Athanasius of Jerusalem

Holy Martyr Athanasius of Jerusalem was a deacon at the church of the Resurrection, that is, the basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, in the fifth century. He died in 451 or 452 for defending the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. During the Council of Chalcedon (451), the monk Theodosius, usurping the place of Bishop Juvenal of Jerusalem, raised the people of Jerusalem against the council, making himself leader of the Eutychians, the heretical followers of Eutyches of Constantinople, who denied the human nature of Christ. Athanasius publicly rebuked the conduct of Theodosius, who sought to divide the Church, and supported the council. Theodosius, angered, killed him or had him killed, by beheading, after torturing him.

Considered a martyr for the faith, Athanasius does not appear in the Orthodox synaxaria and liturgical books. Caesar Baronius introduced him into the Roman Martyrology, fixing the feast on 5 July (new style). He is venerated in the Catholic Church.