Page "Athanasius of Alexandria" Paragraph 17

In 346, following the death of Gregory, Constans used his influence to allow Athanasius to return to Alexandria.

Athanasius ' return was welcomed by the majority of the people of Egypt who had come to view him as a national hero.

This was the start of a " golden decade " of peace and prosperity, during which time Athanasius assembled several documents relating to his exiles and returns from exile in the Apology Against the Arians.

However, upon Constans ' death in 350, a civil war broke out which left Constantius as sole emperor.

Constantius, renewing his previous policies favoring the Arians, banished Athanasius from Alexandria once again.

This was followed, in 356, by an attempt to arrest Athanasius during a vigil service.

Following this, Athanasius left for Upper Egypt, where he stayed in several monasteries and other houses.

During this period, Athanasius completed his work Four Orations against the Arians and defended his own recent conduct in the Apology to Constantius and Apology for His Flight.

Constantius ' persistence in his opposition to Athanasius, combined with reports Athanasius received about the persecution of non-Arians by the new Arian bishop George of Laodicea, prompted Athanasius to write his more emotional History of the Arians, in which he described Constantius as a precursor of the Antichrist.