Renewal in Christ: Athanasius on the Christian Life

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Renewal in Christ: Athanasius on the Christian Life

him in zeal and discipline. He observed the graciousness of one, the unceasing prayer of another; he took knowledge of one’s freedom from anger, and another’s loving-kindness; he paid attention to one as he watched, 6 to another as he studied; one he admired for his endurance, another for his fasting and sleeping on the ground; the meekness of one and the long-suffering of another he watched with care, while he took note of the reverence toward Christ and the mutual love which animated all. Thus filled, he returned to his own place of discipline and from then on would strive to unite the qualities of each, eager to show in himself the virtues of all. With others of the same age he had no rivalry except this only: that he should not be second to them in higher things. And he did this not to hurt the feelings of others, but for them to rejoice over him. So all the people of that village and the good men in whose intimacy he was, when they saw that he was a man of this sort, used to call him God-beloved. And some welcomed him as a son, others as a brother.

He took note of the reverence toward Christ and the mutual love which animated all

§5 – Opposition from the Enemy Begins But the devil, who hates and envies what is good, could not endure to see such a resolution in a youth, but began to carry out against him what he had worked against others. First of all he tried to lead him away from the discipline,

6 Watching – The ancient practice that consists of an individual rising in the middle of the night to spend time in focused prayer. The tradition is rooted in Luke’s account of Jesus praying during the night (Luke 6:12–13).