had violently dragged him from the altar, overturned the altar, smashed the chalice containing the Divine Mysteries, and burned the sacred books. Accepting Ischyr's slander as truth and adding it to other calumnies, Athanasius's enemies approached Emperor Constantine , slandering Saint Athanasius. They particularly sought to arouse the emperor's wrath, accusing Athanasius of ignoring the emperor's written orders and disobeying the emperor's command by not accepting Arius into ecclesiastical communion. Furthermore, they also brought charges against the blessed one concerning a certain dead hand, claiming that Athanasius, through it, had magically performed miracles and enchantments (they themselves, being truly damned and obvious sorcerers). This hand, however, allegedly belonged to a certain cleric, Arsenius, and had been cut off through the machinations of Athanasius.
The Emperor, having examined the matter, was perplexed: he knew well both the virtue of Athanasius, and at the same time the accusations brought against him seemed to him more or less credible. Therefore, he chose a middle path: without condemning Athanasius, he at the same time did not refuse to investigate his case. And since at that time the feast of the dedication of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was being celebrated in Jerusalem and bishops from all countries were gathering there , the Emperor, taking advantage of this opportunity, ordered the bishops to assemble in Tyre for a thorough investigation of the accusations against Athanasius the Great , and also to examine the case of Arius, whether he really, as he himself asserts, teaches according to the teaching of the holy faith and adheres to the true Orthodox traditions: if he was deposed out of envy, then that he should be again received by the clergy and the council and added, as one of the members, to the body of the Church; If he believes contrary to its teachings and teaches impiously, then let him be judged according to the sacred laws and receive a fitting punishment for his deeds. Regarding the case of Arsenius, the emperor ordered an investigation to be conducted first, so that if Athanasius were found guilty, he could be condemned according to the laws. To ensure a reliable investigation of this matter, Constantine sent one of his stewards, named Archelaus, along with the Phoenician prince Non. When the latter arrived in Tyre (Athanasius was there at the time, awaiting the denunciation of the slander brought against him regarding the dead hand and sorcery), they postponed the investigation until the expected slanderers arrived from Alexandria, claiming that they had personally witnessed Athanasius's iniquity (the cutting off of Arsenius' hand and the sorcery). This postponement of the investigation occurred by God's providence, as the outcome of the case clearly demonstrated. For God, looking down on all from above and delivering the wronged from those who wronged him, extended time so that Arsenius himself could arrive in Tyre. Arsenius was a cleric of the Alexandrian Church, a reader by office. Having committed a grave crime, he was to be subjected to a severe trial and cruel punishment. Fearing this, he fled and hid for a long time, no one knew where. Athanasius's cunning adversaries, inventing their schemes and not expecting Arsenius to ever appear due to fear and shame at the sin he had committed, boldly wrote that Arsenius's dead hand existed, and spread the rumor far and wide that Athanasius had committed this heinous crime. When word spread throughout all lands that Athanasius was being tried for the amputation of Arsenius's hand, the rumor reached Arsenius himself, who was hiding in unknown places. Grieving for his father and benefactor and grieving in his heart that truth was being unjustly vanquished by lies, he secretly came to Tyre and appeared before Athanasius himself, falling at his honorable feet. Blessed Athanasius, rejoicing at Arsenius's arrival, commanded him to show himself to no one until the trial.
It was the thirtieth year of Constantine's reign (672) , when bishops from various cities gathered in Tyre (673) . The priest Macarius was brought by soldiers; among them was the commander, who wanted to conduct the trial with the bishops, as well as some other secular authorities. The slanderers also appeared, and the trial began. Then Athanasius was summoned. At first, he was falsely accused of linen church vestments and veils, and also of covetousness; but the falsity of this slander was immediately exposed, and the malice of the slanderers became clear to all.
Meanwhile, the vicious hatred of Athanasius's opponents remained unquenched; they were still not sated with false slanders against Athanasius, but added another plot to one, and yet another to one lie. The impious heretics bribed a shameless woman to slander Athanasius, claiming that while staying with her, he had committed an iniquity against her will.
When the trial began, the judges took their seats and the slanderers appeared. This woman was brought in. She wept and complained about Athanasius, whom she had never seen and didn't even know what he looked like.
"For God's sake, I welcomed him into my home," she said of Athanasius, "as a venerable and holy man, desiring a blessing for myself and my house. And yet, on the contrary, I suffered at his hands. At midnight, while I was sleeping on my bed, he came to me and violently violated me, since no one freed me from his hands, for everyone in the house had fallen into a deep sleep.
While the shameless woman was thus slandering and slandering with tears, Athanasius' friend, the priest Timothy, standing with him outside the door and hearing the aforementioned slander, became disturbed in spirit and, unexpectedly entering the court, he quickly stood before the eyes of that slanderer, as if he were Athanasius himself; he boldly addressed her with the following words:
– Was it I, woman, who committed violence against you last night, as you say? Was it I?
