Doctrine of Sanctification: in St. Athanasius' Paschal Letters

One of the most remarkable features in the long episcopate of St. Athanasius of Alexandria is the support and loyalty that he won from his flock. He was a true pastor, close to his people, whether clergy, monks or laity. St. Cyprian's celebrated saying - "The Church is the people united to the bishop, the flock clinging to its shepherd; the bishop is in the Church and the Church in the bishop" - was true of St. Athanasius to a pre-eminent degree.

It is this pastoral side of St. Athanasius that is chiefly in evidence in his Paschal Letters, presented here by Fr. Matthias Wahba with clarity and sympathetic care. The Paschal Letters have been somewhat neglected in recent scholarship, and it is valuable to have a systematic presentation of their teaching on salvation and sanctification. St. Athanasius' understanding of the Christian life is here set before us in all its richness. The abundant quotations help us to appreciate what Fr. Matthias rightly calls his 'warmth, vigour and simplicity'. St. Athanasius' approach is strongly Scriptural, and it is always theological, never merely moralistic.

At the heart of the Paschal Letters stands the truth on which St. Athanasius constantly insisted in all his writings, both controversial and pastoral: we humans can live a divine life, since the Word of God has Himself become human. 'He became man that we might be made God': the Incarnation of the Logos is the foundation of the whole of St. Athanasius' theology.