News and Information

Will history repeat itself?
Turmoil in the church is not new

by Jeanie Brookes, Missioner for Communications

he historic Christian faith was forged in turbulent times under perilous conditions. For its first 300 years, the Roman Empire victimized and killed countless believers. Even after Emperor Constantine ended the persecutions, the creeds and doctrines that shape our Christian identity faced intense theological battles. The formation of the Nicene Creed that we recite every Sunday, often without thinking about its meaning, was an occasion of great controversy and often physical violence. The battle was over the Eternal Godhead of Jesus Christ, and it involved an invincible Christian who wouldn’t give up his fight for orthodoxy. Outside the pages of the New Testament itself, Athanasius is almost certainly the man to whom we owe most for the preservation of the Christian faith.

Athanasius was born around AD 298 and lived in Alexandria, Egypt, Rome’s chief center of learning. He was a Copt, one of the lower classes in Egypt. Nevertheless, early in life, he came under the supervision of the ecclesiastical authorities in Alexandria. When he was barely 20 years old, Alexandria’s bishop invited Athanasius to become his secretary and a member of his household.

Six years after Constantine made Christianity an officially favored religion in AD 313, Arius, a Libyan priest, began popularizing the notion that, according to John 1:1, Jesus did not exist before “God begat him,” thus making Him nothing more than a high-ranking angel. For Athanasius, this heresy was not a matter of theological subtlety. The Christian message of salvation was at stake. Only one who was fully human could atone for human sin; only one who was fully divine could have the power to save us.

As the popularity of Arius’ teaching increased, controversy deepened, and Constantine undertook to resolve the dispute by calling a council of bishops from all over the Christian world. In AD 325, from around the Christian world, 317 bishops met in Nicea, and Athanasius, who had accompanied his bishop, soon became recognized as a chief spokesman for the orthodox view.

Out of the council came the Nicene Creed, which affirms that Jesus is of the same substance (Greek =
“homo-ousios”), not of similar substance (“homoi-ousios”), as the Father. The bishops of Egypt condemned Arius and banished him to Nicomedia, where he continued to propagate his ideas.

No sooner had the council concluded, however, than its consensus began to fall apart. Constantine had expected the council would result in unity. Instead, the Arians refused to accept the council’s decision and many orthodox bishops began to waffle, looking for softer, orthodox-sounding words that the Arians would accept. Athanasius refused to participate in these negotiations, suspecting that once the orthodox party showed a willingness to make agreement as their highest priority, they would end up giving away the store.

In AD 328, the same year Athanasius became bishop of Alexandria, Constantine revoked Arius’ sentence in the “interest of unity,” Arianism began to regain ground, and the battle lines were drawn. Perceiving Athanasius as their most formidable enemy, several Arian leaders circulated rumors that he dabbled in magic and was a tyrant over the Christian flock in Egypt. When this failed, they accused Athanasius of killing an Arian bishop named Arsenius and produced a severed hand as proof. Constantine ordered Athanasius to the synod at Tyre to answer the charges against him. However, when Athanasius showed up with Arsenius, alive and possessing two healthy hands, the synod freed him of all charges

Athanasius was then determined to take his case to Constantine. However, Eusebius of Nicomedia, an Arian advocate with great influence in Constantine’s court, made it impossible for Athanasius to gain admission to the emperor. So, one day, the determined Athanasius jumped in front of the emperor’s carriage and demanded an audience. Convinced now that Athanasius was a dangerous fanatic and influenced by Eusebius’ false claims against him, Constantine banished Athanasius to Trier.

After Constantine died, his three sons allowed all exiled bishops, including Athanasius, to return to their sees. Meantime, the Arian party forcibly imposed the notorious Gregory of Cappadocia as bishop of Alexandria. When Athanasius refused to give him the church buildings, Gregory decided to take them by force. The resulting violence was of such magnitude that Athanasius decided to leave the city in order to avoid further bloodshed. By now, his life was in so great danger, one of the port captains had to smuggle him out to Rome.

While in Rome, Athanasius was able to present the Nicene position and gain the support of the Roman clergy. Eventually, a synod declared Athanasius the legitimate bishop of Alexandria and allowed him to return to his home. The mismanagement of Gregory had been so deplorable that the people of Alexandria received Athanasius as a hero and, for 10 years, he was free from his enemies’ attacks.

Constantius, now emperor of the East, was a convinced Arian, but his brother, Constans, emperor of the West, had held him in check. When Constans died, however, Constantius felt secure enough to unleash his pro-Arian policy and get rid of Athanasius. Through threats and the use of force, he ordered a synod to condemn Athanasius. Then he sought to remove him from Alexandria by force. While Athanasius was celebrating communion in one of the churches, soldiers burst into the service to arrest Athanasius. However, the clergy surrounded Athanasius and carried him to safety.

For five years, Athanasius lived among the monks in the desert. Authorities sought him everywhere but could not find him. In his absence, the Nicene cause suffered severe setbacks. Constantius forced several synods to approve Arianism, and the Council at Sirmium, referred to as the “Blasphemy of Sirmium” by orthodox leaders, openly rejected the Nicene decision. Although many church leaders could not accept Arianism, they found it difficult to oppose the politics of a state that supported it so determinedly.
Constantius died unexpectedly, and Julian succeeded him. Julian had no interest in either side of the Christological debate, and so he canceled all orders of exile. Secretly, he hoped the two parties to the debate would weaken each other to such an extent that he could reinstate paganism.

Athanasius returned, once again, to Alexandria where he undertook a campaign of diplomacy with some of his opponents. Many Christians who were opposed to Arianism, had, nevertheless, disagreed with the Nicene formula because they thought it obliterated the distinction between the persons of the Godhead. At an Alexandrian synod in AD 362, Athanasius convinced most of the church that they could refer to the members of the trinity as being of one substance without destroying the distinction between them. They could also speak of three substances as long as they did not understand them to be three separate gods.

Seeing his efforts to restore paganism were being met with staunch resistance by Athanasius, emperor Julian decided to remove him, this time, not only from Alexandria but also from Egypt. Once again, Athanasius escaped to the desert. Fortunately, Julian’s reign did not last long. When he died, Jovian, an admirer of Athanasius, succeeded him and Athanasius was able to return to Alexandria, thinking his long chain of exiles had finally ended. But Jovian, himself, passed away after only a few months, and Valens, a staunch defender of Arianism succeeded him. Fearing the new emperor would take action against the orthodox, Athanasius again prepared to flee to the desert. However, Valens was not eager to tangle with the bishop who had bested both Constantius and Julian; so, he allowed Athanasius to spend the rest of his life peacefully in Alexandria.

Athanasius endured five exiles, extended periods of persecution, and numerous attempts on his life in his defense of the Church’s apostolic teaching. He never gave up the fight, never left to form a new church, and never doubted that God would vindicate the truth. Although he never saw a definitive victory in his lifetime, because of his unwavering efforts, the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople ratified the Nicene Creed in AD 381 — for the last time.