The woman, with even greater shamelessness, cried out to the judges:
“This man is my corrupter and the villain of my purity; he, and no one else, while staying with me, repaid me with outrage for my kindness.
Hearing this, the judges laughed, but Athanasius's opponents were deeply ashamed, for their lies had been clearly exposed. Everyone was astonished by such brazen slander and declared Athanasius completely innocent of the accusation. But Athanasius's opponents began accusing the holy man of sorcery and the murder of Arsenius. They brought before everyone a terrifying-looking dead hand and, shamelessly waving it at the saint, exclaimed:
"This hand cries out silently at you, Athanasius, this hand accuses you; it seizes you and holds you fast, lest you escape condemnation; you will be able to escape its testimony neither by speech, nor by cunning, nor by any wiles. Everyone knows Arsenius, whose hand you unjustly and mercilessly cut off. So, tell us, finally, why did you need this, and for what purpose did you cut it off?"
Athanasius listened to them patiently, imitating Christ his Lord, who was once condemned by the Jews and yet did not argue, did not cry out, but “was led like a sheep to the slaughter” ( Isaiah 53:7 ); at first he was silent, then, answering the accusation, he said with meekness:
"Is there anyone among you who knew Arseniy well? Is there anyone who could definitely confirm whether this is truly his hand?"
When many rose from their seats, claiming to know Arseny and his hand well, Athanasius immediately opened the curtain behind which Arseny stood and commanded him to stand in the midst of the assembly. And so Arseny stood in the midst of the court, alive and well, with both hands intact. The blessed one, looking angrily at the slanderers, said:
"Isn't this Arseny? Isn't this the one whose hand, as you say, was cut off? Isn't this the one all the Alexandrians know?"
And, commanding Arseny to stretch up first his right hand, then his left, he cried out loudly, as if calling upon those who were far from the truth:
"Here, gentlemen, is Arsenius! Here are his hands, which were not cut off at all! Show me your Arsenius, if you have one, and tell me who owns this severed hand, which condemns you yourselves as the perpetrators of this crime."
While the trial was proceeding in this manner, a letter was sent from the emperor to the council, strongly denouncing the slanderers, ordering Athanasius to be released from the unjust accusation and graciously summoning him to the emperor. This happened in the following manner. Two presbyters of the Alexandrian church, Apis and Macarius (not the one who was brought to trial bound, but another of the same name), having come to Nicomedia, told the emperor all about Athanasius, how his enemies had brought false accusations against the holy man and formed an unjust council. The emperor, realizing the truth and the slanders, which arose from envy, wrote such a letter to the bishops for trial at Tyre that when it was read at the trial, the followers of Eusebius were seized with fear, and they knew not what to do. However, driven by great envy, they did not cease their rage, nor did they content themselves with having been defeated and humiliated once before. Turning to other false accusations, they slandered Macarius, who had been brought to trial. The false accuser was Ischyrus, and the false witnesses were the followers of Eusebius, whom Athanasius had previously rejected as mendacious and unworthy of faith. Athanasius desired a reliable investigation into Ischyrus's true priesthood, and only then would he promise to answer the charges brought against him. The judges refused this and continued to prosecute Macarius. After the slanderers had exhausted all their slanders, the hearing was adjourned because an investigation was required at the very spot where Macarius allegedly overthrew the altar—that is, at Mareotis. Seeing that for this purpose the very same slanderers who had been rejected by him as liars from the very beginning were being sent to Mareotis, Athanasius, unable to bear the injustice being committed, exclaimed without ceasing:
"Truth has faded, truth has been trampled upon, justice has perished, and the judges have lost their legitimate investigation and careful consideration of cases! Is it lawful for someone seeking to justify themselves to be kept in chains, for the entire case to be judged by slanderers and enemies, and for the slanderers themselves to judge the one they slander?"
Thus Saint Athanasius the Great cried out loudly to all and testified to this before the entire council. Seeing that he would have no success due to the growing number of enemies and envious people, he secretly went to the emperor. And immediately that council, or rather, that wicked assembly, condemned the absent Athanasius. Upon completion of the unjust investigation of the aforementioned case in Mareotis, conducted according to the will and desire of Saint Athanasius's enemies, the judges, themselves worthy of dethronement, decreed that Athanasius should be finally deposed. They then went to Jerusalem, where they received into ecclesiastical communion the godless Arius, those very same people who only professed piety in words and who, at the former Council of Nicaea, had feignedly subscribed to the dogma of the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father. But those who held the Orthodox faith in heart and mouth, having carefully considered Arius's words and speeches and carefully scrutinized them, discerned the deception concealed beneath his many words and speeches, and, catching him like a fox, denounced him as an enemy of the truth. At this time, another letter arrived from the emperor (Athanasius had not yet reached the emperor), commanding Athanasius and all his slanderers and judges to appear before him immediately. This caused great fear among the members of the council, for Athanasius's enemies, who had carried out the unlawful trial, feared lest their falsehood be exposed; therefore, many of them dispersed to their own countries. Eusebius and Theognius, Bishop of Nicaea , and some others, having contrived to invent plausible pretexts for delaying their arrival in Tyre, remained there for quite a while, and replied to the emperor by letter. Meanwhile, Athanasius, appearing before the emperor in Nicomedia, cleared himself of the accusation of avarice. While Eusebius's followers hesitated and were in no hurry to appear before the emperor, the latter dispatched Athanasius to the See of Alexandria with his letter, which attested to the groundlessness and injustice of all the slanders against the saint.
