Житие святого отца нашего Афанасия, архиепископа Александрийского

Saint Athanasius the Great, this living and immortal image of virtue and godly life, was born in the famous capital of Egypt, Alexandria 658. His parents were Christians, pious and virtuous people. Even in the days of Athanasius’s adolescence, the following incident foreshadowed his future great hierarchical activity. One day Afanasy was playing with his peers on the seashore. The children imitated what they saw in the church, depicting with their play the priests of God and church rituals. They elected Athanasius as their bishop; He also named some presbyters, others deacons. These latter brought other children to him - pagans who had not yet been baptized. Athanasius baptized them with sea water, pronouncing the words prescribed for the sacrament of holy baptism, as he heard from the priest in the church; to this he added teachings in accordance with his childhood. At the same time, Saint Alexander was the Patriarch of Alexandria 659. Accidentally looking from the windows of his house, located on an elevated place, not far from the sea, to the seashore and seeing a child’s game, he watched with amazement as Athanasius performed the baptism. He immediately ordered all the children to be brought to him. Questioning the children in detail, the patriarch tried to find out who exactly they were baptizing, how they were questioned before baptism and what they answered, and learned that in their game they did everything in accordance with the church charter. After that, after consulting with his clergy, he recognized the baptism of pagan children performed by Athanasius as true and completed it with confirmation, then he called the parents of the children, who acted as presbyters, and advised them to educate them for the priesthood. Saint Alexander instructed the parents of Athanasius 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 mental education 660, his parents brought him to the holy Patriarch Alexander and, just as Anna-Samuel once did (1 Samuel 1), dedicated him as a gift to God. Soon after, the patriarch made him a cleric and ordained him a deacon of the Alexandrian Church 661. How, in this rank, from his youth he courageously fought against heretics and what he suffered from them - it is impossible to list everything; but one cannot remain silent about some of his most remarkable exploits and deeds. At that time, the wicked Arius was spreading his insane heresy and shaking the entire Church with his harmful teachings. Although he was already cursed at the first Ecumenical Council of the Holy Fathers in Nicaea 662, excommunicated from communion with the Church of Christ and condemned to imprisonment, however, overthrown and barely alive, he did not stop his struggle against Orthodoxy. He began to act through his students and like-minded people, spreading the poison of his heresy everywhere. Having many intercessors before the king, especially Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia 663, with other bishops who adhered to the same heresy, Arius through them asked Constantine the Great for mercy to be released from prison and allowed to return to Alexandria. Eusebius insidiously convinced the king that Arius did not introduce any teaching contrary to Orthodoxy and did not preach anything inconsistent with the teaching of the Church, but out of envy he suffered from the wickedness of the bishops, and that the dispute between them was not about faith, but only because of empty, abstract words 664. The king, out of his simple-heartedness and kindness, not suspecting heretical cunning and deceit, believed the false assurances and ordered to stop the dispute and not quarrel over words, so that there would be no discord between the churches. Without investigating the matter at all, he, out of his mercy, allowed Arius to return to Alexandria. And so this wicked heretic, to the general disaster of the church, returned to Alexandria. This circumstance was very difficult and regrettable for the Orthodox, especially for Saint Athanasius, as a warrior of Christ and a firm defender of the true traditions of Orthodoxy. At that time he was already awarded the rank of archdeacon. This warrior of Christ pursued the heretic who invaded the Church of Christ like a wolf, exposing his evil intentions both with his writings and with his preaching. At the same time, Athanasius encouraged His Holiness Archbishop Alexander to write a letter to the Tsar, and he himself wrote with him, exposing the innocence by which the Tsar, having believed the seductions and heretical fables, now accepts Arius, who has turned away from the Orthodox Church, rejected by God Himself and all the Holy Fathers, and allows him to shake the laws of the fathers. But the king, at the suggestion of Eusebius, answered them with an even harsher message, threatening them with defrocking if they did not keep quiet. The pious and kind king did this not to satisfy his anger and not because he was disposed towards Arianism, but having zeal, although not according to reason, that there should be no discord between the churches. Loving the world 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 this, His Holiness Alexander reposed; Athanasius was unanimously elected as his successor to the See of Alexandria by all Orthodox Christians, as a vessel worthy of such peace 665. Then the secret sowers of weeds - the Arians - fell silent for a while, without entering into an open struggle with Athanasius; but then, through demonic instigation, they discovered their cunning and clearly discovered the poison nesting inside their malice, since Saint Athanasius did not accept the wicked Arius into church communion, although the latter had a royal order to that effect. Everywhere the Arians began to arouse enmity against the innocent and spread evil slander, trying to ensure that those who are worthy of heavenly settlements would not only be overthrown from the earthly holy throne, but also expelled from the city. But Athanasius remained unshaken, singing with David: “If an army takes up arms against me, my heart will not fear” (Ps. 26:3). The leader of the insidious plan was Eusebius, who only bore the name of piety 666, but in fact was a vessel of wickedness. Taking advantage of the king’s kindness with his like-minded people and assuming that now the time was convenient for that, he excited everyone in order to depose Athanasius from the throne. Eusebius thought that if he deposed Athanasius, then he would easily defeat other Orthodox Christians and establish the Aryan teaching. He began to spread unjust and false slander against the righteous man, which seemed reliable to the heretics. To do this, he hired for money the follower of Meletius 667 Ision, who was sophisticated in the deceit of Eudomon and Kallinikos, strong in malice. The charges against Athanasius were as follows: 1) as if he forces the Egyptians to pay taxes on priestly vestments, linen garments, altar curtains and fabrics and other church utensils; 2) as if he is ill-willed to the king and despises the royal instructions; 3) as if he was covetous and sent a box full of gold to one of his friends for safekeeping. Added to this was an accusation regarding the false priest Ischir 668, who was crafty, cunning and cunning in his malice; Having appropriated the name of presbyter to himself without the usual dedication, he committed so many evil, lawless and criminal deeds that he deserved not only ejection and reproach, but also severe punishment. Having learned everything about Iskhir, blessed Athanasius, always thorough and cautious in resolving such matters, sent presbyter Macarius to Mareota 669 to investigate everything about the lawless deeds of the Iskhirs. Ischira, fearing interrogation and exposure, fled from there and, coming to Nicomedia, began to slander Athanasius before Eusebius. Eusebius and his accomplices accepted Ischir, this apostate of God and violator of sacred rules, as a true priest, and treated him with respect: for it is natural to love someone like oneself, whether in malice or in virtue. They themselves, burning with anger at Athanasius from extreme hatred, met Ischir with great joy. They encouraged his audacity and insolence and promised to honor him with the rank of bishop if only he could bring any slander and slander against the righteous man. Iskhir, being cunning and skilled in such matters, tried to bring charges against the innocent Athanasius. He said that by order of Athanasius, Presbyter Macarius, having invaded the church as a bandit, with great rage pulled him away from the throne, overturned the throne, broke the cup with the Divine Mysteries and burned the sacred books. Having accepted this slander of Ischir as the truth and adding it to other slander, the enemies of Athanasius approached King Constantine, slandering Saint Athanasius. In particular, they tried to arouse the anger of the king, accusing Athanasius of not paying attention to the royal written instructions and not listening to the royal commands, not accepting Arius into church communion. In addition, the accusation was also brought against the blessed one regarding some kind of dead hand, that Athanasius, supposedly, through it, magically performed miracles and enchantments (they themselves, being truly cursed and obvious sorcerers); This hand allegedly belonged to a certain cleric Arseny, and was cut off due to the machinations of Athanasius. The king, having examined the case, was perplexed: he knew well the virtue of Athanasius, and at the same time the accusations brought against him seemed to him more or less probable. Therefore, he chose a middle path: without condemning Athanasius, at the same time he did not refuse to investigate his case. And since at that time in Jerusalem the feast of the renovation of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ was being celebrated and bishops from all countries were gathering here 670, the king, taking advantage of this opportunity, ordered the bishops to gather in Tire 671 for a thorough