romikgosai/squad_modified_2 huggingface dataset:
Constantius, renewing his previous policies favoring the Arians, banished Athanasius from Alexandria once again. This was followed, in 356, by an attempt to arrest Athanasius during a vigil service. Athanasius fled to Upper Egypt, where he stayed in several monasteries and other houses. During this period, Athanasius completed his work Four Orations against the Arians and defended his own recent conduct in the Apology to Constantius and Apology for His Flight. Constantius's persistence in his opposition to Athanasius, combined with reports Athanasius received about the persecution of non-Arians by the new Arian bishop George of Laodicea, prompted Athanasius to write his more emotional History of the Arians, in which he described Constantius as a precursor of the Antichrist.

Q1: Who had a policy of condemning Athanasius?
A1: the Arians
Q2: What was Athanasius doing the next time an arrest was attempted?
A2: a vigil service
Q3: Where did Athanasius flee to after this attempt?
A3: Upper Egypt
Q4: In which work did he refer to Constantius as a precursor of the Antichrist?
A4: History of the Arians
Q5: What did he write during this time?
A5: Four Orations against the Arians
T. Gilmartin, (Professor of History, Maynooth, 1890), writes in Church History, Vol. 1, Ch XVII: The Arians sought the approval of an Ecumenical Council. They sought to hold two councils. Constantius, summoned the bishops of the East to meet at Seleucia in Isauria, and those of the West to Rimini in Italy. A preliminary conference was held by the Arians at Sirmium, to agree a formula of faith. A "Homoeon" creed was adopted, declaring The Son to be "like the Father". The two met in autumn of 359. At Seleucia, one hundred and fifty bishops, of which one hundred and five were semi-Arian. The semi-Arians refused to accept anything less than the "Homoiousion", (see: Homoiousian), formulary of faith. The Imperial Prefect was obliged to disband, without agreeing on any creed. Acacius, the leader of the "Homoean" party went to Constantinople, where the Sirmian formulary of faith was approved by the "Home Synod", (consisted of those bishops who happened to be present at the Court for the time), and a decree of deposition issued against the leaders of the semi-Arians. At Rimini were over four hundred of which eighty were Arian, the rest were orthodox. The orthodox fathers refused to accept any creed but the Nicene, while the others were equally in favour of the Sirmian. Each party sent a deputation to the Emperor to say there was no probability to agreement, and asked for the bishops to return to their dioceses. For the purpose of wearing-down the orthodox bishops; (Sulpitius Severius says), Constantius delayed his answer for several months, and finally prevailed on them to accept the Sirmian creed. It was after this Council that Jerome said: " ...the whole world groaned in astonishment to find itself Arian."

Q1: Where did bishops of the West meet?
A1: Rimini in Italy
Q2: What belief was accepted by Constantius?
A2: Arian
Q3: What was the belief that was approved at this council?
A3: The Son to be "like the Father"
Q4: What did the orthodox leaders believe?
A4: the Nicene
Q5: What did the Arians agree upon at Sirmium?
A5: a formula of faith
With characteristic energy he set to work to re-establish the somewhat shattered fortunes of the orthodox party and to purge the theological atmosphere of uncertainty. To clear up the misunderstandings that had arisen in the course of the previous years, an attempt was made to determine still further the significance of the Nicene formularies. In the meanwhile, Julian, who seems to have become suddenly jealous of the influence that Athanasius was exercising at Alexandria, addressed an order to Ecdicius, the Prefect of Egypt, peremptorily commanding the expulsion of the restored primate, on the ground that he had never been included in the imperial act of clemency. The edict was communicated to the bishop by Pythicodorus Trico, who, though described in the "Chronicon Athanasianum" (XXXV) as a "philosopher", seems to have behaved with brutal insolence. On 23 October the people gathered about the proscribed bishop to protest against the emperor's decree; but Athanasius urged them to submit, consoling them with the promise that his absence would be of short duration.

