Saint Athanasius – Lithograph – Mount Athos

Description

Saint Athanasius the Great: Life

Saint Athanasius was born in 295 AD. His family faced financial difficulties, which deprived him of the opportunity for higher education. Gifted with rich spiritual qualities, he studied on his own to acquire higher knowledge beyond the basic education he received.

His inclination towards the Church was evident from his youth. At the age of 25, he was ordained a deacon by the Patriarch of Alexandria, Alexander, whom he followed to the First Ecumenical Council in 325 AD in Nicaea, Bithynia. There, Saint Athanasius became a leading figure in condemning the heretical teachings of Arius.

At the age of 33, in 328 AD, Athanasius was elected Patriarch of Alexandria. He faced immense opposition from the heretical followers of Arius. However, through his strong faith in God and his great spirituality, he was able to emerge victorious. In addition to the struggle against the heretics, he faced temptations and hardships. He was exiled five times by Emperor Constantine II, who was a supporter of Arianism.

Saint Athanasius served as Patriarch of Alexandria for forty-six years. During his patriarchate, he was the “pillar of the Church” and the foremost “father of Orthodoxy.”

Saint Athanasius peacefully departed from this life in 373 AD. The Church ranks him among the Great Saints and commemorates his memory on January 18th.

Lithograph of Saint Athanasius

Using a lithographed copy of Byzantine art, the gifted iconographer Nektarios Nastos created this work following the traditional method of artificial aging, as he was taught at Mount Athos. In the four corners, the image is decorated with a gold finish, between the engravings of the artificial aging.

Origin: Mount Athos