While Saint Athanasius was thus ruling his see, and Arius was in Alexandria, the Arians were causing great confusion and rumor among the people. Blessed Athanasius, unable to bear the thought that Arius was disturbing and shaking not only Alexandria but all of Egypt, reported all this in writing to the emperor, urging him to punish the fighter against God and the troublemaker of the people. In response, the emperor immediately issued a command to Alexandria to present Arius bound for the royal court. On his way from Alexandria to the emperor, Arius, having reached Caesarea, met with his like-minded companions: Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, Theognius of Nicaea, and Marius, Bishop of Chalcedon . Having consulted together, they composed new slanders against Athanasius, neither fearing God nor sparing the innocent man, but having one desire—to cover the truth with lies, as the Divine Isaiah says : "They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity," those who said: "For we have made lies our refuge, and with deceit we will cover ourselves" ( Isaiah 59:4, 28, 15 ). 676 Such was the effort of the lawless heretics to depose blessed Athanasius from his patriarchal throne and seize power over the Orthodox. And so they came to the king—Arius, wishing to justify himself, and Eusebius and his accomplices—to further his unjust cause and openly bear false witness against the truth and Athanasius. When they appeared before the king, they were immediately interrogated about the council that had taken place in Tyre, what they had decided there, and what judgment they had pronounced against Athanasius. They answered the king:
"Emperor! We do not particularly grieve over the errors of Athanasius, but we are filled with grief and zeal for the altar he destroyed, and for the chalice containing the Holy Mysteries, which he smashed and broke into pieces, and also for his forbidding and forbidding the sending of the wheat customarily sent from Alexandria to Constantinople . This particularly grieves us, it wounds our souls. Witnesses to his atrocities were the bishops Adamantius, Anuvion, Arvetion, and Peter . Convicted of all this by them, Athanasius escaped the trial he justly deserved for his actions, but he could not avoid deposition, but was unanimously deposited by the entire council for daring to commit such lawless acts.
Hearing these words, the emperor was initially silent, troubled in his soul. Then, unable to stop the slanderers, he ordered the righteous man to be temporarily sent to Gaul — not because he believed the slander or was consumed by anger, but for the sake of pacifying the Church (as those who had reliably learned the emperor's intentions testify). The emperor saw how many bishops had risen up against Athanasius, and what great confusion this had caused among the Alexandrian and Egyptian people. And so, wishing to calm such a storm, put an end to the rumors, and heal the ailments of so many bishops, he ordered the holy man to leave the city for a time .
After this, Emperor Constantine himself, in the thirty-first year of his reign, died at the age of sixty-five. Dying, he left three sons as heirs to his kingdom: Constantine, Constantius, and Constans, among whom, according to his will, he divided the kingdom, assigning the greater part to his eldest son, Constantine. But since none of his sons were present at the death of Constantine the Great, he entrusted his will to a certain presbyter , who was a secret follower of Arius. Secretly harboring heresy, this presbyter also concealed the royal will; when many questioned him as to whether the emperor had made a will before his death, he said nothing about it. He secretly had some of the royal eunuchs as accomplices in this matter. While the eldest son, Constantine, was slow in coming to his deceased father, Constantius hastened to leave Antioch and arrived before everyone else. The aforementioned presbyter secretly conveyed to him his father's last will, and in gratitude, asked for no reward other than that he would go over to the Arians and aid them. He wanted Constantius, instead of thanking the immortal King Christ for his earthly kingdom, to foolishly acknowledge Him not as God and Lord of all, nor as Creator, but as a creature! The aforementioned Eusebius and all his accomplices assisted in this, rejoicing that their longed-for time had arrived; they hoped to spread and strengthen the heretical Aryan doctrine only if the new emperor confirmed the decree regarding Athanasius's imprisonment as just and completely legal. At that time, they converted the prepositus 682 , who was in the royal chambers, to their heresy and unanimity , and through him, the disease of Arian heresy spread to the other eunuchs 683 , who by their very nature were very inclined both to accept and to spread all manner of evil among others. Then the king's wife, gradually corrupted by blasphemous speeches, became infected with the same heretical poison.