Q1: What position did Ecdicius hold?
A1: Prefect of Egypt
Q2: Did he think he would be gone a long time?
A2: short duration
Q3: Who was jealous of Athanasius's influence?
A3: Julian
Q4: What did Julian try to do to Athanasius?
A4: expulsion
Q5: Did Athanasius tell the people to protest?
A5: urged them to submit
Athanasius also wrote a two-part Against the Heathen and The Incarnation of the Word of God. Completed probably early in his life, before the Arian controversy, they constitute the first classic work of developed Orthodox theology. In the first part, Athanasius attacks several pagan practices and beliefs. The second part presents teachings on the redemption. Also in these books, Athanasius put forward the belief that the Son of God, the eternal Word through whom God created the world, entered that world in human form to lead men back into the harmony from which they had earlier fallen away.

Q1: When did he write his first works on Orthodox Christianity?
A1: before the Arian controversy
Q2: Which of the two first works addresses pagan practices?
A2: Against the Heathen
Q3: How did he believe Jesus came into the world?
A3: in human form
Q4: Which of his works addresses redemption and the Son of God?
A4: Incarnation of the Word of God
In the light of Mother F. A. Forbes research and reference to Pope Saint Gregory's writings, it would appear that Athanasius was constrained to be Bishop: She writes that when the Patriarch Alexander was on his death-bed he called Athanasius, who fled fearing he would be constrained to be made Bishop. "When the Bishops of the Church assembled to elect their new Patriarch, the whole Catholic population surrounded the church, holding up their hands to Heaven and crying; "Give us Athanasius!" The Bishops had nothing better. Athanasius was thus elected, as Gregory tells us..." (Pope Gregory I, would have full access to the Vatican Archives).

Q1: What did he do when he thought he might be made Bishop?
A1: fled
Q2: Who did the Catholics of Alexandria want as their Bishop?
A2: "Give us Athanasius!"
Q3: When did Alexander ask to see Athanasius?
A3: on his death-bed
Q4: Was there someone else that was preferred as Bishop?
A4: The Bishops had nothing better
Throughout most of his career, Athanasius had many detractors. Classical scholar Timothy Barnes relates contemporary allegations against Athanasius: from defiling an altar, to selling Church grain that had been meant to feed the poor for his own personal gain, and even violence and murder to suppress dissent. Athanasius used "Arian" to describe both followers of Arius, and as a derogatory polemical term for Christians who disagreed with his formulation of the Trinity. Athanasius called many of his opponents "Arian", except for Miletus.

Q1: Was Athanasius well liked by everyone?
A1: many detractors
Q2: What was he accused of doing to a church?
A2: defiling an altar
Q3: He was accused of selling grain for what reason?
A3: his own personal gain
Q4: What did the term Arian mean to him?
A4: Christians who disagreed with his formulation
Q5: What did he call his detractors?
A5: Arian
Nonetheless, within a few years of his death, Gregory of Nazianzus called him the "Pillar of the Church". His writings were well regarded by all Church fathers who followed, in both the West and the East, who noted their rich devotion to the Word-become-man, great pastoral concern, and profound interest in monasticism. Athanasius is counted as one of the four great Eastern Doctors of the Church in the Roman Catholic Church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, he is labeled the "Father of Orthodoxy". Some Protestants label him "Father of the Canon". Athanasius is venerated as a Christian saint, whose feast day is 2 May in Western Christianity, 15 May in the Coptic Orthodox Church, and 18 January in the other Eastern Orthodox Churches. He is venerated by the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutherans, and the Anglican Communion.

Q1: What was he known as soon after he died?
A1: Pillar of the Church
Q2: What day is he celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church?
A2: 18 January
Q3: How does the Eastern Orthodox Church refer to him?
A3: Father of Orthodoxy
Q4: What do the Protestants call him?
A4: Father of the Canon
Q5: What is his feast day in Western Christianity?
A5: 2 May
Alexandria was the most important trade center in the whole empire during Athanasius's boyhood. Intellectually, morally, and politically—it epitomized the ethnically diverse Graeco-Roman world, even more than Rome or Constantinople, Antioch or Marseilles. Its famous catechetical school, while sacrificing none of its famous passion for orthodoxy since the days of Pantaenus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Dionysius and Theognostus, had begun to take on an almost secular character in the comprehensiveness of its interests, and had counted influential pagans among its serious auditors.

