Saint Athanasios the Great B

icon Saint Athanasios the Great icon on wood

Athanasios the Great was born in 295 AD. by virtuous but poor parents, which deprived him of the opportunity for higher education. However, the all-good God endowed him with rich spiritual qualities. From a very young age he showed his inclination towards the Church. He was ordained a deacon at the age of 25 by the Patriarch of Alexandria, Alexander, who followed him to the First Ecumenical Council in 325 AD, in Nicaea, Bithynia. In 328 AD, at the age of 33, he was elected patriarch of Alexandria. From this position, he faces a terrible war on the part of the heretical followers of Areios. But the Saint, thanks to his great spirituality, manages to emerge victorious from all these trials, even from the five exiles that were imposed on him, as the emperor Constantine II was a follower of Arianism. He slept peacefully in 373 AD. and his memory is commemorated on January 18.
Saint Athanasios the Great icon