May 2: Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop & Doctor

Saint Athanasius was the "champion of orthodoxy," and a great defender of the early Church. He born in Alexandria in the year 297 c. AD. He studied under the tutelage of Orthodox Patriarch Alexander and St. Anthony of the desert. Ordained a deacon at age 22, Athanasius dedicated his life to opposing the teachings of Arias, a priest of the Alexandrian Church who denied Christ's divinity. As