Saint Athanasius: Defender of the Faith is a remarkable book that manages to be both about the past and the present at the same time. Davies does not focus on the life of Athanasius of Alexandria so much as on the bigger picture: on his actions and those of his enemies and what they meant. The book's unstated purpose is as an apology, in the traditional sense of the word, for Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was an interesting man whatever you think of his choices. But it also does well at providing hope for anyone who looks around at the Church and worries about the direction it is going. There is also a detailed defense for the existence of the Fall of Pope Liberius in an appendix.

Perfect for any Catholic with an interest in St. Athanasius and how history is reflected and replayed today. Highly recommended. ( )

This small book about Saint Athanasius is not a biography. So if that is what you are looking for, this is the wrong book. Though Michael Davies does briefly cover the Saints forced exiles and includes an appendix of a chronological table on the life of Athansius.

The books main purpose seems to first remind us that the Church survives every crisis with the integrity of Her doctrinal teachings intact. And that the Faith is not served by covering up historical facts. The author also does a good job of showing us how Saint Athanasius found himself standing alone in the face of the Arian heresy and defending Orthodoxy. And Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre who in the Post-Vatican II era similiarly found himself defender of that same Orthodoxy. This defense of the Catholic Faith is what earned Saint Athanasius the title "The Great" and that of the "Father of Orthodoxy." ( )