investigation of the accusations against Athanasius the Great, as well as to consider the case of Arius, whether he really, as he himself claims, teaches according to the teachings of the holy faith and adheres to true Orthodox traditions: if he overthrown by envy, then to be again accepted 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 wickedly, then let him be judged according to the sacred laws and accept a worthy execution according to his deeds. In the case of Arseny, the king ordered an investigation to be carried out first so that, if Athanasius turned out to be guilty, he would be condemned in accordance with the laws. To reliably investigate this matter, Constantine sent one of his stewards, named Archelaus, along with the Phoenician prince Non. When these latter came to Tire (Athanasius was here at that time, awaiting the exposure of the slander brought against him regarding the dead hand and sorcery), they postponed the investigation until the expected slanderers came from Alexandria, claiming that they had seen the lawlessness of Athanasius (the cutting off of Arsenius’ hand and sorcery) with their own eyes. This postponement of the investigation occurred at the discretion of God, as the end of the case clearly showed. For God, looking down on everyone from above and delivering the offended one from those who offend him, continued time so that Arseny himself had time to come to Tire. Arseny was one of the clergy of the Alexandrian Church, a reader by position; having committed one great 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 knows where. The insidious opponents of Athanasius, sophisticated in their intrigues and not at all expecting that Arseny would ever appear because of fear and shame about the sin he had committed, boldly wrote that there was a dead hand of Arseny, and spread the rumor everywhere that Athanasius had committed this heinous crime. When the rumor that Afanasy was being put on trial for beheading Arseny’s hand spread throughout all countries, this rumor reached Arseny himself, who was hiding in unknown places. Condolent for his father and benefactor and grieving in his heart that the truth was lawlessly conquered by lies, he secretly came to Tire and appeared to Athanasius himself, falling at his honest feet. Blessed Athanasius, rejoicing at the arrival of Arseny, ordered him not to show himself to anyone until the trial. It was the thirtieth year of the reign of Constantine 672, when bishops from different cities gathered in Tire 673. Presbyter Macarius was brought in by the soldiers; among them was the governor, who wanted to carry out the trial together with the bishops, as well as some of the other secular authorities; The slanderers also appeared, and the trial began. Then Afanasy was called. At first he was falsely accused of linen church vestments and the veil, and also of covetousness; but immediately the lie of this slander was exposed, and the malice of the slanderers became clear to everyone. Meanwhile, the evil hatred of Athanasius’ opponents was not tamed; They still had not had enough of false slander against Athanasius, but they added another to one intrigue, and another to one lie. The wicked heretics bribed one shameless woman to slander Athanasius, saying that while he was with her, against her will, he had committed iniquity with her. When the trial began, the judges sat down and the slanderers appeared, and this woman was brought in. She complained with tears about Afanasy, whom she had never seen and did not even know what he looked like. “For God’s sake, I accepted him into my house,” she said about Athanasius, “as a venerable and holy husband, wishing blessings on myself and my house.” And on the contrary, I suffered from him. At midnight, when I was sleeping on the bed, he came to me and violently abused me, since no one freed me from his hands, for everyone in the house fell asleep in a deep sleep. While the shameless woman was so slandering and slandering with tears, Athanasius’s friend, Presbyter Timothy, standing with him outside the door and hearing the mentioned slander, became indignant in spirit and, unexpectedly entering the courthouse, hastily stood before the eyes of that slanderer, as if he were Athanasius himself; he boldly addressed her with the following words: “Did I commit violence against you, woman, at night, as you say?” Am I? The woman cried out to the judges with even greater shamelessness: - This man is my molester and an attacker against my purity; he, and no one else, while staying with me, repaid me with abuse for my good deed. Hearing this, the judges laughed, but Athanasius’ opponents were very ashamed, for their lies were clearly revealed. Everyone was surprised at such blatant slander and recognized Athanasius as completely innocent of the sin charged against him. But Athanasius’ opponents began to accuse the holy man of sorcery and the murder of Arseny, brought before everyone’s eyes some terrible-looking dead hand and, shamelessly waving it at the saint, exclaimed: “This hand silently cries out at you, Athanasius, this hand convicts you; it catches you and holds you tightly so that you do not escape condemnation; You will not be able to avoid her testimony either by speech, or by cunning, or by any intrigue. Everyone knows Arseny, whose hand you cut off unjustly and without any mercy. So, tell us, finally, why did you need it and for what purpose did you cut it off? Athanasius patiently listened to them, imitating Christ his Lord, who was once condemned by the Jews and at the same time did not argue, did not cry, but “like a sheep led to the slaughter” (Is. 53:7); At first he was silent, then, answering the accusation, he said with meekness: – Is there anyone among you who knows Arseny well? Isn't there anyone who can definitely recognize whether this is really his hand? When many rose from their seats, claiming that they knew Arseny himself and his hand well, Athanasius immediately opened the curtain behind which Arseny stood and ordered him to stand in the middle of the meeting. And so Arseny stood in the middle of the trial alive and well, with both hands intact. The blessed one, looking with anger at the slanderers, said: – Isn’t this Arseny? Is this not the one whose hand, as you say, was cut off? Isn't this the one whom all the Alexandrians know? And, commanding Arseny to stretch up first his right, then his left hand, he exclaimed loudly, as if calling on those who were far from the truth: - Here, men, is Arseny! Here are his hands, which were not cut off at all! Show us your Arseny, if you have one, and tell who owns the severed hand that condemns you yourself as having committed this crime. When the trial was carried out in this way, a message came to the council from the king, strongly denouncing the slanderers, commanding Athanasius to be freed from the unjust accusation and mercifully calling him to the king. It happened like this. Two elders of the Alexandrian Church, Apis and Macarius (not the one who was brought bound to the trial, but another of the same name), having come to Nicomedia, told the king everything about Athanasius, about how the enemies had brought false accusations against the holy man and held an unfair conference. The king, realizing the truth and the slander that occurred out of envy, wrote such a message to the bishops for the trial in Tire that when it was read at the trial, the followers of Eusebius were seized with fear, and they did not know what to do; However, prompted by great envy, they did not stop raging, did not limit themselves to the fact that they had already been defeated and put to shame once and, turning to other false accusations, slandered Macarius, who was brought to trial. The false accuser was Ischyrus, and the false witnesses were the adherents of Eusebius, whom Athanasius had previously rejected as false and unworthy of faith. Athanasius wanted it to be reliably investigated about Ischira, whether he was really a true priest, and only then promised to answer about the accusations brought against him. The judges did not agree to this and continued to try Macarius. After the slanderers had exhausted all their slander, the hearing of the case was postponed, because it was necessary to carry out an investigation at the very place where Macarius allegedly overthrew the altar, that is, in Mareota. Seeing that for this purpose the very slanderers who had been rejected by him as liars from the very beginning were being sent to Mareota, Athanasius, unable to bear the injustice being committed, incessantly exclaimed: – Truth has faded away, truth has been trampled upon, justice has perished, legal investigation and careful consideration of cases have disappeared from judges! Is it legal for someone who wants to justify himself to be kept in prison, and the trial of the entire case to be entrusted to slanderers and enemies, and for the slanderers themselves to judge the one they slander? So Saint Athanasius the Great cried out to everyone about this and testified to the whole council. Seeing that he would not have any success, due to the increasing number of enemies and envious people, he secretly went to the king. And immediately that council, or, better to say, the evil assembly, condemned the absent Athanasius. At the end of the unjust investigation into the above-mentioned case in Mareota, carried out in accordance with the will and desire of the enemies of Saint Athanasius, the judges, themselves worthy of overthrow, determined that Athanasius should be finally overthrown. Then they went to Jerusalem, where the same people who only verbally adhered to piety and at the former Council of Nicaea feignedly signed the dogma of the consubstantiality of the Son of God with God the Father accepted into the church communion of the God-fighting Arius. But those who held the Orthodox faith in both their hearts and lips, carefully pondering the words and speeches of Arius and carefully examining them, recognized the deception that lurked under the cover of many words and