This extensive chronology was prefixed to Saint Athanase by the well-known patrologist Ferdinand Cavallera (Paris: Bloud, 1908). Since it seems more comprehensive than anything else I could easily find, I translated it about as fast as I could type (so don’t be surprised by an error here or there). There may be disagreement about some dates and some events, but on the whole this is a very useful guide.
Chronology of St. Athanasius
295. Birth of St. Athanasius. —Classical and religious education.
312. Athanasius ordained reader. He spends six years in that office.
318. Beginnings of Arianism at Alexandria. —Bishop Alexander takes St. Athanasius as his secretary, already deacon. —Apologetic treatise in two books: Contra Gentes and De Incarnatione Verbi.
320. St. Athanasius subscribes to the deposition of Arius.
325. Council of Nicaea; St. Athanasius, still a deacon, attends with his bishop.
328. June 7. St. Athanasius ordained bishop of Alexandria.
329. First Paschal Letter.
330. St. Athanasius visits the Thebaid.
331. Difficulties with the Melitians and the Arians, who accuse him before Constantine.
332. St. Athanasius, summoned to Nicomedia, defends himself clearly and returns before the feast of Easter. He visits the Pentapolis and the oasis of Ammon.
333. Letters from Constantine to the Catholics and the Arians. —Arius, summoned to the court, makes a profession of faith that satisfies the emperor; Athanasius refuses to receive him in his communion.
334. Visit to Lower Egypt. —New intrigues against St. Athanasius. —The censor Dalmatius, half-brother of Constantine, is charged with investigating the affair. —The Synod of Caesarea, before which Athanasius was charged, is dissolved; letter of Constantine condemning the enemies of the bishop of Alexandria.
335. Accusations renewed. —Council of Tyre: the majority, hostile to St. Athanasius, who has come to defend himself (July 11), names a commission of inquiry composed of adversaries of the bishop of Alexandria; the inquiry, made in Egypt with no contradictory debate, concludes that Athanasius is guilty. He betakes himself to Constantinople to demand justice. The Council of Tyre deposes him and prohibits him from returning to Egypt. —New session of the Council at Jerusalem (September); Arius is there admitted to the ecclesiastical communion. —The most influential members of the Council, called to Constantinople by the emperor, bring political accusations against Athanasius. —St. Athanasius is exiled to the Gauls, but no successor is named.
336. November 6. St. Athanasius arrives at Trèves, where he is detained. —Troubles in Egypt. —Letters from St. Anthony to Constantine in favor of Athanasius.
337. May 22. Death of Constantine; his son Constantine II sends St. Athanasius back to Alexandria (June 17). Athanasius encounters Constantius, Emperor of the East, at Viminacium and at Caesarea in Cappadocia; he returns to Alexandria November 23.
338. July. St. Anthony at Alexandria; new intrigues of Athanasius’ enemies; Pistos is consecrated bishop of Alexandria by the Arians; embassy sent to Pope Julius I to denounce St. Athanasius; synod of Alexandria and embassy of Egyptian clergy at Rome in his favor.
339. Pope Julius invites the Easterners to come to Rome to discuss the case of Athanasius in a plenary synod. —In March, Philagrius, Prefect of Egypt, announces that Alexandria has a new bishop, the Arian Gregory of Cappadocia. —March 18, bloody riot; the 22nd, entry of Gregory. —Athanasius secretly leaves Alexandria. —Letter of protest to the bishops: Encyclica ad Episcopos. He embarks for Rome.
340. Letter of the Easterners to the pope; they refuse to attend the council. Athanasius is recognized as innocent; Julius notifies the Easterners and Egyptians of that sentence of the council. —St. Athanasius by his descriptions acquaints the Westerners with the marvels of the cenobitic life.
342–3. Interview of St. Athanasius and the emperor Constans at Milan (May). —St. Athanasius in Gaul; he betakes himself with Hosius to the Council of Serdica or Sardica; letter of the Council recognizing his innocence; deposition of Athanasius by the schismatic Council of Easterners.
344. Constans vigorously demands of his brother Constantius the recall of Athanasius, then at Naissus.
345. June 25. Death of Gregory of Cappadocia. —Letters (3) from Constantius recalling Athanasius to Alexandria. —Athanasius quits Aquilaea; at Rome, Pope Julius gives him a letter for the Alexandrians.
346. From Rome he returns via Adrianople to the East; interview at Antioch with Constantius; Athanasius attends the synod at Jerusalem, which approves him; he returns to Alexandria October 21. —St. Anthony greets him.
347–50. Period of calm; various works; Orationes III contra Arianos; De Decretis Concilii Nicaeni; De Sententia Dionysii. Synod of Alexandria to confirm that of Sardica; Valens and Ursatius, old enemies of Athanasius, ask for his friendship. —Death of the emperor Constans (January 350) deprives Athanasius of a devoted protector. —New intrigues around Constantius against the bishop of Alexandria. —Constantius reassures St. Athanasius, who publishes his apology: Apologia contra Arianos.
351–2. Construction of the church of Caesareum furnishes a pretext for a calumny against Athanasius directed to Constantius. —Election of Pope Liberius (May 17). —Athanasius is denounced to him by various bishops. —The pope defends the bishop of Alexandria. —Letter to Amun, Epistula ad Amunem.
353. Legation of Serapion of Thmuis in favor of Athanasius, at Rome and Milan. —Liberius asks the emperor to convene a council to settle the questions definitively.
354. Constantius imposes the condemnation of Athanasius on the Synod of Arles. —All the bishops present succumb to the pressure, with the exception of Paulinus of Trèves, who is exiled to Phrygia. —Liberius, mortified, asks Constantius to convene a new synod.
