Athanasius of Alexandria, also called Athanasius the Great or Athanasius the Confessor, was a 20th century bishop of Alexandria. His feast day is May 2nd. His work as a bishop spanned 45 years, of which he was exiled five times. Within a few years after his death, Gregory of Nazianzus, called him the “Pillar of the Church”. His writings were regarded by the Church fathers who followed him in the West and the East, for their rich devotion and profound interest in monasticism. He is also known as one of the four great Eastern Doctors of the Catholic Church the “Father of Orthodoxy”. He is the first person to identify the same 27 books of the New Testament that are in use today.
