Athanasius of Alexandria is best known for his defense of the full divinity of Christ against the Arian heresy. His seminal work, On the Incarnation, remains a cornerstone of orthodox Christology. However, beneath his well-known theological battles lies a powerful vision of redemption as universal restoration. While Athanasius never systematized a doctrine of apokatastasis as Origen or Gregory of Nyssa did, his writings are imbued with a cosmic soteriology that strongly suggests a hope for the final restoration of all creation to its intended unity with God. This essay will argue that Athanasius, in harmony with early Christian universalist thought, implicitly affirmed universal restoration, based on his theology of creation, incarnation, and redemption.
1. The Purpose of the Incarnation: Restoration of All Creation
In De Incarnatione Verbi Dei (On the Incarnation of the Word), Athanasius lays out a sweeping vision of the divine mission: to restore fallen humanity and all of creation through the Word’s union with human nature.
“The Word of God came in His own person, because it was He alone, the Image of the Father, who could recreate man made after the Image.”(On the Incarnation, §13)
This passage reveals a central conviction: the incarnation was not merely about saving individuals, but about recreating humanity—a universal act of healing. Athanasius goes further:
“He saw how unworthy it would be that the work of God in mankind should perish... It was impossible, therefore, that God should leave man to be carried off by corruption, because it would be unfitting and unworthy of Himself.”(On the Incarnation, §6)
Here, Athanasius argues not from human merit but from divine goodness and fidelity to creation. The logic implies that God’s restorative will is universal in scope and grounded in the very nature of God.
2. Christ’s Death as a Cosmic Victory over Death and Corruption
Athanasius views Christ’s death and resurrection not only as the salvation of the righteous but as the defeat of death itself, which enslaved all of humanity. This has cosmic implications.
“By offering His own body He abolished the death which had fallen like a shadow over all mankind.”(On the Incarnation, §10)
He continues:
“He, the Life of all, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, did not arrange the manner of His own death... but in order to destroy death and bring all to Himself, He offered up His own temple to death in place of all.”(On the Incarnation, §22)
The phrase "in place of all" (ὑπὲρ πάντων) underscores the universal substitutionary and reconciling nature of Christ’s work. Death is not simply overcome for believers, but is ontologically dismantled on behalf of all humanity.
3. The Renewal of All Things
Athanasius teaches that Christ’s resurrection initiates the renewal of all creation. This is not limited to a saved elect but includes the entire cosmos, returning to its original harmony.
“Through the Word, the whole universe has been framed, and by Him it is also maintained; and the renewal of creation has been wrought by the self-same Word who made it in the beginning.”(Contra Gentes, §46)
If the same Word who created all also renews all, and if corruption is not native to the creation but a result of the fall, then the logic points toward a complete cosmic restoration—a central tenet of apokatastasis.
4. Human Freedom and the Transformation of the Will
Athanasius emphasizes human free will, but he also insists that the work of Christ enlightens and draws all people:
“For the Word, realizing that in no other way would the corruption of men be undone save by death as a necessary condition, took to Himself a body capable of death, that He might offer it as His own in place of all, and thereby bring all to Himself.”(On the Incarnation, §20)
The “bringing of all to Himself” (ἵνα πάντας εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀνάγῃ) closely echoes Pauline language (e.g., Colossians 1:20, 1 Corinthians 15:28) and implies the final reintegration of humanity into divine life.
Moreover, in Against the Arians, Athanasius connects Christ's victory with a gradual transformation of all humanity, emphasizing that evil is unnatural and will eventually be overcome:
“Since the Savior came to dwell among us, not only does idolatry no longer increase, but is on the wane, and very soon it will disappear.”(Contra Arianos, III.29)
This vision sees the triumph of divine truth as inevitable and progressive—suggesting not a permanent bifurcation of humanity into saved and damned, but a universal movement toward truth.
5. Later Patristic Endorsements and Gregory of Nyssa’s Echoes
Though Athanasius does not use the term apokatastasis, his vision of salvation shares strong affinities with that of Gregory of Nyssa, who explicitly taught the eventual restoration of all souls.
Indeed, John of Damascus, who harmonized patristic tradition in the Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, draws heavily from both Gregory and Athanasius, treating them as authorities in a unified theological vision. The Seventh Ecumenical Council called Athanasius the pillar of orthodoxy and the father of orthodoxy, suggesting that his theology, including its universalistic themes, was never regarded as heretical.
Conclusion
Athanasius of Alexandria presents a soteriology rooted in the cosmic implications of the incarnation. His understanding of redemption is universal in scope, aiming not just at individual salvation, but at the restoration of all creation. Though he stops short of explicitly declaring that all will ultimately be saved, his theology leaves room for that hope—grounded in divine goodness, the conquering of death, and the renewal of the created order.
If, as Athanasius insists, Christ’s work was done “on behalf of all” and “to bring all to Himself,” then a legitimate and deeply patristic reading of his theology supports the doctrine of universal restoration as consistent with, and even latent within, the Athanasian tradition.
Selected References
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Athanasius. On the Incarnation of the Word. Trans. John Behr. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2011.
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Athanasius. Contra Gentes (Against the Heathen). NPNF Series II, Vol. 4.
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Athanasius. Against the Arians. NPNF Series II, Vol. 4.
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Gregory of Nyssa. On the Soul and the Resurrection. PG 46.
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Ramelli, Ilaria. The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis. Brill, 2013.
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Behr, John. The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death. St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2006.
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Meyendorff, John. Byzantine Theology: Historical Trends and Doctrinal Themes. Fordham University Press, 1979.
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