‘Concerning Athanasius’ is a blistering attack on the Roman Emperor Constantius by Lucifer, fourth century Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, and a vigorous defence of the great theologian St Athanasius: this is the first translation into English of any of Lucifer’s works

Lucifer was Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia in the middle of the fourth century. He was a devoted ally of the great theologian and Bishop of Alexandria, St Athanasius, and a strong opponent of Arianism and the Roman Emperor Constantius II. Exiled at the same time as Athanasius in AD 355 his surviving writings are all vituperative attacks on the emperor. The two books ‘Concerning Athanasius’ are his most substantial work, written in 359-360. Lucifer gives us a vivid picture of the passion aroused in the fourth century by debates about the nature of Christ and the relationship between the Church and the Roman Empire.