Bishop of Alexandria · c. 296 – 373

Athanasius of Alexandria

Bishop of Alexandria for much of the fourth century. He defended the Nicene teaching that the Son is truly God, and was sent into exile several times for it.

Writings

1. Treatise

   On the Incarnation of the Word

   Why the Word of God became human, and what that means for creation, death and the knowledge of God.

   114 min read · translated by Archibald Robertson

2. Treatise

   Against the Heathen

   The first part of Athanasius’s two-part work: the folly of idols and how the soul may know God.

   105 min read · translated by Archibald Robertson

3. Life

   Life of St Antony

   The life of the Egyptian hermit Antony, a book that shaped the monastic movement.

   105 min read · translated by H. Ellershaw

4. Treatise

   On Luke 10:22 (Matthew 11:27)

   Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

   13 min read · translated by Archibald Robertson

5. Apology · 2 parts

   Apologia Contra Arianos

   Apology by Athanasius of Alexandria.

   165 min read · translated by M. Atkinson and Archibald Robertson

6. Treatise

   De Decretis

   Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

   66 min read · translated by John Henry Newman

7. Treatise

   De Sententia Dionysii

   Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

   43 min read · translated by Archibald Robertson

8. Treatise

   Ad Episcopus Aegypti et Libyae

   Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

   48 min read · translated by M. Atkinson and Archibald Robertson

9. Apology

   Apologia ad Constantium

   Apology by Athanasius of Alexandria.

   55 min read · translated by M. Atkinson and Archibald Robertson

10. Apology

    Apologia de Fuga

    Apology by Athanasius of Alexandria.

    38 min read · translated by M. Atkinson and Archibald Robertson

11. Treatise · 8 parts

    Historia Arianorum

    Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

    111 min read · translated by M. Atkinson and Archibald Robertson

12. Treatise

    Four Discourses Against the Arians: Discourse I

    Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

    124 min read · translated by John Henry Newman and Archibald Robertson

13. Treatise

    Four Discourses Against the Arians: Discourse II

    Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

    161 min read · translated by John Henry Newman and Archibald Robertson

14. Treatise

    Four Discourses Against the Arians: Discourse III

    Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

    130 min read · translated by John Henry Newman and Archibald Robertson

15. Treatise

    Four Discourses Against the Arians: Discourse IV

    Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

    60 min read · translated by John Henry Newman and Archibald Robertson

16. Treatise

    De Synodis

    Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

    107 min read · translated by John Henry Newman and Archibald Robertson

17. Treatise

    Ad Afros Epistola Synodica

    Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

    20 min read · translated by Archibald Robertson

18. Treatise

    Historia Acephala

    Treatise by Athanasius of Alexandria.

    16 min read · translated by Archibald Robertson

19. Collection · 47 parts

    Other Writings

    Letters, homilies, sermons, commentaries, fragments and shorter pieces by Athanasius of Alexandria that are not published as books, in the order of the New Advent collection.

    285 min read · translated by R. Payne-Smith

Portrait: drawn in the site’s engraved style from “Fethiye Camii, parekklesion, diakonikon, mosaics, Istanbul, Turkey - South wall, St. Athanasius, detail of upper half - MSBZ004 BF T F 027 B - Dumbarton Oaks” (Byzantine Institute staff), cc0, Wikimedia Commons.

All the Fathers