God Cares for Pope Athanasius the Apostolic

1. God Cares for Pope Athanasius the Apostolic

2. Saint Athanasius • 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.

3. His Childhood • St. Athanasius was born in Alexandria in Egypt. His parents were pagans. What does the word “pagan” mean? • His father was very rich but he died when Athanasius was still a child. • His mother brought him up. She sent him to a Christian School in Alexandria to learn.

4. Christian Children • He mixed with the Christian children and noticed how they played, talked and how they loved one another.

5. Christian Children • He saw that they were calm and obedient. He watched them while they were praying to Lord Jesus Christ.

6. Athanasius and the Children • 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?!”

7. Playing on the Seashore • 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.

8. 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:

9. Pope and Children • P: “What were you doing, kids?” • C: “We were playing, Your Holiness.” • P: “Which game were you playing?” (The boys felt hesitant but he encouraged them) • C: “We were playing baptism ritual with Athanasius.” • P: “What is your name my son and who are you?” • A: “My name is Athanasius… My mother worships idols but I want to be a Christian, your Holiness.”

10. Athanasius becomes a Christian • 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.

11. The Protector or the Orthodox Faith • 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.

12. St. Athanasius Becomes a Patriarch • 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.

13. The Protector or the Orthodox Faith • 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?

14. Conclusions • 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?

15. Conclusions (Cont’d) • 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?

16. Last Conclusion • 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.

17. Who is this Saint? • What is he holding in his hands? • Who are those people behind him? • Whom is he stepping on? What does this icon represent?

18. Questions • 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?

19. Memory Verse “The Lord your God is with you wherever you go”(Joshua 1:9)