God Cares for Pope
Athanasius the Apostolic
Saint Athanasius
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We call St. Athanasius
“The Protector of
the Orthodox
Faith” because he
was a great Patriarch
and he proved the
truth of Christianity to
the whole world.
His Childhood
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St. Athanasius was born in Alexandria in Egypt.
His parents were pagans. What does the word
“pagan” mean?
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His father was very rich but he died when
Athanasius was still a child.
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His mother brought him up. She sent him to a
Christian School in Alexandria to learn.
Christian Children
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He mixed with the Christian children and noticed
how they played, talked and how they loved one
another.
Christian Children
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He saw that they were calm and obedient. He
watched them while they were praying to Lord
Jesus Christ.
Athanasius and the Children
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Children: “Hi Athanasaius! What is your
religion?”
Athanasius: “I worship Idols.”
C: “Idols are not gods. Lord Jesus Christ is God.”
A: “This is true. I can see guys how you love
one another, how you are calm and obedient,
how you pray to Him, and even how you play.”
C: “Athanasius, be a Christian so that the Lord
may be with you wherever you go. The hands of
men make idols, so how can you worship
them?!”
Playing on the Seashore
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One day, while the children were in the school, the bell
rang. There was a long break then. The children ran out
to play on the Seashore.
At that time, the Pope (St. Alexandrous) was watching
them from the window of his room but they did not
notice it.
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Athanasius and the rest of the boys were simulating the ritual of
baptism.
Pope Alexandrous was happy because the children knew the ritual of
baptism. He sent for them and they came and the following
conversation took place:
Pope and Children
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P: “What were you doing, kids?”
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C: “We were playing, Your Holiness.”
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P: “Which game were you playing?”
(The boys felt hesitant but he
encouraged them)
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C: “We were playing baptism ritual with
Athanasius.”
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P: “What is your name my son and who
are you?”
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A: “My name is Athanasius… My mother
worships idols but I want to be a
Christian, your Holiness.”
Athanasius becomes a Christian
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The Pope welcomed him and said to him, “May
the Lord be with you”. The Pope was pleased
with him. He noticed that he studied the ritual of
baptism perfectly. He took him baptized him and
anointed him with chrism. He asked his mother
to leave him to stay with him at the Patriarchate
as a deacon. The mother agreed.
Athanasius prayed and studied the Gospel and
became a talented preacher.
The Protector or the Orthodox Faith
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At the council of Nicea, when St.
Athanasius was only about 27, he
defended the orthodox faith against Arius
Arius was a bishop who taught wrongly
that Lord Jesus Christ was not God, but
St. Athanasius maintained that Lord Jesus
Christ is Light of Light, True God of True
God, begotten not created, of one
essence with the Father.
So because of St. Athanasius, the Council
of Nicea established the first part of the
orthodox creed that we have today and
the Council also condemned Arius,
degraded him from his position and
stopped his evil teachings.
St. Athanasius Becomes a Patriarch
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Three years later, and
according
to
Pope
Alexandrous’ will, the
bishops and the people
chose St. Athanasius a
patriarch after the pope’s
death and they blessed
him by saying: The Lord
be with you.
St. Athanasius became
the
20th
pope
of
Alexandria.
The Protector or the Orthodox Faith
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St. Athanasius suffered a lot
to protect our orthodox
faith. He was exiled many
times. He was protecting the
faith against everyone who
wanted to destroy it.
When people said to him:
“The world is against you,
Athanasius”, he said: “And I
am against the world”.
See how great faith St.
Athanasius had?
Conclusions
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St. Athanasius was transformed from being a pagan to a great saint
who protected our orthodox faith. This is because when the Lord sees
anyone who wants to know Him, He does not deprive him of His grace.
God wants all men to be saved and to know Him because He is the
Truth.
The Sacrament of baptism is essential in attaining salvation as by it we
become Lord Christ’s children, and through the Holy Chrism with which
we are anointed, we become temples of the Holy Spirit and we abide
in Lord Jesus Christ, live in Him and bear fruit.
Do you know the difference between baptism and confirmation?
Conclusions (Cont’d)
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Although St. Athanasius was young, he
was very strong in the faith. He
understood the faith and defended it with
courage even when the whole world was
against him.
We should learn from St. Athanasius
to always keep our orthodox faith
and protect it. We should understand
our faith very well like he did to be
able to protect it and not listen or
believe in any words that go against
our faith. How can we understand
our faith very well?
Last Conclusion
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St. Athanasius wanted to become a Christian
when he saw how Christian children behaved.
We are always ministers of God. We show our
faith in Lord Jesus Christ by behaving like Him
and by this we become preachers of Christianity.
Who is this Saint?
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What is he holding in
his hands?
Who are those people
behind him?
Whom is he stepping
on? What does this
icon represent?
Questions
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Where was St. Athanasius born?
What was his parent’s religion?
Where was St. Athanasius educated?
What did his friends ask him?
What were St. Athanasius and his friends doing on the seashore?
Who was watching them?
Where did St. Athanasius study the rites of baptism?
What made St. Athanasius love Christ?
How many church sacraments are there?
How did St. Athanasius become Christian?
What was St. Athanasius ordained as first? Then what did he
become after Pope Alexandrous death?
What is the title given to St. Athanasius? Why?
Memory Verse
“The Lord your God is with you wherever you go”
(Joshua 1:9)