355. In the spring, the synod meets at Milan, succumbs again; all the bishops sign the condemnation of Athanasius except Lucifer of Cagliari, Eusebius of Vercelli, Dionysius of Milan, who are exiled. —Athanasius’ Letter to Dracontius. —In August, first alert at Alexandria. —The notary Diogenes tries to make Athanasius leave of his own free will and to stir up the population against him. —On the strength of Constantius’ promise (in 350), Athanasius demands a written order.
356. Signatures are collected against St. Athanasius throughout the West. —Hilary of Poitiers and Rhodianus of Toulouse, then Pope Liberius and Hosius of Cordoue, refusing to abandon communion with Athanasius, are exiled. —At Alexandria, January 5, second alert. —The dux Syrianus clashes with Athanasius, meets same refusal. —In the night of February 8–9, a traitor to his promises, he invades the church of Theonas, whence St. Athanasius is able to escape furtively. —Violence and threats. —Protests of the Catholics; Constantius orders the bishops of Egypt to abandon communion with Athanasius, who is actively pursued. —June 14: the churches are handed over to the Arians. —Letter of St. Athanasius to the bishops of Egypt, Epistula ad episcopos Ægypti et Lybiæ. —Death of St. Anthony.
357. February 24: entry of the intrusive George of Cappadocia; the dux Sebastian terrorizes Egypt.
357–61. Athanasius in the desert. —Numerous works, polemical, dogmatic, or personal: Apologia ad Constantium; Apologia de fuga; Historia arianorum ad monachos; Epistula de morte Arii; Epistula ad monachos (358). —On the controversy over the divinity of the Holy Spirit, at about this time St. Athanasius writes the Epistulas ad Serapionem (359). —According to certain critics the Orationes contra Arianos should also be attributed to this time. —Lucifer takes up his defense in his De sancto Athanasio. —Athanasius writes the Life of St. Anthony.
357. Liberius, exiled, subscribes to the deposition of Athanasius; at the second synod of Sirmium (summer) Hosius, while accepting an objectionable theological document, energetically refuses to imitate Liberius.
358. Before Easter, Synod of Ancyra; Third of Sirmium; in August, at Alexandria, revolt against George; he abandons the city October 2. —Athanasius secretly spends a few days in Alexandria.
359. Councils of Rimini (Western) and Seleucia (Eastern). —Athanasius in his de Synodis makes advances to the moderate faction of his adversaries, the partisans of Basil of Ancyra.
360. Synod of Constantinople in January.
361. November 3, death of Constantius. —November 26, Georges returns to Alexandria; in December, riot against him; he is imprisoned, and on December 25 snatched from his prison by the pagan mob and slaughtered.
362. Beginning: Julian recalls all the exiles. —Athanasius returns to Alexandria, February 21. —Council of Alexandria presided over by St. Athanasius: Tomus ad Antiochenos. —Decree of expulsion, launched against him by Julian, does not take effect until the following October 24. —Athanasius reaches Memphis and the Thebaid; he visits Tabennisi and its monks. Epistula ad Rufinianum.
363. June 26, death of Julian. His successor Jovian invites Athanasius to return to Alexandria. —Interview of Athanasius and Jovian at Antioch: Epistula ad Jovianum. —Talks on union between Athanasius and Meletius, bishop of Antioch, come to nothing; Athanasius recognizes Paulinus, rival of Meletius. —Fruitless attempts against St. Athanasius by the Arians.
364. February 17, death of Jovian. Valentinian and Valens emperors.
365. May 4: The edict of Valens is posted at Alexandria repealing that of Julian in favor of the exiles. The Alexandrians protest for their bishop. Athanasius leaves Alexandria alone, October 5. That same night the prefect vainly has him searched for in order to send him into exile. —Athanasius remains hidden in the country near Alexandria for four months.
366. February 1: The imperial notary Bresidas, on the order of Valens, brings Athanasius back to Alexandria and replaces him definitively in possession of the churches. For the bishop, the is the end of the persecutions. —July 11, the pagans burn a church and are punished.
367. The self-styled Arian bishop Lucius introduces himself into Alexandria in September; riot, from which he escapes with great effort; he leaves the city and will not reappear there until after the death of Athanasius. Athanasius builds churches and peacefully occupies himself with the religious administration of Egypt. He is in communion with more than four hundred bishops.
368. Letter to the Bishops of Africa; various letters, in particular to Horsisius, successor to Abbot Theodore.
369–70. On the instigation of Athanasius, Pope Damasus deposes Auxentius, bishop of Milan. —Christoplogical controversies: troubles on that subject in the church at Corinth. —Athanasius consulted, refutes the principal errors in a letter to the bishop Epictetus; two other analogous writings also date to this time (Epistula ad Epictetum, ad Adelphium, ad Maximum.)
370. St. Basil, holy bishop of Caesarea, sends notice of his election to St. Athanasius.
371–73. Correspondence with St. Basil on the subject of the affairs of Antioch and the East. —Dorotheus, deacon of Meletius, comes to Alexandria; Peter, priest of Alexandria, goes to the East and to Basil. —Negotiations with the Easterners; they send the Milanese deacon Sabinus to Athanasius. —St. Athanasius takes up the defense of St. Basil, whose orthodoxy is suspected (Epistula ad Joannem and ad Palladium). —Marcellus of Ancyra sends him a legation to defend himself against accusations of heresy. —Athanasius excommunicates the governor of Libya.
373. May 2: Death of St. Athanasius.