Authors, Apropos, and AKAs

St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Egypt, aka the “father of orthodoxy” and the
“champion of orthodoxy”, started as an archdeacon and secretary to Bishop
Alexander in 318 A.D. At approximately 21 years of age (he was born in
297 A.D.), he composed his treatises on the Incarnation - De incarnatione
verbi Dei, and Contra gentes - both outstanding works.  Since he was a
good friend of the monks Pachomius, Serapion and St. Antony, he also wrote
biographies on them - thus introducing the knowledge of monasticism to the
West.

As secretary to Bishop Alexander, he attended the Council of Nicaea (325
A.D.) - the council that condemned Arianism, a heresy in early Christianity
that denied the divinity of Christ. Upon the death of Bishop Alexander
years after that Council, he was then chosen to succeed as bishop of
Alexandria.  From that time on, he became a very outspoken champion for
the doctrine that Jesus is divine.  He battled Arianism which continued
on despite its condemnation. This struggle went on for several years.

In 355 A.D., Arianism spread wide among the Christians since its proponents
propagated the teaching through popular songs.  St. Athanasius was such a
staunch defender of the Church’s doctrine that his battle with the Arians
caused his exile five times for a total of 17 years.  And to escape attempts
on his life, he took refuge among the monks of the desert.  It was only
in 364 A.D. that St. Athanasius returned back victoriously to his diocesan
see of Alexandria - spending the rest of his life in peace, writing
inspiring books.  He died on May 2, 373 A.D.

The major treatises St. Athanasius authored during his exile were: Apologia
to constantius, Defense of Flight, Letter to the Monks, and History of the
Arians.  Although St. Athanasius did not write the well-known “Athanasian
Creed”, many believe that this creed was drawn from his writings, and
edited by a cleric in his time.

An apropos to St. Athanasius’ orthodoxy is his treatise On the Incarnation.
Below is an excerpt which is similar in meaning to the prologue in the first
chapter of the gospel of John:

“The Word of God, incorporeal, incorruptible and immaterial, entered our
world. Yet it was not as if he had been remote from it up to that time.
For there is no part of the world that was ever without his presence;
together with his Father, he continually filled all things and places.”