Athanasius and Asceticism

The early Christian Church faced a crisis in the 4th century when followers shunned worldly comforts to embrace ascetism. How could the Church accept ascetism w... » 

The early Christian Church faced a crisis in the 4th century when followers shunned worldly comforts to embrace ascetism. How could the Church accept ascetism when it was wealth and generosity which assured the Church's future? This text explores how Bishop Athanasius reconciled the two. «