speeches, and, catching it like a fox, exposed him as an enemy of the truth. At this time, another message came from the king (Athanasius had not yet had time to reach the king), commanding Athanasius and all his slanderers and judges to immediately appear before him. This created great fear among the members of the council, for the enemies of Athanasius, who carried out the illegal trial, were afraid that their untruth would be exposed; therefore, many of them dispersed to their own countries. Eusebius and Theognius, Bishop of Nicea 674, and some others, having managed to come up with some plausible excuses for slowing down in Tire, remained here for quite a long time, and answered the king with letters. Meanwhile, Athanasius, having appeared before the king in Nicomedia, was justified from the accusation of covetousness brought against him. And while the followers of Eusebius hesitated and were in no hurry to appear to the king, the latter sent Athanasius to the See of Alexandria with his message, in which the groundlessness and injustice of all slander against the saint was attested. When Saint Athanasius ruled his see in this way, and Arius was in Alexandria, the Arians caused great confusion and rumor among the people. Blessed Athanasius, unable to see that Arius was disturbing and shaking not only Alexandria alone, but also all of Egypt, reported all this to the king in writing, exhorting him to punish the atheist and troubler of the people. In response to this, the king immediately sent an order to Alexandria to present Arius bound to the royal court. During the journey to the king from Alexandria, Arius, having reached Caesarea, met with his like-minded people: Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, Theognius of Nicea and Marius, Bishop of Chalcedon 675; having consulted together, they composed new slander against Athanasius, neither fearing God nor sparing the innocent husband, but having one desire - to cover the truth with lies, as the Divine Isaiah says: “They conceive evil and give birth to villainy” are those who said: “because we have made lies a refuge for ourselves, and we will cover ourselves with deceit” (Is. 59: 4, 28, 15). 676 Such efforts were made by 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, wanting to justify himself, and Eusebius and his accomplices - to promote 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 Tire, what they determined there and what judgment they pronounced on Athanasius. They answered the king: - Tsar! We do not particularly grieve over the errors of Athanasius, but we are overwhelmed with grief and jealousy about the altar, which he destroyed, and about the chalice with St. The secrets that he crushed and broke into pieces, as well as the fact that he forbade and forbade sending the wheat usually sent to Constantinople from Alexandria 677: this especially saddens us, it hurts our soul. The bishops who witnessed his atrocities were Adamantius, Anuvion, Arvestion and Peter 678; Convicted by them of all this, Athanasius escaped the trial that he justly deserved for his deeds, but he could not avoid being overthrown, but was unanimously overthrown by the entire council for daring to commit such lawless deeds. Listening to these speeches, the king initially remained silent, embarrassed in his soul; then, unable to stop the slanderers, he ordered that the righteous man be temporarily sent to Gaul 679 - not because he believed the slander or was overwhelmed by anger, but for the sake of pacifying the Church (as testified by people who reliably learned the royal intention). The king saw how many bishops rebelled against Athanasius, and how great confusion arose because of this in the people of Alexandria and Egypt. And so, wanting to calm such a storm, stop the rumors and heal the illnesses of so many bishops, he ordered the holy man to leave the city for a while 680. After this, Tsar Constantine himself, in the 31st year of his reign, died, being sixty-five years old. When he died, he left three sons as heirs to his kingdom: Constantine, Constantius and Constance, among whom, according to his will, he divided the kingdom, assigning the eldest son Constantine the majority of the kingdom. But since at the death of Constantine the Great there were none of his sons, he handed over his will to one presbyter 681, who was a secret follower of Arius. Secretly hiding the heresy within himself, this presbyter also hid the royal will; when many asked him whether the king had made a will when dying, he said nothing about it. He had some of the royal eunuchs as secret accomplices in this matter. While the eldest son Constantine was slow to come to his deceased father, Constantius hurried to leave Antioch as quickly as possible and came before everyone else. The aforementioned presbyter secretly conveyed to him the will of his father, and, in gratitude, did not ask for any reward, except that he would go over to the side of the Arians and help them; he wanted Constantius, instead of thanking the immortal King Christ for his earthly kingdom, to madly recognize him not as God and the Lord of all and not as the Creator, but as a creature! The aforementioned Eusebius and all his accomplices contributed to this, rejoicing that the time they desired had come; they hoped to spread and strengthen the heretical teaching of the Aryans only if the new king approved the decision on the imprisonment of Athanasius as fair and completely legal. At that time, they persuaded the preposite 682 who was in the royal chambers to their heresy and like-mindedness with them, and through him the disease of Arian heresy penetrated into the other eunuchs 683, who by their very nature are very prone to both the perception and the spread of all evil among others. Then the king’s wife, gradually becoming corrupted by blasphemous speeches, became infected with the same heretical poison. Finally, the king himself, seduced by the Arian false wisdom, rebelled against Christ, his Lord and Master, so that the words of the Divine Jeremiah were fulfilled on Him: “The shepherds have fallen away from Me” (Jer. 2:8). 684 And Constantius publicly commanded that the Arian false teaching be established, and that all bishops should philosophize in the same way as he, and ordered those who disobey to be convinced by threats. Amid this great storm and confusion, the true helmsmen for the churches were the following archpastors: Maximus of Jerusalem 685, Alexander of Constantinople and Athanasius of Alexandria (about whom we are talking), who, although he was in captivity, did not leave the helm of the Church, establishing Orthodoxy with his word and messages. Eusebius of Nicomedia, with his like-minded people, spread their heretical false teaching with all their might, raising a fight against the Orthodox and oppressing the Church of Christ. In particular, they armed themselves against her after the terrible death of Arius. The cunning and insidious Eusebius, with great honor, brought Arius into Constantinople to great deception and seduction of the believers, for then there was no one there who would oppose Arius, after many of the authorities had joined him, since Athanasius was in captivity. But God, who wisely arranges everything from above, destroyed their plans, ending the anger and life of Arius. And with what force during his life his tongue spewed blasphemous words against Orthodoxy, with the same and even greater force his womb burst, his insides fell out, and he, accursed, lay in his blood in unclean places 686. Thus, a worthy judgment was carried out on the unbridled tongue and the evil vessel, filled with the fetid pus of heresy, which was Arius! After this heresiarch had so horribly destroyed soul and body, Eusebius and his accomplices took upon themselves all the work of defending and spreading the heresy and caused confusion everywhere, having at the same time zealous assistants of eunuchs - as if with their own hands. They especially tried to block the mouth of Athanasius, who was in exile, so that he would not spread his messages in defense of Orthodoxy. But God's Providence bowed to the mercy of the heart of the eldest son of Constantine the Great, also named Constantine 687, who was the first among the brothers both in years and by birthright. This latter freed Saint Athanasius from captivity and sent him with his message to Alexandria, to the see. In this message it was written: “Conqueror Constantine wishes to rejoice in the church of Alexandria and the people. I think that there is not one among you who does not know about what recently happened to the great preacher of Orthodoxy and teacher of the law of God - Athanasius, about how a common struggle was raised against him by the enemies of the truth, and about what he was told to stay with me in Gaul in order to be able to evade for some time the disasters that threatened him; but he was not condemned to permanent exile. We treated him with every precaution, taking care that no unforeseen trouble should happen to him, although he is truly patient like no one else; inflamed with zeal for God, he can easily endure any hardship. Our father Constantine wanted to soon return him to the patriarchal throne, but, having died and not having time to fulfill his intentions for him, he left this matter to me, his heir, bequeathing the last commandment about this husband. So, we command you to receive him now with all honor and solemn welcome.” With this royal message, Saint Athanasius reached Alexandria, and all the Orthodox joyfully greeted him 688. And those who adhered to the Arian heresy began to organize malicious gatherings among themselves and again institute persecution against the saint and stir up confusion among the people; they invented various reasons for slandering the saint: that he returned to the patriarchal throne without a conciliar trial and entered the church of his own free will 689; they also accused him of being the cause of various turmoil, murders and exiles and brought other, previous and new, charges against him. At the same time, a people