The Festival of St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor
Posted on May 2, 2025 by under
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-14 (NKJV)
4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.
Devotion
“I believed and therefore I spoke…” These words are befitting of St. Athanasius, who we remember on this day. At the time of St. Athanasius there was a heretic, Arius, who denied that Jesus was really God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Like Sts. Philip and James from yesterday’s devotions, and the Prophets who had come before them, St. Athanasius believed Jesus was true God and of the same substance as the Father and the Holy Spirit. He believed that Jesus was God, and at the same time a real human being. Because he believed, he spoke against the false teachings of Arius. As a result of St. Athanasius’ staunch support of the truth about Jesus, his enemies worked to have St. Athanasius sent into exile. This happened five times.
We have much to learn from St. Athanasius; most notably the faithfulness of God throughout St. Athanasius’ life. St. Athanasius suffered much as the result of confessing the truth about Jesus. The same can be said of Christians today. We suffer at the hands of the devil, the world, and even our own sinful flesh. Yet, God remains faithful and holds fast to us, especially when we endure suffering for His name’s sake. He knows that left to ourselves we most certainly would perish eternally. But we can rest assured God will not allow that to happen.
Collect: O God, who didst give Saint Athanasius as a faithful teacher of the saving truth in a time of great trial, grant to Thy people zeal for Thy Word and faithful teachers for Thy Church, that they may stand steadfast against all error; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for Quasi modo geniti Sunday
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who have celebrated the solemnities of the Lord’s Resurrection, may, by the help of Thy grace, bring forth the fruits thereof in our life and conversation; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
