- And now the life of Athanasius was nearing its
sunset. Like the Apostle Paul, he "had fought the good
fight, he had run the race", he had fulfilled his destiny. He
was twenty seven years old when he became Pope, and
had guided the Church during forty-six years. Except for
the first three and the last five years of his life, which
were years of peace, he had fought continuously,
steadfastly and fearlessly to defend the Christian faith and
to maintain It in its integrity as It had been taught and
handed down by the Apostles. Unflinching, unwavering,
undaunted he had stood up and faced Emperors, powers
and principalities without moving one iota from his single
purpose, regardless of the consequences to himself. At
certain times during his fight, he could count on and did
have many courageous supporters. At other times he
seemed almost alone. But even when he was alone, he
knew for a certainty that ‘one with God is a majority’.
And so when he was told that the whole world was
against him, he answered, ‘And I am against the world’.
"Athanasius contra mundum, et mundum contra
Athanasius" became a well-known expression of his
fearless independence, and his immovable fidelity to his
Lord and Saviour.^61
St. Basil-later called the Great – one of his
younger contemporaries among the Church Fathers, said
of him, "Athanasius was for the faithful what Pharos (the
famous Alexandrian lighthouse)^62 was for ships; when the
night was dark and tempests raged, all eyes turned
instinctively to him." - In gratitude for his labours and his unique
contribution, the Church Universal conferred on him the
titles of ‘the Defender of the Upright Faith’and the more
concise one of ‘the Apostolic’. This latter title, in which
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