strongly infected with the Arian heresy rebelled 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 through secret ways. Meanwhile, the Arian bishops, sending messages everywhere, announced that Athanasius, legally, by conciliar decision, deposed, without a conciliar decision, again occupied the throne of Alexandria; at the same time, they divulged about the violence that allegedly accompanied his return to Alexandria. Thus, they denied him access to cities and churches in all countries. Meanwhile, Konstantin, Afanasyev’s patron, died: he was killed in L’Aquila by soldiers 690. The enemies of Athanasius took advantage of this and aroused such anger against the saint in King Constantius, who patronized him, that he promised property and honors to those who would announce where Athanasius was, if he was alive, or bring him the head of the murdered archpastor. Athanasius hid for quite a long time in one deep, waterless and dry ditch of a deserted well, and no one knew about him, except one lover of God, who fed him, guarding him in that place 691. Then, when some began to guess about the presence of Athanasius here, for everywhere they carefully searched for him and asked about him, and already wanted to capture him one morning, he, guided by Divine Providence, came out of the ditch at night and moved to another place; fearing that he would be found and captured there too, he withdrew from the eastern countries to the borders of the western empire. At that time, in the west, after the death of Constantine II, the youngest of the sons of Constantine the Great, Constantine, reigned. Having reached Europe, blessed Athanasius went to Rome and, appearing to Pope Julius 692 and to King Constant himself, told them everything about himself in detail. Meanwhile, a council of eastern bishops was then taking place in Antioch, convening to consecrate the church 693, which Constantine the Great began to build, and his son Constantius completed. For this purpose, all the eastern bishops gathered there, among whom were many Arians. These latter, taking advantage of the patronage of the king, convened a lawless council and again declared Saint Athanasius, who was then in the west, deposed, writing slander against Athanasius in a letter to the pope, urging the pope to recognize him deposed. In Alexandria, they first elected Eusebius of Emesus 694, who was distinguished by his eloquence, to the patriarchal throne, but he refused, knowing how deeply the Alexandrians revered their archpastor Athanasius. Then they installed a certain Gregory, a Cappadocian by birth, on the Patriarchal throne of Alexandria 695; but he did not have time to reach Alexandria when Athanasius arrived there from Rome. It happened as follows. Pope Julius, having carefully examined the slander brought against Athanasius, recognized them as false, and therefore again released him to the See of Alexandria along with his message, in which he sharply, with threats, denounced those who dared to overthrow him. The saint was received by the Orthodox Alexandrians with great joy. His opponents, having learned about this (their leader, Eusebius of Nicomedia had already died 696 at that time), were very embarrassed and immediately inspired the king to send an army to Alexandria together with Gregory in order to elevate him to the patriarchal throne. And so the king sent, together with the heretic Gregory, who was elected by heretics to the patriarchal throne, a governor named Siriana, with many armed soldiers, ordering him to kill Athanasius, and to elevate Gregory to the archbishop's see. Once, on the eve of one holiday, when an all-night vigil was being held in the Alexandria Cathedral Church and all the Orthodox were praying in the church with their shepherd Athanasius and singing church hymns, Sirian suddenly burst in with armed soldiers. Walking around the church, he looked only for Athanasius in order to kill him. But the saint, covered by the providence of God, secretly left the church, surrounded by people, and since darkness had fallen at that time, he passed unnoticed among the general confusion and multitudes of people, thus avoiding death, like a fish from the very middle of a net, after which he returned to Rome again. After this, the wicked Gregory took the throne of Alexandria like a predator. There was great unrest among the people, so that the rebels even set fire to one church, called Dionysius. Saint Athanasius stayed in Rome for three years, enjoying the deep respect of King Constant and Pope Julius. There he had as a friend Saint Paul, the archbishop of Constantinople, who had also been expelled from his throne by wicked heretics. Finally, by the general agreement of both kings: Constantius and Constant, a council of eastern and western bishops was convened in Sardica 697 on the issue of confession of faith, as well as on the case of Athanasius and Paul 698. Among them there were more than three hundred western ones, and a little more than seventy eastern ones, among which was the previously mentioned Ischir, at that time already the bishop of Mareot 699. The 700 bishops who gathered from the Asian churches did not even want to see the Western ones until they removed Paul and Athanasius from the council. The Western bishops did not even want to hear about it. Then the eastern bishops set off on the return journey and, having reached the Thracian city of Philippopolis 701, formed their own cathedral there, or, better to say, a lawless assembly, and openly anathematized the consubstantial ones; They sent this wicked definition of theirs in writing to all the churches dependent on them. Having learned about this, the holy fathers who had gathered in Sardica, first of all, anathematized this blasphemous meeting, their heretical and impious confession 702; then they cast out the Athanasian slanderers from the hierarchical degrees they occupied and, having approved the definition of faith drawn up in Nicaea, they clearly and accurately confessed God the Son as consubstantial with God the Father. After all this, the Western king Constant, in a letter to his brother Constantius about Paul and Athanasius, begged him to allow them to return to their thrones. When he kept postponing their return, King Constant again wrote to him in harsher terms. “If you,” he wrote, “do not listen to me voluntarily, then even without your consent I will place each of them on his throne, for then I will come against you with armed force.” Frightened by his brother's threat, Constantius accepted Paul, who had come first, and honorably sent him to his throne. Then, through a letter written in the spirit of meekness, he called Saint Athanasius from Rome to him and, after a conversation with him, he saw that he was a very wise and divinely inspired man. Marveling at the great wisdom of Athanasius, Constantius showed him great honor and returned him to the patriarchal throne with glory; at the same time, he wrote to the people of Alexandria and to all the bishops and princes who were in Egypt, to Augustalius 703 Nestorius and to the rulers who were in Thebaid and Libya 704, so that they would receive Athanasius with great honor and respect. Supplied with the above-mentioned royal message, the blessed one went through Syria and Palestine and visited the Holy City of Jerusalem, where he was received with love by the Most Holy Maximus the Confessor; they told each other about their disasters and misfortunes that they had endured for Christ. Having convened the eastern bishops, who had previously, out of fear of the Arians, given their consent to the overthrow, Athanasius attracted them to like-mindedness and communication with him - and they gave him worthy honor; He joyfully forgave them for their sin 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 of spending the rest of the time in relief and peace. Meanwhile, new unrest and cruel disasters were approaching him. At this time, the wicked Magnentius, the commander of the Roman troops, having formed a conspiracy with his like-minded people, killed Constant, his sovereign 706. Then the Arians raised their heads and launched a fierce struggle against the Church of Christ. Slanders and persecutions began again against Athanasius, and all the previous evil resumed. Again, royal decrees and threats appeared against Athanasius, again Athanasius had to experience flight and fear, again they began to look for him throughout the country and throughout the sea. The king sent the Cappadocian George 707 to Alexandria to occupy the patriarchal throne, who, having come to Alexandria, shook Egypt, shook Palestine and threw the whole east into confusion. They were again cast down from their thrones: Saint Maximus from the See of Jerusalem, Saint Paul from the See of Constantinople. And about what was happening at that time in Alexandria 708, Saint Athanasius himself tells the following: “Again, some, seeking to kill us,” Saint Athanasius narrates, “came to Alexandria, and disasters came, more severe than the previous ones. The soldiers suddenly surrounded the church, and instead of prayers there were screams, exclamations and confusion; all this happened on Holy Pentecost. Having seized the patriarchal throne, George of Cappadocia, elected by the Macedonians and Arians, further increased the evil. After Easter Week, the maidens were put in bonds, bishops were taken away bound by soldiers, the houses of orphans and widows were plundered, and complete robbery took place in the city. Christians left the city at night, houses were sealed; the clergy suffered for their brothers; all this was truly extremely disastrous, but an incomparably greater evil followed soon after. After Holy Pentecost, the people fasted and gathered to pray at the tomb of the holy Hieromartyr Peter, for everyone abhorred George and avoided communication with him. Having learned about this, the insidious George aroused the stratilate 709 Sebastian, who adhered to the Manichaean heresy, against them. Sebastian, with many warriors armed with naked swords, bows and arrows, burst into the church