A confessor who suffered for the veneration of the holy icons under the iconoclast emperor Leo the Armenian, enduring imprisonment and hardship for the Orthodox faith. He reposed about the year 821.
Feast Day
February 22
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Our Venerable Father Athanasius the Confessor of Constantinople
Life
Athanasius the Confessor was a ninth-century Byzantine monk who suffered for the veneration of the holy icons during the second period of iconoclasm. Born in Constantinople of well-to-do and pious parents, he embraced the monastic life and became a defender of the sacred images, for which he was tortured and exiled under the iconoclast emperor Leo V (Leo the Armenian).
He is commemorated in the Orthodox Church on February 22 as a confessor, having maintained the Orthodox doctrine of icon veneration to the end of his life and died peacefully in the year 821.
Timeline 3 moments
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8th–9th c.Birth and monastic tonsureAthanasius was born in Constantinople of rich and pious parents. From a young age he desired the monastic life and was tonsured a monk at the Pavlopetrios Monastery near Nicomedia, a house named for the holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
813–820Persecution under Leo V the ArmenianDuring the reign of the iconoclast emperor Leo V the Armenian, who renewed the imperial campaign against the holy icons, Athanasius was subjected to torture for venerating icons and then to exile, grief, and suffering, while holding firm to Orthodox doctrine.
c. 821ReposeHaving confessed the Orthodox faith to the end of his life, Athanasius died peacefully in the year 821.
Contributions & Legacy
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Monastic Life
According to the Orthodox tradition recorded in his life, Athanasius was a native of Constantinople, born of wealthy and devout parents. Drawn to monasticism from a young age, he was tonsured at the Pavlopetrios (Pavlopetriou) Monastery, situated near Nicomedia and dedicated to the Apostles Peter and Paul.
His ascetic discipline reportedly gained notice as far as the imperial palace. The synaxarion accounts associate him with leading monastic figures of the age, including Theodore the Studite and John (Ioannis), abbot of the Katharon Monastery, who were likewise prominent in the defense of the icons.
Confessor for the Holy Icons
Athanasius lived during the second iconoclast period, when the emperor Leo V the Armenian (reigned 813–820) revived the imperial prohibition of the veneration of icons. Athanasius opposed the iconoclast policy and is remembered for fighting vigorously against the iconoclasts and contributing to the restoration of the sacred images.
For venerating the icons he was subjected to torture and then to exile. Because he suffered for the faith without being put to death, the Church honors him with the title of confessor. He maintained Orthodox doctrine to the end and reposed peacefully in 821.
Veneration
Athanasius the Confessor is commemorated on February 22. His feast is recorded in the Byzantine synaxaria; the Menologion of Basil II, an illuminated Byzantine manuscript documenting the saints' commemorations, includes an image identified as Saint Athanasius the Confessor of Constantinople.
