Icon of St Athanasius, Sozopol, Bulgaria, late 17th c. — Bulgarian National Art Gallery (public domain)

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria

c. 296–373 4th c. 18 works

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria was bishop of Alexandria and the great fourth-century champion of Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism. Born in Alexandria toward the close of the third century, he was known from his youth to Patriarch Alexander, whom he served as deacon.

He attended the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 as Alexander's deacon, defending the teaching that the Son is consubstantial (homoousios) with the Father. On Alexander's death he succeeded him as bishop in 328 and led the Church of Alexandria for some forty-five years. His refusal to compromise with the Arian party brought repeated conflict with emperors and rival bishops: he was driven into exile five times, spending more than twenty years away from his see, at one point standing almost alone among the bishops of the East.

Among his works are the treatise On the Incarnation, the Orations Against the Arians, and the Life of Antony, whose Latin translation carried the ideals of Egyptian monasticism throughout the Christian West.

He reposed in Alexandria on 2 May 373. Venerated as a saint and numbered among the great teachers of the Church, he is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on 2 May and again on 18 January, the joint feast he shares with Saint Cyril of Alexandria.

Sources: Orthodox Church in America — Life of St Athanasius the Great Encyclopaedia Britannica — St. Athanasius

Available works

Classic translation

Against the Arians

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.12h 59m read

A 4th c. polemical work by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Apologia Contra Arianos

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.3h 41m read

A 4th c. apologetic work by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Apology to the Emperor

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.1h 12m read

A 4th c. apologetic work by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Arian History

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.2h 30m read

A 4th c. polemical work by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Contra Gentes

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.2h 6m read

A 4th c. apologetic work by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

De Decretis

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.2h 17m read

A 4th c. dogmatic work by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Defence of His Flight

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.47m read

A 4th c. treatise by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Deposition of Arius

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.14m read

A 4th c. polemical work by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Encyclical Letter

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.26m read

A 4th c. letter by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Expositio Fidei

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.9m read

A 4th c. dogmatic work by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Letter of Eusebius

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.41m read

A 4th c. letter by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Letters of Athanasius with Two Ancient Chronicles of His Life

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.7h 10m read

A 4th c. work of church history by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Life of Antony

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.2h 17m read

A 4th c. saint’s life by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

On the Councils of Ariminum and Seleucia

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.2h 49m read

A 4th c. liturgical text by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

On the Incarnation of the Word

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.2h 32m read

A 4th c. dogmatic work by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Synodal Letter to the Bishops of Africa

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.30m read

A 4th c. letter by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

Synodal Letter to the People of Antioch

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.32m read

A 4th c. letter by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Classic translation

To the Bishops of Egypt

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria4th c.59m read

A 4th c. treatise by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria.

Free ebooks by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria

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Known works

Complete known works in the Clavis catalog — 2 of 12 are in the archive (✓). The catalog is drawn from Wikidata and the Patristic Text Archive, and covers only part of the printed Clavis.

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria’s corpus spans CPG 2090– 2309 (~220 numbers); we have detail for 12 and host 2.

Contra gentes — available in the archive
De Incarnatione — available in the archive
De decretis Nicaenae synodi · not yet in the archive
De sententia Dionysii · not yet in the archive
Apologia ad Constantium · not yet in the archive
Epistula ad Ioannem et Antiochum · not yet in the archive
Epistula ad Palladium · not yet in the archive
Epistula ad Dracontium · not yet in the archive
Epistula ad Afros · not yet in the archive
Tomus ad Antiochenos · not yet in the archive
Epistula ad Jovianum · not yet in the archive
Petitiones Arianorum · not yet in the archive

Canon data: Wikidata (CC0) and the Patristic Text Archive / BBAW (CC BY-SA 4.0).