The fourth-century Alexandrians: Athanasius and Didymus

doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521460835.025

24 - The fourth-century Alexandrians: Athanasius and Didymus

from A - LITERARY GUIDE

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 March 2008

Edited by

Lewis Ayres and

Assisted by

Frances Young: Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Lewis Ayres: Affiliation:
Emory University, Atlanta
Andrew Louth: Affiliation:
University of Durham
Augustine Casiday: Affiliation:
University of Durham

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Summary

Fourth-century Alexandrian theology is more or less summed up in the writings of two theological giants, Athanasius, pope of Alexandria from 328 until his death in 373 (not counting various periods of deposition and exile), and Didymus the Blind, a scholar of enormous renown in his own day, who was appointed head of the Catechetical School in Alexandria by Athanasius, a position he held until his death. The contrast that will be revealed between their theological methods and teaching suggests that, although Didymus taught with the approval and support of Athanasius, it is hazardous to speak too confidently of an ‘Alexandrian school of theology’.

Athanasius

Since Athanasius’ election as bishop of Alexandria in 328 was challenged on canonical grounds, it is likely that he had then barely attained the canonical age of thirty, which would mean that he was born at the very end of the third century. We know nothing about his upbringing and education, though from his writings it would seem a fair deduction that he acquired a good knowledge of Greek, without having had a formal education. His knowledge of classical philosophy and rhetoric is far from non-existent: he has a genuine admiration for Plato, whom he calls ‘great among the Greeks’, and shows skill in rhetorical methods of argument, but his style (of writing, as well as thinking) has a simple home-spun quality. He must soon have attracted the attention of the pope of Alexandria, or his circle, for already in his twenties he became one of his deacons, and attended the Council of Nicaea with Alexander (325).

Keywords

Didymus desert monasticism Christian literary genre apologetic tradition Athanasius fourth-century Alexandrian theology

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge History of Early Christian Literature , pp. 275 - 282

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CHOL9780521460835.025 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2004

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24 - The fourth-century Alexandrians: Athanasius and Didymus

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