Unexpectedly Festive Feast for Athanasius
Tonight was a rare one, indeed, as not only our entire household was present, but those that will be moving in very shortly were all here, too. In addition, Andy's parents from the UK were our special guests, as was my buddy Callaway. [Methinks this would be a good time to announce that Andy Dollerson is the newest addition to the Abbey, having moved in 3ish weeks ago. You can check out his new blog here.]
Seeing as how it is the feast day for Athanasius (at least in the RC tradition), I attempted an Egyptianesque meal: shiskabobs with a middle eastern dry rub, hummus and pita, couscous with homegrown mint, followed by fruit pastries for dessert. [It is becoming reduntant, yet necessary, to thank - once again - the beloved Jolie for purchasing most of the ingredients and preparing them while I was at work. Handclap praises as well for Angelic (will move in next month) for single-handedly cooking the couscous and Tinamarie (will also move in next month) for brewing the tea.]
On to Athanasius.
I was deeply struck by the complexities of today's story. Athanasius' life is lived amidst numerous world-altering shifts - Christianity goes from marginal and persecuted to central and empowered. There is time to develop doctrines, and the fighting turns inward as various positions attempt to claim "orthodoxy." Athanasius becomes the "black dwarf" as a deacon at the Council of Nicea that gains the attention of those present with his rhetoric and zeal. Shortly thereafter he reluctantly accepts the bishopship at Alexandria, after attempting to hide out among the Dessert Fathers. He takes fighting the Arian heresy extremely seriously, and he is widely considered the greatest threat to the survival of Arian views. He moves in and out of Alexandria like a ping pong ball, as various emperors and bishops side with the Nicenes or the Arians and he is therefore either exiled or allowed to return, depending upon the sympathies of the current leadership. He lives like a dessert monk - at least in terms of having a strict life of discipline and asceticism and authenticity. Yet he is also prone to using violent and fundamentalist means in order to squelch the threat of Arianism. In addition, he is the first to list the books that are now considered inspired in the New Testament. He is a prototype in his development of the doctrine of the Incarnation and the nature of Jesus in relation to the Father. And, perhaps most importantly for us Abbey-types, he is largely responsible for the global awareness of monasticism through his highly-read account, The Life of Antony.
Seeing as how it is the feast day for Athanasius (at least in the RC tradition), I attempted an Egyptianesque meal: shiskabobs with a middle eastern dry rub, hummus and pita, couscous with homegrown mint, followed by fruit pastries for dessert. [It is becoming reduntant, yet necessary, to thank - once again - the beloved Jolie for purchasing most of the ingredients and preparing them while I was at work. Handclap praises as well for Angelic (will move in next month) for single-handedly cooking the couscous and Tinamarie (will also move in next month) for brewing the tea.]
On to Athanasius.
I was deeply struck by the complexities of today's story. Athanasius' life is lived amidst numerous world-altering shifts - Christianity goes from marginal and persecuted to central and empowered. There is time to develop doctrines, and the fighting turns inward as various positions attempt to claim "orthodoxy." Athanasius becomes the "black dwarf" as a deacon at the Council of Nicea that gains the attention of those present with his rhetoric and zeal. Shortly thereafter he reluctantly accepts the bishopship at Alexandria, after attempting to hide out among the Dessert Fathers. He takes fighting the Arian heresy extremely seriously, and he is widely considered the greatest threat to the survival of Arian views. He moves in and out of Alexandria like a ping pong ball, as various emperors and bishops side with the Nicenes or the Arians and he is therefore either exiled or allowed to return, depending upon the sympathies of the current leadership. He lives like a dessert monk - at least in terms of having a strict life of discipline and asceticism and authenticity. Yet he is also prone to using violent and fundamentalist means in order to squelch the threat of Arianism. In addition, he is the first to list the books that are now considered inspired in the New Testament. He is a prototype in his development of the doctrine of the Incarnation and the nature of Jesus in relation to the Father. And, perhaps most importantly for us Abbey-types, he is largely responsible for the global awareness of monasticism through his highly-read account, The Life of Antony.
