#nicene

Happy Feast Day St. Athanasius Doctor of the Church

297-373 Feast Day: May 2

St. Athanasius taught that Jesus is “consubstantial” w/ the Father, passionately defended Nicaea & spread the idea of Monasticism thru his writing.

Saint Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria and Doctor of the Church, assisted at the Council of Nicaea, where the Nicene Creed was established. Under the care of St. Alexander the Patriarch he received a classical education and succeeded him as Bishop in 326. His life struggle was correcting Arianism, the heresy denying the divinity of Christ, to the effect that 47 years of his Episcopate were lived in exile as his life was frequently in danger. St. Athanasius is a “Champion of Orthodoxy” who fully lived his life as Bishop, caring for his flock even in exile.

The Creeds of Christianity

Each Sunday at Mass, we profess our faith. We proclaim what we believe via the Creed. A creed is a brief statement of faith used to list important truths, to clarify doctrinal points and to distinguish truth from error. The word creed comes from the Latin word credo, meaning, “I believe.” The Bible contains a number of creed-like passages. The Jews still recite a creed known as the Shema that…