Finally, the emperor himself, deceived by Arian false wisdom, rebelled against Christ, his Lord and Master, so that in Him the words of the Divine Jeremiah were fulfilled: "The shepherds have fallen away from Me" ( Jer. 2:8 ). 684 And Constantius commanded that the Arian false teaching be publicly confirmed, and that all the bishops should think as he did, and he ordered that those who disobeyed be persuaded by threats.
Amid this great storm and confusion, the following archpastors were the true helmsmen of the churches: Maximus of Jerusalem (685) , Alexander of Constantinople , and Athanasius of Alexandria (the one in question), who, although in exile, nevertheless did not abandon the helm of the Church, affirming Orthodoxy with his words and letters. Eusebius of Nicomedia and his associates, however, spread their heretical false teachings with all their might, inciting war against the Orthodox and oppressing the Church of Christ. They especially armed themselves against it after the terrible death of Arius. The cunning and treacherous Eusebius, with great honor, brought Arius into Constantinople, to the great deception and temptation of the faithful, for at that time no one was there to oppose Arius, after many of the authorities had joined him, since Athanasius was in exile. But God, who wisely arranges all things from above, thwarted their plans, cutting short Arius's malice and life. And with what force his tongue had spewed blasphemous words against Orthodoxy during his lifetime, with the same and even greater force his belly burst, his entrails spilled out, and he, the accursed one, wallowed in his own blood in unclean places . 686 Thus was a fitting judgment meted out on the unbridled tongue and the evil vessel, saturated with the fetid pus of heresy, that was Arius!
After this heresiarch had so horribly destroyed both soul and body, Eusebius and his accomplices took upon themselves the entire task of defending and spreading the heresy, causing confusion everywhere, with eunuchs as zealous assistants—as if they were their own hands. They especially sought to muzzle Athanasius, who was in exile, so that he would not spread his letters in defense of Orthodoxy. But Divine Providence inclined the heart of Constantine the Great's eldest son, also named Constantine , who was foremost among the brothers both in years and by birthright. This latter liberated Saint Athanasius from imprisonment and sent him with his letter to the see of Alexandria. This letter read: "Constantine the Victor wishes the Church of Alexandria and the people to rejoice." I believe there is not a single one of you who is unaware of what recently befell Athanasius, the great preacher of Orthodoxy and teacher of the law of God. He was also aware of how the enemies of the truth waged a general war against him, and how he was instructed to remain with me in Gaul so that he might escape for a time the calamities that threatened him. However, he was not condemned to permanent exile. We treated him with the utmost consideration, taking care that no unforeseen misfortune befall him, although he is truly patient, like no other. Inflamed with zeal for God, he can easily endure any hardship. Our father, Constantine, desired to restore him to the patriarchal throne soon, but, having died before he could fulfill his intentions for him, he left this matter to me, his heir, bequeathing his final commandment concerning this man. So we command you to receive him now with all honor and solemnity."
With this imperial letter, Saint Athanasius reached Alexandria, and all the Orthodox joyfully greeted him . 688 Those who adhered to the Arian heresy began to organize malicious gatherings among themselves and again stir up persecution against the saint and stir up unrest among the people. They invented various pretexts for slandering the saint: that he had returned to the patriarchal throne without a council and had voluntarily entered the church . 689 They also accused him of being the cause of various unrest, murders, and exiles, and brought other accusations against him, both old and new. At the same time, the people, deeply infected with the Arian heresy, rose up against Saint Athanasius. One day, a crowd of people surrounded the saint, cursing him with insulting words and raising their hands to tear him to pieces and kill him. Athanasius barely managed to escape and leave the city secretly. Meanwhile, the Arian bishops, sending messages everywhere, announced that Athanasius, legally deposed by a council decree, had reoccupied the throne of Alexandria without a council decree. At the same time, they spread the word about the violence that had allegedly accompanied his return to Alexandria. Thus, they closed his access to cities and churches in all countries. Meanwhile, Constantine, Athanasius' patron, was no more: he was killed in Aquila by soldiers . The enemies of Athanasius took advantage of this and aroused such anger against the saint in Emperor Constantius, his patron, that he promised property and honors to anyone who would reveal the whereabouts of Athanasius, if he were alive, or bring him the head of the murdered archpastor. Athanasius hid for quite a long time in a deep, waterless, and dry ditch of an abandoned well, and no one knew of him except one lover of God, who fed him and guarded him in that place . 691 Then, when some began to suspect Athanasius's presence there, for they were diligently searching for him everywhere and asking about him, and even wanted to seize him one morning, he, guided by Divine Providence, left the ditch at night and went to another place; fearing that they would find him and seize him there too, he withdrew from the eastern lands to the borders of the Western Empire.
