EBOOK Eusebians:The Polemic of Athanasius of Alexandria and the Construction of the `Arian

A historical and theological re-evaluation of the polemical writings of Athanasius        of Alexandria (bishop 328-73), who would become known to later Christian generations        as a saint and a champion of orthodoxy, and as the defender of the original Nicene        Creed of 325 against the `Arian heresy'. For much of his own lifetime, however,        Athanasius was an extremely controversial figure, and his writings, although highly        influential on modern interpretations of the fourth-century Church andthe so-called        `Arian Controversy', display bias and distortion. David M. Gwynn examines        Athanasius' polemic in detail, and in particular his construction of those he        condemns as `Arian' as a single `heretical party', 'the Eusebians'. Gwynn argues        that Athanasius' image of the Church polarized betweenhis own `orthodoxy' and the        `Arianism' of the `Eusebians' is a polemical construct, which has seriously impaired        our knowledge of the development of Christianity in the crucial period in which the        Later Roman Empire became ever increasingly a Christian empire.