Q1: What was Alexandria known for?
A1: important trade center
Q2: Was the famous school in Alexandria religious only?
A2: secular character
Q3: Did only Christians attend the school?
A3: influential pagans
Q4: Was Alexandria welcoming to other cultures?
A4: ethnically diverse
However Cornelius Clifford places his birth no earlier than 296 and no later than 298, based on the fact that Athanasius indicates no first hand recollection of the Maximian persecution of 303, which he suggests Athanasius would have remembered if he had been ten years old at the time. Secondly, the Festal Epistles state that the Arians had accused Athanasius, among other charges, of not having yet attained the canonical age (30) and thus could not have been properly ordained as Patriarch of Alexandria in 328. The accusation must have seemed plausible. The Orthodox Church places his year of birth around 297.

Q1: What famous event happened in 303?
A1: Maximian persecution
Q2: What writing mentions the Arian accusation that Athanasius was under aged?
A2: the Festal Epistles
Q3: At what age was a man eligible to be ordained at Patriarch of Alexandria?
A3: canonical age (30)
Athanasius's first problem lay with Meletius of Lycopolis and his followers, who had failed to abide by the First Council of Nicaea. That council also anathematized Arius. Accused of mistreating Arians and Meletians, Athanasius answered those charges at a gathering of bishops in Tyre, the First Synod of Tyre, in 335. There, Eusebius of Nicomedia and other supporters of Arius deposed Athanasius. On 6 November, both sides of the dispute met with Emperor Constantine I in Constantinople. At that meeting, the Arians claimed Athanasius would try to cut off essential Egyptian grain supplies to Constantinople. He was found guilty, and sent into exile to Augusta Treverorum in Gaul (now Trier in Germany).

Q1: Did the followers of Meletius obey the guidelines of Nicaea?
A1: failed to abide
Q2: What was Athanasius accused of planning against the Arians?
A2: cut off essential Egyptian grain
Q3: What was the verdict of the accusation?
A3: was found guilty
Q4: What was his punishment?
A4: anathematized
Q5: Who was he accused of harming?
A5: Arians and Meletians
Athanasius knew Greek and admitted not knowing Hebrew [see, e.g., the 39th Festal Letter of St. Athan.]. The Old Testament passages he quotes frequently come from the Septuagint Greek translation. Only rarely did he use other Greek versions (to Aquila once in the Ecthesis, to other versions once or twice on the Psalms), and his knowledge of the Old Testament was limited to the Septuagint. Nonetheless, during his later exile, with no access to a copy of the Scriptures, Athanasius could quote from memory every verse in the Old Testament with a supposed reference to the Trinity without missing any.[citation needed] The combination of Scriptural study and of Greek learning was characteristic of the famous Alexandrian School.

Q1: Did Athanasius speak Greek?
A1: knew Greek
Q2: Did he understand Hebrew?
A2: not knowing Hebrew
Q3: Did he know all of the Old Testament?
A3: limited to the Septuagint
Q4: What did students learn in the school in Alexandria?
A4: Scriptural study and of Greek
Q5: What translation of the Old Testament did he study?
A5: Septuagint Greek
After the death of the replacement bishop Gregory in 345, Constans used his influence to allow Athanasius to return to Alexandria in October 345, amidst the enthusiastic demonstrations of the populace. This began a "golden decade" of peace and prosperity, during which time Athanasius assembled several documents relating to his exiles and returns from exile in the Apology Against the Arians. However, upon Constans's death in 350, another civil war broke out, which left pro-Arian Constantius as sole emperor. An Alexandria local council in 350 replaced (or reaffirmed) Athanasius in his see.

Q1: Who did he have to thank for his ability to come back to Alexandria in 345?
A1: Constans
Q2: Were the people glad to have him home?
A2: enthusiastic demonstrations
Q3: In what writing did he recount his time in exiles?
A3: Apology Against the Arians
Q4: What happened when Constans died?
A4: civil war
Q5: Did the new emperor agree or disagree with the Arians?
A5: pro-Arian
Frances A. M. Forbes writes that when the Patriarch Alexander was on his death-bed he called Athanasius, who fled fearing he would be constrained to be made Bishop. "When the Bishops of the Church assembled to elect their new Patriarch, the whole Catholic population surrounded the church, holding up their hands to Heaven and crying; "Give us Athanasius!" The Bishops had nothing better. Athanasius was thus elected, as Gregory tells us..." (Pope Gregory I, would have full access to the Vatican Archives).