At that time, following the death of Constantine II, the youngest son of Constantine the Great, Constans, reigned in the West. Having reached Europe, Blessed Athanasius journeyed to Rome and, appearing before Pope Julius (692) and Emperor Constans himself, gave them a detailed account of his life. Meanwhile, a council of Eastern bishops was taking place in Antioch, gathered to consecrate the church (693 ) begun by Constantine the Great and completed by his son Constantius. All the Eastern bishops, including many Arians, had gathered there for this purpose. These latter, enjoying the Emperor's patronage, convened an unlawful council and again declared Saint Athanasius, then in the West, deposed. They wrote a letter to the Pope slandering Athanasius, urging the Pope to also recognize him as deposed. In Alexandria, they first elected Eusebius of Emesa, distinguished for his eloquence, to the patriarchal throne , but he declined, knowing how deeply the Alexandrians revered their archpastor, Athanasius. They then installed a certain Gregory, a Cappadocian by birth, on the Alexandrian patriarchal throne ; but before he could reach Alexandria, Athanasius arrived there from Rome. This happened in the following way.
Pope Julius, having carefully examined the slanders leveled against Athanasius, deemed them false and therefore sent him back to the Alexandrian See with his letter, in which he sharply and threateningly denounced those who had dared to depose him. The saint was received by the Orthodox Alexandrians with great joy. His opponents, however, upon learning of this (their leader, Eusebius of Nicomedia, had already died in 696 ), were greatly disturbed and immediately urged the emperor to send an army to Alexandria with Gregory to elevate him to the patriarchal throne. And so the emperor sent a commander named Syrianus with a multitude of armed soldiers along with the heretic Gregory, whom the heretics had elected to the patriarchal throne, ordering him to kill Athanasius and elevate Gregory to the archiepiscopal throne. One day, on the eve of a feast, while the all-night vigil was being held in the Alexandrian cathedral church and all the Orthodox were praying with their pastor, Athanasius, and chanting church hymns, Syrianus suddenly burst in with armed soldiers. Circling the church, he sought only Athanasius to kill him. But the saint, protected by God's providence, secretly left the church, surrounded by the people. Since it was now pitch dark, he passed unnoticed amid the general confusion and the multitude, thus escaping death like a fish from the very center of a net. He then returned to Rome. After this, the impious Gregory, like a predator, occupied the throne of Alexandria. A great unrest arose among the people, so much so that the rebels even set fire to a church called the Church of Dionysius.
Saint Athanasius remained in Rome for three years, enjoying the deep respect of Emperor Constans and Pope Julius. There he had as a friend Saint Paul , Archbishop of Constantinople, who had also been expelled from his see by impious heretics. Finally, by the common consent of both emperors, Constantine and Constans, a council of Eastern and Western bishops was convened in Sardica in 697 to discuss the confession of faith and the case of Athanasius and Paul . Among them were more than three hundred Western bishops, and slightly more than seventy Eastern bishops, among whom was the previously mentioned Ischyr, then Bishop of Mareotis . The bishops who had gathered from the Asian churches did not even want to meet with the Western bishops until they had removed Paul and Athanasius from the council. The Western bishops, however, would not even hear of such a thing. Then the Eastern bishops set out on their return journey and, having reached the Thracian city of Philippopolis, 701 they assembled their own council, or rather, an unlawful assembly, and openly anathematized the consubstantials. They sent this impious definition of theirs in writing to all the churches dependent on them. Upon learning of this, the holy fathers assembled in Sardica first anathematized this blasphemous assembly and their heretical and impious confession . 702 They then expelled the Athanasian slanderers from their hierarchical ranks and, having confirmed the definition of faith drawn up at Nicaea, clearly and precisely confessed God the Son as consubstantial with God the Father.
After all this, the Western Emperor Constans, in a letter to his brother Constantius concerning Paul and Athanasius, begged him to allow them to return to their thrones. When he continued to delay their return, Constans wrote to him again in harsher terms. "If you do not obey me voluntarily," he wrote, "then even without your consent I will seat each of them on his own throne, for then I will come against you with armed force." Frightened by his brother's threat, Constantius received Paul, who had arrived first, and sent him off with honor to his throne. Then, through a letter written in a spirit of meekness, he summoned Saint Athanasius from Rome and, after conversing with him, saw that he was a man of great wisdom and divine inspiration. Marveling at Athanasius's great wisdom, Constantius showed him great honor and gloriously restored him to the patriarchal throne. At the same time, he wrote to the people of Alexandria and to all the