David Gwynn: Christology in the Pastoral Theology of Athanasius of Alexandria

Traditional interpretations of Athanasius of Alexandria’s Christology have focused on his great doctrinal treatises, particularly the Contra Gentes – De Incarnatione and the various works against ‘Arianism’. Judged by the standards of later generations, these writings have often been found lacking in technical precision and terminology. Athanasius, however, was not an academic scholar. He composed his theology in the midst of the fourth-century Trinitarian controversies, and the issues at stake were fundamental for all Christians not just for bishops and intellectuals. More recent scholarship has rightly emphasised that to understand Athanasius’ Christological vision we must look beyond the treatises to also consider his wider pastoral writings, above all the Festal Letters. As this paper will discuss, in his Easter epistles Athanasius presented the same essential Christology reformulated for a general audience. Throughout his long episcopate, Athanasius never lost sight of the significance of the fourth-century controversies for everyday Christian life, and it is that pastoral concern that shaped his Christological teachings in the Festal Letters and elsewhere. The paper will draw upon the new translation and commentary for the Festal Letters that is currently under preparation by David Brakke and David M. Gwynn for publication in the Liverpool University Press Translated Texts series.