Which early Christian figure practically begged Dracontius to return to his episcopal office?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-08

It was St. Athanasius the Apostolic, the 20th Pope of Alexandria, who practically begged Dracontius to return to his episcopal office.

Dracontius had been elected Bishop of Hermopolis Parva, but out of a sense of fear and personal inadequacy—and perhaps influenced by the monastic desire to remain in the "stillness" of the desert—he fled and hid to avoid the responsibilities of the episcopacy.

St. Athanasius wrote a famous and deeply moving letter to him (often cited as Letter 49), in which he used several powerful arguments to persuade him to return:

1. The Responsibility of the Call: St. Athanasius reminded him that the grace of the priesthood is a gift from God, and to reject it after being chosen by the people and the clergy was to reject the will of God.
2. Addressing Fear: He addressed Dracontius's fear of the "times" (the Arian persecutions), telling him that he should be all the more ready to serve and protect the flock during such trials.
3. Monasticism vs. the Episcopacy: St. Athanasius, who was himself a great supporter of monasticism and a disciple of St. Anthony the Great, argued that one could remain "monastic" in spirit while serving as a bishop. He famously noted that he knew bishops who fasted while monks ate, and bishops who remained celibate while others did not, proving that the office of bishop did not necessitate a spiritual decline.
4. The Danger of Scandal: He warned Dracontius that his flight would cause the faithful to stumble and would give the heretics (the Arians) cause to rejoice and mock the Church.

St. Athanasius’s tone was pastoral yet firm, essentially pleading with Dracontius to take up his cross and shepherd the people of God. Dracontius eventually relented, returned to his see, and later proved his faithfulness by being exiled for the Orthodox faith during the subsequent persecutions.