Athanasios 19 was a Stoudite monk, he was the addressee of seven letters from Theodoros 15 (Theodore the Stoudite) between 810 and 826: Theod. Stud., Ep. 48 (a. 810/811), 79 (a. 815/818), 114 (summer 816), 194 (L 816/E 817), 334 (spring 818), 383 (a. 818), 428 (a. 815/826). Athanasios 19 is mentioned in many other letters of Theodoros 15: Theod. Stud., Ep. 41 (a. 809/811), 43 (a. 809/811), 51 (a. 810/811), 72 (winter 815/816), 73 (spring 816), 111 (winter 815/816), 153 (summer 816), 195 (L 816/E 817), 265 (L 816/E 817), 405 (a. 818), 449 (a. 821/826), 452 (a. 821/April 824), 455 (a. 821/826), 476 (a. 821/826?), 540 (a. 821/826), 556 (a. 810/811).

Athanasios 19 was one of the monks in the monastery of Sakkoudion who followed the example of Theodoros 15 in the ascetic life and later supported him during times of persecution: Vita B Theod. Stud., 245A, Vita C Theod. Stud., §12, p. 264, Vita A Theod. Stud., 128B. In 809/811, during the Moechian dispute, Athanasios 19 was one of the Stoudite monks whom Theodoros 15 proposed to identify by means of a code letter, for reasons of security: Theod. Stud., Ep. 41. He and other monks were then in exile: Theod. Stud., Ep. 43, 51 (τοῦ ἱεροῦ μου Ἀθανασίου). He was in exile in Thessalonike, from where he wrote to Theodoros 15 arguing that the rehabilitation of Ioseph 2 was not a heresy; Theodoros 15 replied with a lengthy letter attacking this view: Theod. Stud., Ep. 48, cf. Ep. 556 (he had written to Theodoros 15 criticising his position over the Moechian synod).

During the persecution under Leo V (Leo 15) Athanasios 19 was associated with Theodoros 15's brother, Ioseph 3, from whom in winter 815/816 he had been separated: Theod. Stud., Ep. 72. By spring 816 he was apparently again in his company: Theod. Stud., Ep. 73 (Theodoros 15 sent greetings to the monks who were with Ioseph 3, who included Athanasios 19), cf. Theod. Stud., Ep. 111 ( ὁ καλὸς Ἀθανάσιος; he was with Ioseph 3 in exile in winter 815/816). Theodoros 15 wrote letters to him during the winter of 815/816 which were lost in the shipwreck when Zosimas 5 and Gaianos 1 were drowned; he wrote again the following summer mentioning the loss: Theod. Stud., Ep. 114, cf. Theod. Stud., Ep. 153 (mentioning this letter - ἡ πρὸς τὸν ἀββᾶν Ἀθανάσιον ἐπιστολή). He was still with Ioseph 3 in exile in late 816 or early 817 when he wrote to Theodoros 15 and Theodoros 15 replied with a letter which alludes to the recent death of Thaddaios 1: Theod. Stud., Ep. 194. In letters to his brother Ioseph 3 at this time Theodoros 15 sent greetings to Athanasios 19 and the other monks suffering persecution with Ioseph 3: Theod. Stud., Ep. 195 (Ἀθανάσιον τὸν σύμπονον καὶ σύναθλον), Ep. 265 (τὸν καλὸν Ἀθανάσιον, ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ συμπεπονθέναι σοι ἐν Κυρίῳ θερμῶς προαιρούμενον). In spring 818 he was still with Ioseph 3 but apparently moving from place to place to try to evade his persecutors; he had received help from an unnamed spatharios (Anonymus 668); Athanasios 19 had written to Theodoros 19 who replied mentioning the death of the strategos Theodoros 325; another letter sent at the same time to Ioseph 3 (Ep. 333) contained further news: Theod. Stud., