Veneration
St Athanasius was originally buried in Alexandria, Egypt, but his body was later transferred to the Chiesa di San Zaccaria in Venice, Italy. During Pope Shenouda III's visit to Rome from 4 to 10 May 1973, Pope Paul VI gave the Coptic Patriarch a relic of Athanasius, which he brought back to Egypt on 15 May. The relic of St Athanasius the Great of Alexandria is currently preserved under the new Saint Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Deir El-Anba Rowais, Abbassiya, Cairo, Egypt. The body of St Athanasius continues to repose in the Chiesa di San Zaccaria.
The following is a troparion (hymn) to St Athanasius sung in some Eastern Orthodox churches.
- O Holy father Athanasius,
- like a pillar of orthodoxy
- you refuted the heretical nonsense of Arius
- by insisting that the Father and the Son are equal in essence.
- O venerable father, beg Christ our God to save our souls.
Athanasius is venerated as a saint by the majority of major Christian denominations which officially recognize saints. His feast day is observed on 2 May, the day of his death. In the Roman Catholic Church he is deemed a Doctor of the Church.
St Gregory Nazianzen, fellow Doctor of the Church, 330-390, said in Or.21: "When I praise Athanasius, virtue itself is my theme: for I name every virtue as often as I mention him who was possessed of all virtues. He was the true pillar of the Church. His life and conduct were the rule of bishops, and his doctrine the rule of the orthodox faith."
Read more about this topic: Athanasius Of Alexandria
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