Saint Athanasius: “the greatest soldier that the Catholic Religion hath perhaps ever had”

His enemies lobbed every imaginable accusation against him all to no avail. His story affirms once again that there is truly “nothing new under the sun”.

 The great Athanasius, the greatest soldier that the Catholic Religion hath perhaps ever had, was an Alexandrian. He was ordained Deacon by Alexander, (in the year 326,) Bishop of that city, whom he afterwards succeeded. (In 325) he had followed Alexander to the Council of Nicea, where he wrestled triumphantly against the blasphemy of Arius. For this reason he was honoured with so much of their hatred by the Arians, that their vindictiveness never forsook him from that time forward. In the year 335, they called together a Council at Tyre, composed for the most part of Arian Bishops, where they suborned a wretched woman to charge Athanasius with having raped her when she had received him as a guest into her house. Athanasius therefore came into the assembly, and with him a certain priest whose name was Timothy. This Timothy arose as though he were Athanasius, and asked her, saying Woman, was it I that was thy guest was it I that raped thee She cried out indignantly Yea, thou it was that didst rape me, the which she attested with an oath, and called on the honour of the judges to punish such iniquity. Upon this discovery of her perjury, they drave the shameless woman from their presence.

The Arians also accused Athanasius of having murdered the (schizmatic) Bishop Arsenius. This Arsenius they kept shut up, and brought into the court a dead man's hand, which they declared had been his, and had been cut off by Athanasius to use in sorcery. But Arsenius escaped in the night, and when he appeared before all the Council whole and sound, the brazen-faced crime of the enemies of Athanasius was exposed. This appearance nevertheless they attributed to Athanasius being a warlock, and persisted still in their attack on him. He was driven into exile, and banished to Treves in Gaul. Thenceforth, under authority of the Emperor Constantius, that abettor of Arians, he was hunted to and fro with unceasing persecutions. He suffered hardships which it is difficult to believe. He was sent wandering all about the Roman world. He was twice more thrust out of his See, and again restored through the authority of Pope Julius of Rome, and with the protection of the Emperor Constans, the brother of Constantius, by decrees of the Councils of Sardica and of Jerusalem. The vindictiveness of the Arians never let him alone. In his third exile so great was the danger of his life from the pursuit of their undying hatred, that he had to lie hid for five years in a dry cistern, unknown to all men, save one of his friends who brought him food.

After the death of Constantius, Julian the Apostate, who succeeded him, allowed every sort of Bishop who had been banished to return to their own Churches. Athanasius therefore returned to Alexandria, and was received with profound reverence. But it was not long before the same Arians got Julian to hunt him down again, and again it behoved him to fly. A band of soldiers were sent in pursuit of him to kill him, and as he fled up the Nile, their boat pressed hard on his. Athanasius, before they were yet in sight, had his own boat turned round, and went down the stream to meet them. As the vessels passed one another the murderers called out to ask if they knew where Athanasius was, and the servant of God himself cried to them in answer, Ye are close to him! whereupon they redoubled their exertions to ascend the stream, and Athanasius went peacefully down to Alexandria, and found means of concealment till the death of Julian. Yet once again he had to fly from another persecution at Alexandria, and in this his fifth and last exile he hid himself for four months in his own father's sepulchre. From all these so many and so great dangers did God deliver him, and at last he died in his own bed at Alexandria, (upon the 2nd day of May, in the year of salvation 373,) in the reign of Valens. He wrote much that is both godly and luminous in explaining the Catholic Faith, and governed the Church of Alexandria in great holiness, amid all changes of weather, for six and forty years.

Source: Breviarium Romanum