"Athanasius contra mundum" — Athanasius against the world — became his epithet for a reason: he was exiled five separate times over the course of his episcopate for refusing to compromise on the Nicene formula.

The Stakes The single word at issue, homoousios, determined whether the Son was of the same substance as the Father or merely similar to it. Athanasius considered the distinction essential to the entire logic of Christian salvation.

A Career of Exile Emperors changed, church politics shifted, and Athanasius was repeatedly removed from his see and reinstated as the theological and political winds turned. He kept writing and organizing from exile each time.

The Outcome By the time of his death, the Nicene position he'd defended for decades was on its way to becoming the settled consensus, formally reaffirmed at Constantinople in 381 AD.