Q1: What did Athanasius do to avoid speaking to Alexander on his deathbed?
A1: fled
Q2: Who did the Alexandrian people want to be their Bishop?
A2: Give us Athanasius
Q3: Did the Bishops have someone else in mind?
A3: Bishops had nothing better
Q4: Who did Alexander ask for when he was dieing?
A4: called Athanasius
Constantius, ordered Liberius into exile in 356 giving him, then, three days to comply. He was ordered into banishment to Beroea, in Thrace; Beroea (Thrace). He sent expensive presents, too, if he were to accept the Arian position but were refused. He sent him, indeed, five hundred pieces of gold "to bear his charges" but Liberius refused them, saying, he might bestow them on his flatters; as he did also a like present from the empress, bidding the messenger learn to believe in Christ, and not to persecute the Church of God. Attempts were made to leave the presents in The Church, but Liberius threw them out. Constantius hereupon sent for him under a strict guard to Milan, where, in a conference recorded by Theodoret, he boldly told Constantius that Athanasius had been acquitted at Sardica, and his enemies proved calumniators (see: "calumny") and impostors, and that it was unjust to condemn a person who could not be legally convicted of any crime. The emperor was reduced to silence on every article, but being the more out of patience, ordered him into banishment. Liberius went into exile. Constantius, after two years went to Rome to celebrate the twentieth year of his reign. The ladies joined in a petition to him that he would restore Liberius. He assented, upon condition that he should comply with the bishops, then, at court. He subscribed the condemnation of Athanasius, and a confession or creed which had been framed by the Arians at Sirmium. And he no sooner had recovered his see that he declared himself for the Creed of Niceae, as Theodoret testifies. (Theodoret, Hist. lib. ii. c. 17.). The Emperor knew what he wanted people to believe. So did the bishops at his court. Athanasius stuck by the orthodox creed. Constantius was an avowed Arian, became sole ruler in 350, at the death of his brother, Constans.

Q1: Who tried to bribe Liberius?
A1: Constantius
Q2: How much warning was Liberius given before his exile?
A2: three days
Q3: Where did Liberius go?
A3: Beroea
Q4: Did bribery work in convincing Liberius to believe the Arians?
A4: were refused
Q5: What did Liberius have to promise to do in order to return?
A5: comply with the bishops
When Emperor Constantine I died, Athanasius was allowed to return to his See of Alexandria. Shortly thereafter, however, Constantine's son, the new Roman Emperor Constantius II, renewed the order for Athanasius's banishment in 338. Athanasius went to Rome, where he was under the protection of Constans, the Emperor of the West. During this time, Gregory of Cappadocia was installed as the Patriarch of Alexandria, usurping the absent Athanasius. Athanasius did, however, remain in contact with his people through his annual Festal Letters, in which he also announced on which date Easter would be celebrated that year.

Q1: At what point could Athanasius return to Alexandria?
A1: When Emperor Constantine I died
Q2: Who provided for his protection while he was in Rome?
A2: Constans
Q3: Who became Patriarch in Alexandria while Athanasius was away?
A3: Gregory of Cappadocia
Q4: How did the people of Alexandria know when to celebrate Easter?
A4: Festal Letters
Q5: Who declared Athanasius to be exiled again?
A5: Constantius II
T. Gilmartin, (Professor of History, Maynooth, 1890), writes in Church History, Vol. 1, Ch XVII: By Constantius's order, the sole ruler of The Roman Empire at the death of his brother Constans, the Council of Arles in 353, was held, which was presided over by Vincent, Bishop of Capua, in the name of Pope Liberius. The fathers terrified of the threats of the Emperor, an avowed Arian, they consented to the condemnation of Athanasius. The Pope refused to accept their decision, and requested the Emperor to hold another Council, in which the charges against Athanasius could be freely investigated. To this Constantius consented, for he felt able to control it, at Milan. Milan was named as the place, here three hundred bishops assembled, most from the West, only a few from the East, in 355. They met in the Church of Milan. Shortly, the Emperor ordered them to a hall in the Imperial Palace, thus ending any free debate. He presented an Arian formula of faith for their acceptance. He threatened any who refused with exile and death. All, with the exception of Dionysius (bishop of Milan), and the two Papal Legates, viz., Eusebius of Vercelli and Lucifer of Cagliari, consented to the Arian Creed and the condemnation of Athanasius. Those who refused were sent into exile. The decrees were forwarded to the Pope for approval, but were rejected, because of the violence to which the bishops were subjected.

