Athanasius of Alexandria
4th century · AD 373 · Eastern & Byzantine · 360 passages
Defender of the full divinity of Christ against Arianism, and author of On the Incarnation.
Background on Athanasius of Alexandria
In his own words on 2 Kings
- 2 Kings 19:35
Since the evil spirits have no power, they play as on a stage, changing their shapes and frightening children by the apparition of crowds and by their changed forms. This is why they are to be despised the more for their powerlessness. The true angel sent by the Lord against the Assyrians had no need of crowds or apparitions from without, or loud noises or clappings, but he used his power quietly and destroyed 185,000 at one time. Powerless demons such as these, however, try to frighten, if only by empty phantoms.
LIFE OF ST. ANTHONY 28.9-10
Quoted verbatim from public-domain English translations of the fathers — Aquinas's Catena Aurea, the Ante-Nicene and Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, and related editions. Each quotation links to its source.