May 2 is a special day for Madrid residents, since the official holiday of the Community of Madrid is celebrated in honor of the uprising against the French that began the War of Independence. But also for some of the people who they commemorate their saint according to the Christian tradition of remembering on certain dates the most important figures for the development of faith.
This is the case of Saint Athanasius, a bishop of Alexandria, without whom it would not have been possible for Nicene Christianity to become the official religion of the Roman Empire. Born around 296 AD in Alexandria, little is known about his early life, only that he was ordained a deacon at the age of 24 and He attended the First Council of Nicaea. Since then he became one of the staunchest defenders of the Nicene creed – which simply summarizes the basic principles of Christianity – and, at the same time, an enemy of Arianism.
At the age of 35 he was appointed bishop of Alexandria and suffered harassment from the Arians every time the emperor allowed himself to be influenced by them, to the point of being arrested and exiled five times. The shadows of his bishopric They are also elongated. Some sources accuse him of ordering a follower of Melecianism to be burned alive or forging a letter from Constantine after his death, among other acts within the framework of the fight against beliefs that he considered heresies.
He is not the only historical figure to whom tribute is paid today. The list of saints and blesseds is broader:
- Saint Cyriacus of Atalia
- Saint Felix deacon
- Saint Flaminia
- Saint Hesperus of Atalia
- Saint Longinus
- Saint Theodulus of Atalia
- Saint Viborada
- Saint Vindemial
- Saint Waldebert
- Saint Zoe of Atalia
- Blessed Boleslaus Strzelecki
- Blessed William Tirry
- Blessed Nicholas Hermansson