itself and attacked the people who were there, but found few praying, since most of them had left due to the lateness. Sebastian inflicted severe grief on those who were in the church. He ordered a huge fire to be lit and, placing the virgins near the fire, forced them to confess the Aryan heresy. But when Sebastian was unable to force them to do this, since he saw that they did not pay any attention to either the fire or the threats, he exposed them and ordered them to be beaten without mercy, and cut their faces with wounds so much that, after a long time, their relatives could hardly recognize them. The men, of whom there were forty in number, were subjected to a new torment: the tormentors subjected them to terrible scourging with hard and thorny branches of a freshly cut date palm tree and tore off their shoulders, so that some had to have their bodies cut out several times, due to the fact that the needles pierced deeply into it; others, unable to bear the pain, died from ulcers. All those virgins whom he tortured with particular cruelty were sent into captivity in the great Oasim 710, and he did not allow the dead bodies of those killed either by the Orthodox or by his own to be taken, but the soldiers hid them in one place unburied, thinking that in this way such cruelty would remain unknown to anyone; This is what they did, being insane and damaged by meaning. The Orthodox rejoiced over their martyrs for their firm confession of the Orthodox faith, but at the same time they wept over the bodies that they were located in an unknown place. And through this the wickedness and cruelty of the tormentors were even more exposed. Then the following bishops were exiled from Egypt and Libya: Ammonius, Moinus, Gaius, Philo, Hermias, Peacock, Psinosir, Linamon, Agathon, Agamtha, Mark, and others Ammonius and Mark, 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 captivity. The Arians condemned more than thirty bishops to eternal imprisonment; for their malice, like Ahab 711, was so strong that if it were possible, they would be ready to drive out and destroy the truth from the face of the whole earth.” Meanwhile, King Constantius, after the death of his brother, King Constant, having defeated Magnentius, began to rule the east and west 712. Both in the east and in the west, he began to spread the Arian heresy, persuading the Western bishops in all sorts of ways: through fear, and through affection, gifts and various temptations, so that they would agree to the Arian definition of religion and accept their heresy. For this purpose, he ordered a council to be drawn up in the Italian city of Mediolan 713 - for the overthrow of Athanasius: he thought that Arianism would only be established when Athanasius was completely overthrown and exterminated from among the living. At that time, the king had many like-minded people, some accepted Arianism out of fear, others attracted by royal honors; those who were firm in Orthodoxy evaded this lawless council 714. These were: Eusebius, Bishop of Vercellina, Dionysius of Milan, Rodan of Tolosan, Peacock of Trivirin and Lukephorus of Kalaritan 715; they did not sign the decree on the overthrow of Athanasius, considering his overthrow as a rejection of the right faith and truth. As a consequence, they were sent into exile in Arimin 716; the other bishops who gathered in Mediolan condemned Athanasius to be overthrown. Here it is necessary to say how Eusebius and Dionysius did not sign the definition of this lawless council. When the Arian bishops gathered in Milan and, without waiting for other Orthodox bishops, formed a council and signed their names under the decree about the overthrow of Athanasius, Dionysius of Milan, recently elevated to the episcopal rank and still young in years, was convinced by the Arian bishops to sign the conciliar definition: for he was ashamed of so many noble and long-serving bishops and against his will he signed his name along with them. After that, the Orthodox Bishop of Vercellina Eusebius, venerable for years, came to Milan (when that lawless council had already ended with the signing of names) and questioned Dionysius about what was happening at the council. Dionysius, speaking about the lawless trial that had taken place over Saint Athanasius, confessed with much regret and repentance his sin, how he had been deceived and signed his consent to the overthrow of Athanasius. And blessed Eusebius reproached him for this, like the father of a son: for Dionysius had in the person of Eusebius, as it were, a spiritual father, partly because of his advanced old age, partly because he had been a bishop for many years; at the same time, and in his position, the Bishop of Vercellina stood above Milano 717. Seeing the heartfelt repentance of Dionysius, Eusebius did not order him to grieve: “I know,” he said, “what I should do so that your name is blotted out from among them.” And the following happened. The Arian bishops, having learned about the coming of Eusebius, called him to their assembly and, showing him the condemnation they had drawn up of Athanasius for overthrow with the signature of their names, they wanted him to sign his name under the definition. Eusebius, pretending that he agreed with their council, and, as if wanting to sign, took the charter and began to read the names of the bishops who signed. Having reached the name of Dionysius, he exclaimed, as if offended: -Where will I sign my name? Under Dionisiev? Under no circumstances! Let Dionysius never be taller than me! You say that the Son of God cannot be equal to God the Father: why did you choose my son over me? And the elder refused to sign until the name of Dionysius was blotted out from the highest place. The Arian bishops, greatly seeking the signature of Eusebius and wanting to calm him down, ordered that the name of Dionysius be blotted out. Dionysius with his own hand erased his signature from the charter, as if giving the highest place to the eldest bishop Eusebius of Vercellinus, and himself, as if wishing to sign under him. When the name of Dionysius was blotted out, so that not a trace of writing remained, blessed Eusebius ceased feigning agreement with the Arian Council and clearly confessed the truth, mocking the Arians. “Neither will I be defiled by your iniquities,” he said, “nor will I allow my son Dionysius to be participants in your wickedness, for it is unlawful to sign a lawless condemnation for the overthrow of an innocent bishop—this is prohibited by the law of God and church rules.” Let it be known to everyone that Eusebius and Dionysius will no longer sign your condemnation, filled with malice and lawlessness. Thanks be to God, who delivered Dionysius from complicity with you and taught us how to blot out from among your names his name, which was illegally signed. The Arians, seeing themselves ridiculed by Eusebius and Dionysius, raised their hands against them in order to inflict violence on them, and, insulting them with numerous curses, sent them both into captivity, each separately, and oppressed blessed Eusebius so much in captivity that he died there suffering. Hearing about this and learning that the diocesan soldiers, by royal command, were coming to seize him, Saint Athanasius, admonished by a certain Divine phenomenon, 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 hid with her until the death of King Constantius, and no one knew absolutely nothing about him, except God and only that one girl who herself served him and brought him from others the books that he demanded; During his stay there, Athanasius wrote many works against heretics 718. Meanwhile, the people of Alexandria were looking for their shepherd, Saint Athanasius, going everywhere for this purpose; everyone grieved greatly for him and searched for him with such zeal that everyone was ready to joyfully give their life for finding him - and the holy Church was oppressed by deep sadness. The Aryan heresy greatly intensified not only in the east, but also in the west. By royal command in Italy and throughout the West, those bishops who did not agree to sign the “alien” teaching, the heretical doctrine that the Son of God is a different being than the Father, were deposed from their thrones. At that time, Saint Liverius, Pope of Rome, who was the successor of Blessed Julius, the heir of Saint Sylvester, was expelled from the Roman throne for his Orthodoxy; in his place, someone named Felix 719 was elected from among the heretics. After the holy Church had been oppressed and persecuted from everywhere for a long time, the death of King Constantius drew near. Located between Cappadocia and Cilicia, at a place called “Mopsian Springs,” he lost both his kingdom and his life there 720. Likewise, the false bishop of Alexandria, installed by heretics, suffered the judgment of God, “and the wicked will perish with a noise,” having been killed by the Hellenic people, who rebelled because of a place in Alexandria that belonged to him, which George wanted to take away 721. After the death of Constantius, Julian ascended the royal throne in 722, who began to destroy Constantius’s charters and laws and returned everyone from exile. Athanasius also learned about this, but he was afraid that the Arians might involve Julian in their wickedness (at that time Julian’s apostasy and his complete renunciation of Christ had not yet been discovered). Nevertheless, Saint Athanasius, in the middle of the night, left the above-mentioned house of the girl, in which he was hiding, and appeared in the middle of the Church of Alexandria. Who is able to depict the joy that gripped all the Orthodox - how they flocked from everywhere to see him, with what great pleasure the clergy and citizens and all the people looked at him and hugged him with love?! His arrival aroused courage in the Orthodox, and they immediately expelled the Arians from Alexandria, and entrusted the city and themselves to Athanasius, their shepherd and teacher. Meanwhile, the lawless Julian, previously a secret pagan, now clearly showed his rejection. Having