bishops and princes who were in Egypt, to the Augustalian 703 Nestorius and to the rulers who were in the Thebaid and Libya 704 , so that they would receive Athanasius with great honor and respect. Provided with the aforementioned royal letter, the blessed one went through Syria and Palestine and visited the Holy City of Jerusalem, where he was lovingly received by the most holy Maximus the Confessor; they told each other of the misfortunes and trials they had endured for Christ. Having summoned the eastern bishops, who previously, out of fear of the Arians, had consented to his deposition, Athanasius won them to unanimity and communion with him, and they rendered him worthy honor; he joyfully forgave them for the sin they had committed against him. This was the third return of Saint Athanasius to the patriarchal throne after his three exiles 705 . And so, after countless labors, sorrows, and illnesses, he finally rested a little and thought to spend the rest of his time in relief and peace. Meanwhile, new unrest and severe disasters were approaching him. At this time, the impious Magnentius, commander of the Roman troops, conspired with his associates and murdered Constans, his sovereign . Then the Arians rose up and waged a fierce war against the Church of Christ. Slanders and persecutions against Athanasius began again, and all the old evils were renewed. Royal decrees and threats against Athanasius reappeared; again Athanasius was forced to endure flight and fear; again they began to search for him throughout the land and across the sea. The emperor sent the Cappadocian George to Alexandria to occupy the patriarchal throne. George , who, upon arriving in Alexandria, shook Egypt, unsettled Palestine, and threw the entire East into turmoil. Again, Saint Maximus was deposed from his throne in Jerusalem, and Saint Paul from his throne in Constantinople. And what happened at this time in Alexandria in 708, Saint Athanasius himself relates the following: “Again, some seeking to kill us,” relates Saint Athanasius, “came to Alexandria, and calamities more severe than before occurred. Soldiers suddenly surrounded the church, and instead of prayers, cries, shouts, and confusion arose; all this took place during Holy Lent. Having seized the patriarchal throne, George of Cappadocia, elected by the Macedonians and Arians, increased the evil still further. After Easter week, virgins were imprisoned, bishops were led away bound by soldiers, the homes of orphans and widows were plundered, and the most utter robbery took place in the city. Christians left the city at night, houses were sealed; the clergy suffered for their brethren; all this was truly extremely calamitous, but an incomparably greater evil followed soon after. After Holy Pentecost, the people fasted and gathered to pray at the tomb of the holy martyr Peter , for everyone despised George and avoided communicating with him. Upon learning of this, the treacherous George incited Sebastian, the strategate of 709 , who adhered to the Manichaean heresy, against them. Sebastian, with a multitude of soldiers armed with drawn swords, bows, and arrows, burst into the church itself and attacked the people there, but found few worshipers, as most had left due to the late hour. Sebastian inflicted the most severe grief on those present in the church. He ordered a huge bonfire to be lit and, placing virgins near the fire, forced them to confess the Arian heresy. But when Sebastian found himself unable to compel them, seeing that they paid no attention to either the fire or the threats, he stripped them naked and ordered them to be beaten without mercy. Their faces were so lacerated with wounds that, after a long time, their families could barely recognize them. The men, forty in number, he subjected to further torture: the torturers subjected them to a terrible scourging with the harsh and thorny branches of a freshly felled date palm and tore off their shoulders, so that some had to have their bodies severed several times because the needles had penetrated deeply; others, unable to bear the pain, died of ulcers. All those virgins whom he had tortured with particular cruelty he sent to prison in the great Oasis [710] , and he did not allow the bodies of the murdered to be taken by either the Orthodox or his own people. Instead, the soldiers hid them unburied in one place, thinking that such cruelty would thus remain unknown to anyone. They did this, being mad and corrupted in their senses. The Orthodox rejoiced over their martyrs for their firm confession of the Orthodox faith, but at the same time wept over the bodies, because their whereabouts were unknown. And through this, the impiety and cruelty of the torturers were further exposed. Following this, the bishops Ammonius, Moinus, Gaius, Philo, and Hermias were exiled from Egypt and Libya.", Paulinus, Psinosirus, Linamon, Agathon, Agamtha, Marcus, and others, Ammonius and Marcus, Dracontius, Adelphius, Athenodorus, and the presbyters Hierax and Dioscorus; the tormentors oppressed them so cruelly that some died on the way, and others in places of imprisonment. The Arians condemned more than thirty bishops to perpetual imprisonment; for their malice, like that of Ahab , was so strong that, if possible, they would have been ready to banish and exterminate the truth from the face of the whole earth."
