St. Athanasius of Alexandria was a great defender of the faith and an opponent of the heresy of Arianism. Athanasius staunchly defended the divinity of Jesus. He was present at the Council of Nicaea where the Nicene Creed was composed, affirming the humanity and divinity of Jesus. Athanasius endured much opposition in his lifetime including being exiled five times for the faith. He died in 373.

Let us reflect on one of his quotes: “The body of the Word, then, being a real human body, in spite of its having been uniquely formed from a virgin, was of itself mortal and, like other bodies, liable to death. But the indwelling of the Word loosed it from this natural liability, so that corruption could not touch it. Thus is happened that two opposite marvels took place at once: the death of all was consummated in the Lord’s body; yet, because the Word was in it, death and corruption were in the same act utterly abolished.”

St. Athanasius, pray for us.