established himself in the kingdom, he renounced Christ before everyone and blasphemed His Most Holy Name, worshiped idols, built churches everywhere and commanded that abominable sacrifices be offered to the wicked gods: and altars were erected everywhere, stench and smoke spread, animals were slaughtered, and their blood was shed. Convicted by the great pillars and teachers of the Church, Julian instigated a cruel persecution against the Church, and at the very beginning of the persecution he took up arms against Saint Athanasius. When the king consulted with his like-minded people and his wise magicians and also asked wizards and sorcerers how to destroy Christianity from the face of the universe, everyone came up with the idea that they should destroy Athanasius from the face of the earth. They reasoned like this: “If the foundation is overthrown, then it will be easy to separately destroy other parts of the Christian faith.” Again a lawless trial was held against Athanasius, again an army was sent to Alexandria, and again the city was in confusion. The church was surrounded and shaken by the hands of armed soldiers, but only Athanasius was sought to kill him. He, as before, covered by the providence of God, walked among the crowd, escaped the hands of those looking for him and reached the Nile River at night. When the saint boarded a ship with the goal of sailing to Thebaid, those who loved him caught up with him and said with tears: -Where are you leaving us again, father? To whom do you leave us, like sheep without a shepherd? “Don’t cry, children, for this rebellion that we see now will soon end.” Having said this, he sailed on his way. Meanwhile, one military commander hastily followed him, to whom the tormentor 723 ordered to immediately kill Athanasius as soon as he overtook him. When one of those who were with Athanasius noticed from afar that military commander, sailing after the ship and already overtaking them, and recognized him well, he began to exhort his rowers to row more quickly in order to escape from their pursuers. But Saint Athanasius, after waiting a little, and seeing what was about to happen to him, ordered the rowers to direct the ship again to Alexandria. When they doubted this and were afraid to fulfill the command of Athanasius, he told them to take courage. Then, turning the ship to the right, they sailed to Alexandria straight towards the persecutors; when they approached them, the views of the barbarians were darkened as if by darkness, so that even though they saw, they did not see, and they sailed past. Athanasius asked them: – We are looking for Afanasy: have you seen him somewhere? “He’s swimming,” answered Afanasy, “a little ahead of you, as if he’s running from some pursuers: hurry up, and then you’ll soon catch up with him.” Thus the saint escaped from the hands of murderers. Having reached Alexandria, he entered the city, and all the believers rejoiced at his return, but he hid until the death of Julian 724. When soon after that the wicked king died, Jovinian, who was a pious Christian, ascended the royal throne. And again Athanasius fearlessly sat on his throne, carefully ruling the church. But Jovinian did not reign for long - only seven months 725 - and died in Galatia. Valens ascended the throne in 726, infected with the Arian heresy. Again disasters befell the Church. The wicked king, having assumed power, did not care about general peace or victories over enemies, but began to try again to spread and establish Arianism. He deposed Orthodox bishops who did not comply with his heresy from their pulpits. Thus he expelled first of all Saint Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch 727. When this internal struggle, oppressing the Church of Christ everywhere, reached Alexandria and, by order of the eparch, the 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 mourning for Saint Athanasius, raised a great rebellion, alarmed by such great and so many sorrows from the kings. The Alexandrians already wanted to break away from Valens and prepared weapons for the uprising. Having learned about this, the king, fearing their defection, and courage, and internecine war, allowed Athanasius, although against his wishes, to fearlessly rule the Alexandrian Church. Thus, Athanasius, the elderly warrior of Christ, after long labors and many exploits for Orthodoxy, having lived briefly in silence and peace in his pulpit just before his death, rested in the Lord 728 and joined his fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs and confessors, like whom he labored on earth. He was a bishop for forty-seven years 729 and left Peter 730, his blessed friend, a participant in all his disasters, as his successor at the See of Alexandria. He himself reposed to receive bright crowns and repay unspeakable blessings from Christ his Lord, to Him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be glory and power, honor and worship, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen. You were the pillar of Orthodoxy, confirming the Divine dogmas of the church, Hierarch Athanasius: Having preached the Son of Consubstantiality to the Father, you put Arius to shame. Reverend Father, pray to Christ God to grant us great mercy. Having planted the teachings of Orthodoxy, you have cut off the slander of thorns, multiplying the seed of faith by the fruit of the Spirit, Rev. Let us also sing to you, Afanasy. Saint Athanasius of Alexandria was born around 297, shortly before Diocletian's cruel persecution of Christians, of which, however, he had no personal memories. St. Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, a zealous defender of Orthodoxy against the Arians, ruled the Alexandrian Church from 312–326. Alexandria, the birthplace of Athanasius, provided him with many means for the education of the mind, and he acquired a variety of information: he studied law, became acquainted with the works of the pagan sages and poets of Greece, in a word, in the words of the biographer of St. Athanasius, he studied the “circle of sciences,” that is, in the sense of the Alexandrian scientists; but he spent little time on this, as St. Gregory the Theologian. His main attention was paid to the study of the Holy Scriptures under the guidance of experienced mentors; and Saint Athanasius studied all the books of the Old and New Testaments in such a way that another did not study even one. As can be assumed from one of the first writings of Saint Athanasius, these were the mentors of the Catechetical School in Alexandria. Athanasius' mental education was completed in the company of ascetics, whom he loved and with whom he sought opportunities to become acquainted; He saw Rev. many times. Anthony the Great and Athanasius himself were considered among the ascetics for their strict life. It is known that Athanasius, while still little more than a boy, took a place as a favorite member in the house of St. Alexander, lived with him “like a son with his father,” and thus spent several fruitful years in the center of church activity, under the roof of the high priest, whose authority was recognized by more than a hundred bishops of Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis. Athanasius became, as it were, an assistant and home secretary in written communications on church affairs. Saint Athanasius was ordained to the rank of deacon in 319. Already at this time, Athanasius became famous especially for his works: “Against the Gentiles” and “On the Incarnation of God the Word”; these were his first works, written early; but they gave the right to hope for much from him. The 1st Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (a city in Bithynia, northwestern Asia Minor) took place in 325. It exposed and condemned the heresy of the Alexandrian presbyter Arius, who taught that the Son of God is not born pre-eternally from the being of God the Father, but was created by Him from non-existence in time, not consubstantial with him and not equal in honor; This heresy secretly contained a decisive denial of the Divinity of Jesus Christ and our redemption by Him, in short, the overthrow of all Christianity. When the wickedness of Arius was revealed, Athanasius took an active part in the struggle of St. Alexander, Archbishop of Alexandria, with Arius, and thus incited the Arians against themselves. This was the case even before the Ecumenical Council; and at the Council of Nicaea, Saint Athanasius, who was then in the rank of archdeacon of the Alexandrian Church and accompanied St. Alexander to the council, Arius victoriously refuted, to the consolation of the fathers of the council. Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, was a friend and supporter of Arius, and patronized him. At the 1st Ecumenical Council, he defended Arius, and although he agreed to sign the Creed drawn up at the council, he did not agree to the excommunication of Arius from the Church, for which, as well as for relations with the excommunicated heresiarch, he himself was subjected to exile. But, thanks to the patronage of Constance, the emperor’s sister, Eusebius was returned from exile and, having again taken the see, began to act against the Orthodox. At the 1st Ecumenical Council, the champions of unrighteousness, due to the lack of truth on their side, thought to help themselves with wickedness, offering the other members of the Council such a symbol of faith, in which the vagueness of expressions about the Son of God gave way to reinterpretations of the Arians. But St. the fathers, confessing the Son of God “from the essence of the Father” to be born and “of one essence with the Father,” included these expressions in their symbol, and thereby confirmed the ancient faith “in the true God from the true God.” This symbol was signed by all members of the council, even those on the Aryan side, but insincerely; at the same time, they read the Greek term expressing the consubstantiality of the Son of God “omousios” as “omiusios” - co-essential, or at least understood it in the latter sense. Eusebius wanted to present the matter to the king in such a way that only misunderstandings and disputes occur between Orthodox and Arians due to different understandings of the terms and expressions of the Symbol, and not because of the essence of faith, and that Arius completely agreed with the symbol of the Council of Nicea. Death of St. Alexander of Alexandria followed five months later upon his return from the 1st Ecumenical Council. Athanasius was not in Alexandria at that time. Leaving his flock, the dying elder looked around with a wandering gaze for someone to entrust it to. “Athanasius, Afanasy!” - Alexander cried, - you are thinking of running away. No! You can't run away." Indeed, Athanasius did not escape the lot destined for him from above. Pre-elected by the departed shepherd and the desire of his flock, as soon as he appeared in Alexandria, the people relentlessly began to demand from the assembled bishops that Athanasius be consecrated to him as bishop, and did not rest until he received what he wanted, although against the will of Athanasius himself. Eusebius from Greek. means: pious. Meletius, Bishop of Lycopolis (in Thebaid), rebelled against the return to the church of those who had renounced it during the persecution of Diocletian. St. Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria, more lenient towards the fallen, as the supreme archpastor of all Egypt, excommunicated him from the Church for this. But Meletius, with the bishops who agreed with him, arrogated to himself the rights of the chief regional bishop and did not recognize the authority of the successors of St. Petra. At the 1st Ecumenical Council, the Meletian schism was condemned, but Meletian bishops existed until the half of the 5th century. In 326, Meletius and his like-minded people prevented the election of Saint Athanasius to the See of Alexandria, and when this election took place against their wishes, they began to spread slander that Athanasius was elected illegally, by six or seven bishops, secretly from others. Мелетиане таким образом были противниками Афанасия, наравне с арианами, сторону которых они держали. Iskhir was not a priest. True, he was ordained to this rank during the reign of St. Alexandre, Colluf, who arbitrarily seized his episcopal rights; but at the Council of Alexandria in 324, this Colluf was deposed as an impostor, and all those appointed by him were not recognized as initiates. The Mareotian region lay in northwestern Egypt, south of Alexandria, along the shore of the gulf, and in ecclesiastical terms was under the authority of the Bishop of Alexandria. The bishops gathered in Jerusalem for the feast of the consecration by Emperor Constantine the Great of the magnificent Church of the Resurrection of Christ, above the burial place of the Body of the Savior and his Resurrection. The church was consecrated on September 13, 335. The city of Tire was located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It was one of the oldest, fortified and most beautiful seaside trading cities of Phenicia and at the same time its capital city. Here, the reign of Constantine the Great is counted not from the beginning of his autocracy, but from the very beginning of his reign (from 306–324 he ruled the western half of the empire, and from 324–337 the entire empire). The Council of Tire took place in 335, under the supervision of the imperial official Dionysius. Up to sixty people of all the bishops came to the council. Saint Athanasius arrived with 48 bishops of Egypt. Bishops of eminent thrones were present here: Antioch - Flakyll, Jerusalem - Maxim, Thessaloniki Alexander. Saint Athanasius, upon his arrival, wanted to take the place that belonged to him by virtue of his see, but he was commanded by the chairman of the council, Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea (a famous church historian - a supporter of the Arians), to stand as an accused person. The meetings of the council were conducted biasedly, in favor of Arius and his like-minded people and to the detriment of Saint Athanasius. Theognius, Bishop of Nicaea, together with Eusebius of Nicomedia, was the first to accept the teachings of Arius, supported it at the 1st Ecumenical Council, after which, although he signed the Orthodox Creed, he was exiled for relations with Arius; upon Arius’s return, and Theognius was summoned from exile. He obviously renounced false teaching, but secretly patronized the Arians. Marius, Bishop of Chalcedon, like Theognius of Nicaea and many others, shared the teachings of Arius, accused Athanasius at the Council of Tire and was among the investigators in the Mareot case, together with Theognius and other like-minded people of Arius. The Prophet is speaking here about those whose sins separate them from God. Like such sinners, the accusers of Athanasius acted, covering the truth with lies. Since ancient times, Egypt, famous for its fertility, sent a fleet loaded with grain to Rome via Alexandria for distribution to the needy people. When Constantine the Great founded a new capital in Byzantium in 330, named after him Constantinople, as well as Constantinople, he, caring about strengthening its population and the means to support it, changed the purpose of this fleet: the mercy of distributing grain was given to Constantinople. In total, up to 80,000 measures of bread were distributed. The enemies of Athanasius thus hoped that by divulging a new slander, arousing the anger of the king, at the same time causing indignation of the people in the capital. The mob, dissatisfied with Athanasius, could cause a riot and during it, as the bishops hostile to Athanasius hoped, kill St. husband “How can I do this (stop the transport of wheat),” Athanasius objected to the new slander; Am I a private and poor person? Eusebius of Nicomedia answered: “No, Athanasius is a strong, rich man; he’ll be enough for anything!” All of these were Arian bishops, supporters of Eusebius of Nicomedia. Gaul is present-day France. Saint Athanasius was sent to the city of Treva - now Trier - the populous, flourishing main city of the northeastern region of ancient Gaul (the so-called Belgica). Constantine the Great himself often lived here when he was the owner of only the western half of the empire; Now Constantine, the eldest son of the emperor, who in 335 became the ruler of Gaul, Spain and Britain, stayed there. The Bishop of Trier at this time was Maximin, a defender of Orthodoxy. He received Athanasius with love and respect, who mutually maintained affection for him. And Constantine the Younger, having respect for the saint, tried to ease the grief of exile. Saint Athanasius stayed in Trier for two years and four months. To the Arian presbyter Eudokius, the same one who had a strong influence on Constantia, the sister of Emperor Constantine the Great, in the return of Arius and his like-minded people from exile. Prepositus - head of the royal court and eunuchs. The eunuch Eusebius, an Arian, especially enjoyed the power of attorney of Constantius. In ancient times, eunuchs were people who served in the royal courts as guards at the bedchambers of queens and princesses. For the most part, eunuchs were eunuchs. At the Byzantine court, the position of eunuchs was very honorable; They were generally courtiers of nobles, and had great influence on the sovereigns and the government of the country. Constantine the Great began to appoint them to lower positions and thereby limited their influence; but under Constantius, eunuchs acquired strong importance at court. This verse reads in detail as follows: The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?” and the teachers of the law did not know Me, and the shepherds fell away from Me, and the prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and followed in the footsteps of those who do not help. Here, on behalf of the Lord, the prophet Jeremiah exposes the priests, rulers and prophets of Israel who have forgotten the mercies of God and retreated from Him. The biography of Saint Athanasius of Alexandria figuratively refers these words to Constantius and the Arian bishops, who apostatized from the true faith in Christ God. St. Maximus III, Patriarch of Jerusalem, occupied the see from 333 to 350. He suffered for the name of Christ and was a confessor. When, at the Council of Tire, the Arians demanded that the Orthodox bishops sign the lawless verdict about Athanasius, Paphnutius, bishop of the city of Thais, in the upper Thebaid, a confessor who suffered during the reign of Maximian II, took Maximus by the hand, took him out of the meeting and said: “It is indecent for us, confessors, to take part in such a council.” - Memory of St. Maxima is celebrated in the Greek church on November 17th. The 5th century Greek church historians Socrates and Sozomen describe the death of Arius this way. On the fateful morning, when, according to the order of Emperor Constantine the Great, Arius was to be received into church communion, he, more arrogant than usual and making various empty remarks, was on his way to church, surrounded by like-minded Eusebians and a curious, excited crowd. But suddenly he was seized by a sudden attack of stomach pain and went to the latrine behind Constantine Square. Soon thereafter he fainted, and his entrails came out along with the excrement, with prolapse of the intestines, liver and spleen and a profuse effusion of blood, so that he died almost immediately. Meanwhile, those accompanying him waited for him for quite a long time. Finally, going to him in order to call him, they were amazed by a terrible sight. Arius (he was then over 80 years old) had a womb burst, and he lay floating in his blood and presenting a terrifying sight. This terrible death of Arius involuntarily provoked comparison with the death of Judas the traitor. It caused deep despondency in the ranks of his supporters and, naturally, was accepted by the Orthodox as the supreme verdict over his entire cause. And indeed, even if the death of Arius was natural, in any case, it was a terrible sudden death, and in it one cannot help but