Katolsk.no skriver grundig om den hellige Athanasius av Alexandria (~296-373), aranismens viktigste mostander:
… Athanasius’ minnedag i vesten er 2. mai, mens han feires den 15. mai i den koptiske kalenderen. Hans viktigste minnedag i øst er 18. januar sammen med den hellige Kyrillos av Alexandria. Han er i uminnelige tider blitt feiret av kopterne og de ortodokse, men hans fest ble innført i Roma først på 1600-tallet, selv om den er blitt feiret i Frankrike siden 1100-tallet. Men siden har hans minnedag stått i de fleste kalendere. Athanasius avbildes ofte som en gammel mann i bispedrakt mens han står over en nedkjempet kjetter, mens han holder en bok i hånden. Det eldste bildet av ham er fra 700-tallet i kirken Santa Maria Antiqua i Roma. …
I de tradisjonelle tidebønnene leste vi i dag om ham:
Athanasius was Bishop of Alexandria, and a most vigorous defender of the Catholic religion. When he was still a deacon, he refuted the impiety of Arius at the Council of Nicaea, and earned such hatred from the Arians that, from that time on, they never ceased to lay snares for him. Driven into exile, he went to Treves in Gaul. He endured unbelievable hardships and wandered over a great part of the world, being often driven from his Church, and often restored by the authority of Pope Julius and the decrees of the Councils of Sardica and Jerusalem. All this while, he was persecuted by the Arians. Finally, rescued, by the help of God, from so many great dangers, he died at Alexandria during the reign of Emperor Valens. His life and death are marked by great miracles. He wrote many works, both of devotion and of catechetics, and, with great holiness, he ruled the Church of Alexandria, in those most troubled times, for forty-six years.