Saint Athanasios the Great
Patriarch of Alexandria

January 18th & May 2nd
Troparion (Tone 3)
O Hierarch Athanasios, thou wast a pillar of Orthodoxy supporting the Church with divine doctrines; for thou didst proclaim the Son to be of one essence with the Father, and didst put Arius to shame. O righteous Father, entreat Christ our God to grant us his great mercy.

St. Athanasius was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 296. He accompanied Archbishop Alexander as a Deacon to the 1st Ecumenical Council in Nicea in 325. He was renowned for his learning. People came from long distances to watch him read silently, as he was the first man noted to do this, rather than outloud. Athanasios did much to quash Arianism. He suffered much from slander and persecution by heretics during his 40 year tenure as Patriarch of Alexandria. He had to flee for his life several times, hiding in a grave, in a well, private homes and the desert. He considered St. Anthony his spiritual father. He only had peace in his later years as a beloved Bishop. He reposed in the year 373. In his hands is a scroll which reads: "It is no temporal feast that we come to but an eternal heavenly feast." This icon commemorates St. Athanasios' contribution to the development of the Liturgy as well as his defense of the doctrine of the Deity of Christ at the Nicean Council.

This Icon is by the hand of Nicholas Papas. It is from the Sanctuary at St. Philip Antiochian Orthodox Church in Souderton, Pennsylvania.

Order # pha-14

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