see the supreme judgment of God. Constantine II is the eldest son of Constantine the Great; during the division of the empire, as emperor, he received control of Gaul and the western part of northern Africa. This was at the end of 338. The enemies of Athanasius referred to the fact that by the decree of the Council of Tire he was deposed and now occupies the see by order of the secular authorities, contrary to church rules. Aquileia was in ancient times a large and significant city in Upper or Northern Italy, north of the Adriatic Sea. – Here in March 340 there was an internecine battle between Constantine and Constant, in which the former was killed, and Constant became the ruler of the entire West. In his secret refuge, Saint Athanasius wrote a strong appeal to the bishops of all churches, in which he depicted all the horrors of wickedness that had occurred before his eyes, and begged for help for the glorious church of Alexandria, trampled underfoot by heretics. But the pious shepherds could only cry and ask for help from above: so great was the confusion caused by the surging horde of Arians in Alexandria, and there was no one to seek help from, since the willfulness of the heretics enjoyed the full patronage of Emperor Constantius. Saint Julius - Pope, zealous defender of Orthodoxy against the Arians, patron of Athanasius, occupied the throne from 337-352. The so-called Golden Church, magnificently founded by Constantine the Great and rebuilt by Constantius. The Council of Antioch took place here in January 341. Up to ninety bishops were present at the council. The fathers of the council rejected the symbol of the Ecumenical Council, and at the same time, from a distance, disagreeing with each other, three of their symbols (semi-Arian) one after another, and then a fourth, and in none of them did they want to include the expression that clearly defined Orthodoxy: consubstantial. Having decided in their own way the matter of faith, they then turned to the affairs of the Church of Alexandria. Eusebius of Emesa was famous for his education; he studied in Alexandria, and then with Eusebius of Caesarea. He is called Emesa after the city (Emesa is a city in Syria, south of Antioch), in which he was a bishop. He was a favorite of Constantius, whom he accompanied on campaigns. Gregory the Cappadocian (Cappadocia - the eastern region of Asia Minor) was educated in Alexandria and once enjoyed the favor of St. Afanasia. Gregory was a man of a rude and violent character. Eusebius of Nicomedia died in 342. Sardica was located on the border of the possessions of both brothers: Constance and Constanta, in Illyria - now Sofia is the capital of present-day Bulgaria. Constantius agreed to convene the council, yielding to the demand of his Orthodox brother, whom the eastern bishops asked for, and who, deeply respecting Saint Athanasius, wanted his justification. The council took place in 344. He 1) approved the Nicene symbol, 2) having examined the case, acquitted Athanasius and 3) declared the leaders of Arianism deposed, forbade the Orthodox to have communication with them and subjected those convicted to anathema. Ischir was installed as bishop by the Arians. Asian, i.e. eastern; the main ones were Theodore of Herakleia, Narcissus of Neronopolis, Menophant of Ephesus, Stephen of Antioch, Akakios of Caesarea and George of Laodicea. Philippopolis is a city in Thrace, southeast of Sardiki. – Филиппопольский собор состоялся под председательством Стефана антиохийского. This council again condemned Athanasius, Paul of Constantinople, Roman Julius, Sardician Protogen and other Orthodox bishops. Constantius supported the decision of the Council of Philippopolis, and Athanasius, along with other persecuted people, had to remain in exile. “He retired to Naissus, in Dacia. The Council of Philippopolis compiled a new symbol, more Arian than the symbols of the Council of Antioch. Augustalius is the royal governor of the Roman province. Thebaid - southern region of Egypt; Libya is in northern Africa, west of Egypt. Magnentius rebelled against Constans in his army, which overthrew him from the throne; Constans fled, but was killed along the way by Magnentius. This was at the beginning of 350. This George was a man without education, a rude character, and at first he was a supplier of meat for the army. George was a false bishop for about four years (357–361) and during this time he caused a lot of sorrow and oppression not only to the Church of Alexandria and the Orthodox population, but also to the pagans. This was in the absence of Athanasius. Stratilates - military leader, voivode. Oasim, or the great Libyan Oasis, lies west of the Thebaid Desert, in the eastern part of what is now the Sahara, - an ancient Greek colony that often served as a place of exile. Ahab is the eighth king of Israel, at the insistence of his wife Jezebel, an evil, power-hungry and depraved woman, who spread idolatry among the Israelites and viciously persecuted the servants of the true God. Magnentius for three and a half years, after the death of Constant, retained the title of Caesar in the west. Constantius scattered his followers, and Magnentius committed suicide. The entire empire was then united under the leadership of Constantius until his death in 361. Mediolan is an ancient city, so-called. Cisalpine Gaul, or what is now northern Italy, is a center of prosperity for the arts and sciences; now Milan is the main flourishing city of the Italian region of Lombardy, with a large population. The council was convened at the request of the Pope, St. Liberius, successor of Julius, in 355. Up to 300 Western bishops were present at the council. The Arians demanded the condemnation of Athanasius, but the Westerners insisted on the original signature of the Nicene symbol. Then Constantius, who had been listening from the next room to all the arguments of the fathers of the council, entered the conference room with a sword in his hands and said that he himself accused Athanasius. Those who refused to sign the condemnation of Athanasius were threatened with exile, so some signed, and those who disagreed were exiled. Verzella is a city in northwestern Italy; Tolosa - on the river. Garonne, in southern France; Trier (otherwise Trevy or Trivirium) - on the river. Moselle, in eastern France, Calaria - on the island of Sardinia (on the Mediterranean Sea). Arimin, now Rimini, is the oldest flourishing city of Umbria, in the northeastern part of Italy, on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. That is, the episcopal see of Vercellus was considered hierarchically higher than Milan. Saint Athanasius the Great was one of the most famous writers of the ancient Church. He was distinguished by his deep knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and theological talent. Since he spent his entire life in the struggle with the Arians, his writings bear the imprint of this struggle and are directed mainly against the Arians. The most important of the works of Saint Athanasius are the following: 1) four words against the Arians, where Athanasius makes a complete refutation of all their objections, 2) an epistle to Epictetus, Bishop of Corinth - about the Divine and human nature in Jesus Christ, 3) four letters to Saint Serapion, Bishop of Tmuite, in which he proves the Divinity of the Holy Spirit and its equality with the Father and the Son against the Macedonians, учивших, что Святой Дух есть служебная тварь, не имеющая участия в Божестве и славе Отца и Сына, 4) послание об определениях Никейского собора в защиту единосущия, 5) книга о Святом Духе. In many of his writings, Saint Athanasius described the unrest and deeds of the Arians, accompanying the descriptions with remarks in favor of the truth of Christ; such, for example, is his history of the Arians, written to the monks. A high example of a pastoral apology (defense) is the letter of Saint Athanasius to Emperor Constantius. In addition, the writings of Saint Athanasius related to the explanation of the Holy Scriptures are known; Of these, first of all, the Easter letter of St. Athanasius attracts attention, very important in the sense that it lists the books of the Old and New Testaments, the letter to Marcellinus on the psalms; There also remain brief excerpts of his interpretations of the books of Job and the Song of Songs, and the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. His moralizing works include his epistle to Ammun, against those who condemn marriage, and his epistle to Rufinian on how to accept heretics into the Church. One of the most edifying works of Saint Athanasius is the life of Anthony the Great; Saint Chrysostom advises everyone to read the life of Anthony, no matter what their condition. Saint Sylvester ruled the church from 314-335 (his commemoration on January 2 was immediately succeeded by Saint Mark (336), and after him Saint Julius (337-362), defender of Athanasius and strict zealot of Orthodoxy, and finally Saint Liverius (352-366). Felix II occupied the see after the removal of Liberius by the emperor (355-356) and simultaneously with him - why is it otherwise called antipope. In the southeastern part of Asia Minor. Constantius died returning from the east, after fighting the Persian king Sapor, on November 3, 361. This was in December 361. Julian the Apostate, nephew of Constantine the Great. Julian was killed during one battle with the Persians on June 26, 363. Jovinian died on February 17, 364. After the death of Jovinian, the army on February 26 elected him to succeed Valentinian, who a month later gave the eastern half of the empire to his brother Valens, a zealous Arian. Valens reigned from 364–378. Meletius, Patriarch of Antioch, occupied the see from 358–381. He was a defender of Orthodoxy, for which, through the machinations of the Arians, he was removed from the see several times. Saint Athanasius the Great reposed on May 2, 373. Of these, he spent more than 20 years in exile. Peter II, Patriarch of Alexandria, ruled the Church from 373–380. You might be interested in: