| 
|
|
|
|
A
Powerful African |
If
you attend a traditional liturgical church, you
have undoubtedly heard of The Athanasian Creed.”
Of the three major creeds of the Christian faith,
i.e., Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian,
the Athanasian Creed is the most lengthy and presents
the historic faith in greater detail than the
other two creeds. It needs to be said at this
point that the creed named after Athanasius, a
North African Christian, was not actually written
by him. An unknown Church leader gleaned material
from the writings of Athanasius and put together
this powerful statement of orthodoxy. As a “free”
Christian I do not consider the creeds of the
churches to be divinely inspired nor on the other
hand do I totally dismiss them as many of my evangelical
peers tend to do. I recognize them, at least some
of them, as guides to aid Christians in basic
beliefs of the historic biblical faith.
|
An
icon of Athanasius |
|
Who
Was Athanasius?
Athanasius was born of Christian parents in the city of
Alexandria, Egypt in the year 297 AD. He received a well-rounded
education and was well versed in the Scriptures. He came
to believe and accept the writings of Scripture to be
the inspired Word of God while still a youth. Athanasius
felt the call of God upon his life and entered the ministry
at a young age. He was ordained a deacon in his native
city of Alexandria. He quickly rose in the ranks of the
church leadership and was part of the Church Council held
in Nicaea. It was at this Council in 325 AD that the leaders
of the churches condemned the Arian heresy. Arius, who
this heresy is named for, was excommunicated as a result
of action taken by the Council. It was also at this Council
that the Nicene Creed was largely developed coming into
full fruition a few years later. Around
327 AD Athanasius was elected bishop of the church in
Alexandria. This was an important ministry. By this time
the office of bishop had been elevated to a place not
known in the early New Testament churches during the days
of the original apostles. Originally a bishop was a presbyter
[pastor-overseer-elder] in a local church. As the structure
of hierarchy developed and became acceptable in the institutional
churches of that time and day, the office of bishop exerted
authority over a number of churches in given geographical
areas. The faith of Christ had spread throughout Northern
Africa. In fact, it was not until the rise and spread
of Islam that the Christian churches of North Africa were
no longer a major force in that part of the world. Some
Christians today are unaware of the fact that many of
the early leaders of the Christian faith came from North
Africa. The Coptic churches in Ethiopia and Egypt trace
their beginnings to Mark. Many looked to the diocese of
Alexandria for spiritual oversight and guidance. It is
said that the city of Alexandria had the greatest library
in the world of that day.
|
Athanasius
was an uncompromising defender of the faith as
it had been handed down from the original apostles.
He refused to compromise his orthodox beliefs
even though at times he was banished from his
church. In fact, on five separate occasions he
had been banished. On one such occasion he was
exiled to Trier or Treves, the capital of Gaul.
In
addition to serving as the chief pastor (bishop)
of Alexandria he was looked upon as the spiritual
overseer of Christian desert hermits dwelling
in Egypt as well as overseer of Ethiopia. In that
day some Christians, in their desire to give their
all to Christ, believed that they had to withdraw
from the world and spend their lives alone in
prayer and study of Scripture in the desert as
hermits.
|
A
Coptic Cross |
|
This
was the beginning of what became orders of monks and nuns
in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The
Reformers of the sixteenth century largely rejected this
concept though some orders have since risen among some
Anglicans and Lutherans.
On one occasion soldiers of the emperor entered the church
where Athanasius pastored and killed a number of congregants
as well as wounded many others in the congregation. Athanasius
was able to flee out into the desert where he was protected
for six years. With Athanasius out of the picture an Arian
bishop seized control of the diocese. This Arian bishop
proceeded to subvert the orthodoxy that had been the cornerstone
of the church in Alexandria.During
his exile in the desert, Athanasius wrote a number of
important theological works. He had a very keen intellect
and is considered a doctor of the Church. We still have
some of his writings today. His works include: “The
Decrees of the Council of Nicea,” “History
of the Arians,” and “Orations Against the
Arians.”
|
|
Eventually
he was able to come out of hiding and return to
his congregation where he ministered for the last
seven years of his life. During this time he was
instrumental in firmly reestablishing apostolic
doctrine, not only in his area of the world, but
throughout the whole Church. Shortly before his
death he was able to see the triumph of orthodoxy
over the Arian heresy at the Council of Constantinople
in 381. It was through the efforts of Athanasius
that he was able to bring together theologians
from both the East and the West. At that time
the theologians of the East emphasized that the
Godhead is made up of three Persons: Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. The theologians of the West insisted
that God is One. Through the efforts of Athanasius,
along with Basil and Hilary, this Council came
to the agreement that indeed there is One True
God, revealed in Three Persons: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit.
|
|
1
Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox churches
2 The term “orthodoxy” is referring to “straight”
or “correct” doctrine
3 A diocese is a geographical area over which a bishop
exerts oversight.
4 Arianism was a heresy that had strayed from orthodox
Christian belief and had infiltrated into the churches.
5 The term ‘Godhead’ refers to the more commonly
used term: Trinity or tri-unity of God
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