Meanwhile, Emperor Constantius, after the death of his brother, Emperor Constans, having defeated Magnentius, gained control of both the East and the West . 712 He began to spread the Arian heresy in both the East and the West, persuading Western bishops by every means—through fear, flattery, gifts, and various temptations—to agree to the Arian creed and embrace their heresy. To this end, he ordered a council to be held in the Italian city of Milan. 713 He ordered the overthrow of Athanasius: he believed that Arianism would only gain ground when Athanasius was completely overthrown and exterminated from among the living. Many adherents of the emperor then emerged; some embraced Arianism out of fear, others were attracted by royal honors; those who remained steadfast in Orthodoxy turned away from this unlawful council . 714 These were: Eusebius, Bishop of Vercellina, Dionysius of Milan, Rodanus of Tolosa, Paulinus of Trivirinus, and Luciphorus of Calaritan 715 ; they refused to sign the decree of Athanasius's deposition, considering his deposition a denial of the true faith and truth. Consequently, they were exiled to Ariminum 716 ; the other bishops, however, who had assembled in Milan, condemned Athanasius to deposition. Here it is necessary to tell how Eusebius and Dionysius refused to sign the decree of this unlawful council. When the Arian bishops gathered in Milan and, without waiting for other Orthodox bishops, formed a council and signed their names to the decree deposing Athanasius, Dionysius of Milan, recently elevated to the episcopacy and still young in years, was persuaded by the Arian bishops to sign the council's decree. He was ashamed of so many noble and long-serving bishops and reluctantly signed his name along with them. Afterwards, the Orthodox Bishop of Vercellina, Eusebius, a venerable man in years, came to Milan (after the unlawful council had already concluded with the signing of the names) and questioned Dionysius about what had taken place at the council. Dionysius, recounting the unlawful trial of Saint Athanasius, confessed with great sorrow and remorse his sin, how he had been deceived and signed his consent to the deposition of Athanasius. And blessed Eusebius reproached him for this, as a father reproaches his son: for Dionysius considered Eusebius to be a kind of spiritual father, partly because of his advanced age, partly because he had already been a bishop for many years; and besides, by his position, the Bishop of Vercellina stood above that of Milan . 717 Seeing Dionysius's heartfelt repentance, Eusebius did not bid him grieve: "I know," he said, "what I must do to have your name blotted out from among them." And the following happened.
The Arian bishops, learning of Eusebius's arrival, summoned him to their assembly and, showing him the decree they had drawn up condemning Athanasius for deposition, bearing their signatures, wanted him to sign his name to the decree. Eusebius, feigning agreement with their council and seemingly eager to sign, took the charter and began reading the names of the bishops who had signed. When he reached the name of Dionysius, he exclaimed, as if offended:
– Where shall I sign my name? Under Dionysius? Under no circumstances! Dionysius shall not be above me! You say that the Son of God cannot be equal to God the Father: why then have you chosen my son over me?
The elder refused to sign until Dionysius's name was erased from the highest place. The Arian bishops, eager to secure Eusebius's signature and wishing to appease him, ordered that Dionysius's name be erased. Dionysius erased his signature from the charter with his own hand, as if granting the highest place to the most senior bishop, Eusebius of Vercellina, while he himself, as if wishing to sign under him, abdicated. When Dionysius's name was erased, so that no trace of the writing remained, blessed Eusebius ceased feigning agreement with the Arian council and openly confessed the truth, mocking the Arians.
"Neither will I be defiled by your iniquities," he said, "nor will I allow my son Dionysius to participate in your impiety, for it is unlawful to sign an unlawful decree to depose an innocent bishop—it is forbidden by God's law and the canons of the Church. Let it be known to all that Eusebius and Dionysius will no longer sign your decree, filled with malice and lawlessness. Thanks be to God, who has spared Dionysius from complicity with you and taught us how to erase from your midst his name, which was unlawfully signed."
The Arians, seeing themselves ridiculed by Eusebius and Dionysius, raised their hands against them to inflict violence, and, having insulted them with numerous insults, they exiled both of them separately, and so severely oppressed the blessed Eusebius in prison that he died there in agony. Hearing of this and learning that the diocesan soldiers, by imperial command, were coming to seize him, Saint Athanasius, enlightened by some divine manifestation, left the bishopric at midnight and hid with a certain virtuous maiden who was dedicated to God and lived as a true servant of Christ. He remained hidden with her until the very death of Emperor Constantius, and no one knew anything about him except God and only that maiden, who herself served him and brought him from others the books he requested. During his stay there, Athanasius wrote many works against heretics 718 .
Meanwhile, the Alexandrian people searched for their shepherd, Saint Athanasius, going everywhere for this purpose. Everyone grieved greatly for him and sought him with such zeal that each was ready to joyfully lay down his life for his discovery—and the Holy Church was oppressed with profound sorrow. The Arian heresy had greatly increased not only in the East but also in the West. By imperial decree, those bishops in Italy and throughout the West who refused to subscribe to the "heterogeneous" clause, the heretical teaching that the Son of God is of a different nature from the Father, were deposed from their sees. At that time, Saint Liberius, Pope of Rome, who had succeeded Blessed Julius, the successor of Saint Sylvester , was expelled from the Roman throne for his Orthodoxy; in his place, a certain heretic named Felix was chosen . After the Holy Church had been oppressed and persecuted on all sides for a long time, the death of Emperor Constantius drew near. Situated between Cappadocia and Cilicia, at a place called the "Mopsis Springs," he lost both his kingdom and his life . 720 Likewise, the false bishop of Alexandria, installed by heretics, suffered God's judgment, "and the wicked shall perish with a tumult," being killed by the Greek people, who had risen in rebellion over a place in Alexandria belonging to him, which George had wanted to seize .
