Saint Athanasius
Father of the Church 
(
373 Anno Domini A.D.) Feast: 2 May
Saints Who Wrote Spiritual Classics
Born around the year A.D. 300, Athanasius lived in Egypt & became the secretary of the Bishop of Alexandria ♗whom he later succeeded. A champion of sound doctrine, Athanasius wrote his most famous doctrinal work, "De Incarnatione" ("On the Incarnation") to proclaim the truth that the Word of God "was made man…"
"so that we might be made God; & he manifested himself thru a body so that we might receive the idea of the unseen Father; &he endured the insolence of men that we might inherit immortality." Despite the clear teaching of the Council of Nicea , the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ 
continued to spread. It enjoyed significant political support from certain emperors, who saw it as a more accessible version of the faith & therefore more unifying for the empire.
Athanasius , unrelenting in his opposition to the error, was proclaimed contra mundum (against the world), & was forced to leave his episcopal city 5 times, spending 17 years in exile. During one of his exiles, he lived near Saint Anthony , the great Egyptian hermit, & became his close friend. His "Life of Anthony," written shorten after the saint's death 
was, as Benedict XVI notes, a "bestseller" of its time. Translated into many languages...
youtube.com/shorts/8GbxNEOs5Pw
Athanasius 's book 
influenced the spread of monasticism & was significant in the conversion of Saint Augustine.
Wise Father, through the intercession of Saint Athanasius, may we remain staunch in the true faith, finding consolation in the friendship & example of the saints 
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