Q1: Why did the Bishops condemn Athanasius?
A1: threats of the Emperor
Q2: What happened to the Bishops who did not take the oath?
A2: sent into exile
Q3: Did the Pope agree with this order?
A3: Pope refused to accept
Q4: Did the Emperor agree to a new trial for Athanasius?
A4: Constantius consented
Q5: What oath did the Bishops have to take at the trial?
A5: Arian formula of faith
In 361, after the death of Emperor Constantius, shortly followed by the murder of the very unpopular Bishop George, Athanasius returned to his patriarchate. The following year he convened a council at Alexandria, and presided over it with Eusebius of Vercelli. Athanasius appealed for unity among all those who had faith in Christianity, even if they differed on matters of terminology. This prepared the groundwork for his definition of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity. However, the council also was directed against those who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, the human soul of Christ, and Christ's divinity. Mild measures were agreed on for those heretic bishops who repented, but severe penance was decreed for the chief leaders of the major heresies.

Q1: What happened to Bishop George?
A1: murder
Q2: What happened to Bishop leaders who did not agree with the doctrine?
A2: severe penance
Q3: When did Athanasius return to his position as Patriarch?
A3: after the death of Emperor Constantius
Q4: Who joined him when he formed a council to encourage unity among Christians?
A4: Eusebius of Vercelli
Two years later, the Emperor Valens, who favored the Arian position, in his turn exiled Athanasius. This time however, Athanasius simply left for the outskirts of Alexandria, where he stayed for only a few months before the local authorities convinced Valens to retract his order of exile. Some early reports state that Athanasius spent this period of exile at his family's ancestral tomb in a Christian cemetery. It was during this period, the final exile, that he is said to have spent four months in hiding in his father's tomb. (Soz., "Hist. Eccl.", VI, xii; Soc., "Hist. Eccl.", IV, xii).

Q1: What Christian beliefs did Emperor Valens adhere to?
A1: Arian
Q2: Where did Athanasius during his latest exile?
A2: outskirts of Alexandria
Q3: For how long was he exiled this time?
A3: few months
Q4: Where did he hide during this time?
A4: his father's tomb
Q5: Who convinced Valens to let him return to Alexandria?
A5: local authorities
Athanasius is the first person to identify the same 27 books of the New Testament that are in use today. Up until then, various similar lists of works to be read in churches were in use. Athanasius compiled the list to resolve questions about such texts as The Epistle of Barnabas. Athanasius includes the Book of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah and places the Book of Esther among the "7 books not in the canon but to be read" along with the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Judith, Tobit, the Didache, and the Shepherd of Hermas.

Q1: Who standardized the books of the New Testament?
A1: Athanasius
Q2: What books were used before his decision to standardize?
A2: various
Q3: How many books are listed that should be included but were not?
A3: 7 books
Q4: How many books are in the New Testament?
A4: 27 books
Q5: Have those books changed over time?
A5: in use today
Perhaps, his most notable letter was his Festal Letter, written to his Church in Alexandria when he was in exile, as he could not be in their presence. This letter shows clearly his stand that accepting Jesus is the Divine Son of God is not optional but necessary; "I know moreover that not only this thing saddens you, but also the fact that while others have obtained the churches by violence, you are meanwhile cast out from your places. For they hold the places, but you the Apostolic Faith. They are, it is true, in the places, but outside of the true Faith; while you are outside the places indeed, but the Faith, within you. Let us consider whether is the greater, the place or the Faith. Clearly the true Faith. Who then has lost more, or who possesses more? He who holds the place, or he who holds the Faith?

Q1: Did Athanasius feel that it was important to believe that Jesus was the Son of God?
A1: not optional but necessary
Q2: Did his place more value on his Faith or where he was living?
A2: the true Faith
Q3: Did he think that the people that had exiled him were true believers?
A3: outside of the true Faith
Q4: Where did Athanasius think Faith resides?
A4: within you
Q5: Who was the Festal Letter written for?
A5: his Church in Alexandria