After the death of Constantius, Julian ascended the imperial throne in 722 , setting about destroying the statutes and laws of Constantius and recalling all those in exile. Athanasius learned of this, but he feared that the Arians might draw Julian into their impiety (Julian's apostasy and complete renunciation of Christ had not yet been revealed). Nevertheless, Saint Athanasius emerged in the dead of night from the aforementioned maiden's house where he had been hiding and appeared in the midst of the Alexandrian church. Who can describe the joy that overwhelmed all the Orthodox—how they flocked from everywhere to see him, with what great delight the clergy, citizens, and all the people gazed upon him and embraced him with love? His arrival inspired courage in the Orthodox, and they immediately expelled the Arians from Alexandria, entrusting the city and themselves to Athanasius, their pastor and teacher.
Meanwhile, the lawless Julian, previously a secret pagan, now openly demonstrated his renunciation. Having established himself as king, he publicly renounced Christ and blasphemed His most holy name, worshiped idols, erected temples everywhere, and commanded abominable sacrifices to the impious gods. Altars were erected everywhere, stench and smoke permeated the air, animals were slaughtered, and their blood was shed. Denounced by the great pillars and teachers of the Church, Julian launched a cruel persecution against the Church, and at the very beginning of the persecution, he took up arms against Saint Athanasius. When the emperor consulted with his associates and his wise sorcerers, and even consulted sorcerers and wizards on how to eradicate Christianity from the face of the world, the decision came to everyone that Athanasius must be exterminated from the face of the earth and destroyed. They reasoned thus: "If the foundation is overthrown, then it will be easy to destroy the other parts of the Christian faith separately." Once again, an unlawful trial was held against Athanasius, once again an army was sent to Alexandria, and once again the city was thrown into confusion. The Church was surrounded and shaken by armed soldiers, but they sought only Athanasius to kill him. He, as before, protected by God's providence, passed through the crowd, eluded the hands of those searching for him, and by night he reached the Nile River. When the saint boarded a ship to sail to the Thebaid, his loved ones overtook him and tearfully said:
"Where are you going again, Father? To whom are you leaving us, like sheep without a shepherd?"
The saint answered:
“Do not cry, children, for this rebellion that we see now will soon end.
Having said this, he set sail on his way. Meanwhile, a certain commander quickly followed him, whom the torturer had ordered to kill Athanasius immediately upon overtaking him. When one of Athanasius's companions spotted the commander from afar, sailing after the ship and already gaining on them, and recognized him, he began to exhort his oarsmen to row faster, in order to escape their pursuers. But Saint Athanasius, after a brief pause, foreseeing what was about to happen to him, ordered the oarsmen to steer the ship back toward Alexandria. When they hesitated and feared to carry out Athanasius's command, he bade them take heart. Then, turning the ship to starboard, they sailed for Alexandria directly to meet their persecutors. When they approached them, the barbarians' gaze was darkened as if by a mist, so that although they saw, they did not see, and they floated past. Athanasius asked them:
- Who are you looking for?
They answered:
– We are looking for Afanasy: have you seen him anywhere?
“He’s swimming,” answered Afanasy, “a little ahead of you, as if he’s running from some pursuers: hurry, and then you’ll soon catch up with him.”
Thus, the saint escaped the hands of his assassins. Reaching Alexandria, he entered the city, and all the believers rejoiced at his return. However, he remained in hiding until the death of Julian (724 ). When the impious king died soon after, Jovinian, a pious Christian, ascended the throne. And again, Athanasius fearlessly ascended his throne, carefully governing the Church. But Jovinian's reign was also short—only seven months (725 )—and he died in Galatia. Valens ascended the throne ( 726) , infected with the Arian heresy. Once again, disasters befell the Church. The impious king, having assumed power, cared neither for public peace nor for victories over enemies, but once again began to strive to spread and strengthen Arianism. He deposed Orthodox bishops who did not agree with his heresy from their cathedras. Thus, he first exiled Saint Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch . 727 When this internal strife, oppressing the Church of Christ everywhere, reached Alexandria and, by order of the eparch, soldiers were to take Saint Athanasius into custody, the blessed one secretly left the city and, hiding in the family crypt, remained there for four months, and no one knew where he was. Then all of Alexandria, grieving and lamenting Saint Athanasius, rose up in great rebellion, troubled by such great and numerous afflictions from the kings. The Alexandrians already wanted to revolt from Valens and prepared arms for rebellion.
Upon learning of this, the Emperor, fearing their apostasy, courage, and civil war, allowed Athanasius, albeit against his will, to rule the Alexandrian Church without fear. Thus, Athanasius, an aged warrior of Christ, after long labors and many struggles for Orthodoxy, and before his death, having lived briefly in peace and quiet in his see, fell asleep in the Lord 728 and joined his fathers, the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, and confessors, like whom he had labored on earth. He held the episcopacy for forty-seven years 729 and left as his successor in the Alexandrian see Peter 730 , his blessed friend and sharer in all his misfortunes. He himself departed to receive bright crowns and the reward of ineffable blessings from Christ his Lord, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory and dominion, honor and worship, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Source: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Dmitrij_Rostovskij/zhitija-svjatykh/62