328–373

Athanasius of Alexandria: Episcopate, Exiles, and Defense of the Nicene Faith

Alexander died in 328. Athanasius, who had already accompanied him to the Council of Nicaea, was elected his successor to the see of Alexandria. He held it until his death in 373, being exiled five times – roughly 17 years in all.

The Meletians accused him of violence against his opponents. After his first exile (from 331 or 339) he found support in the West. There Pope Julius of Rome, at the Council of Rome in 340, vindicated him and Marcellus of Ancyra, provoking the displeasure of eastern bishops.

The chief work of his life remained the defense of Christ's divinity and the Nicene creed against Arianism. He held that the Nicene confession could not be changed in a single letter. His contemporaries called him "the savior of the church from Arianism" and "the pillar of the church".