God Cares for Pope Athanasius the Apostolic

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God Cares for Pope Athanasius the Apostolic
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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.

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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.

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Christian Children

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

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Christian Children

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

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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?!

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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.

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• 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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 popes
  death and they blessed him by saying The Lord be
  with you.
• St. Athanasius became the 20th pope of Alexandria.

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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?

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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
  Christs 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?

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Conclusions (Contd)

• 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?

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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.

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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?

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Questions

• Where was St. Athanasius born?
• What was his parents 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?

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Memory Verse

• The Lord your God is with you wherever you go
  (Joshua 19)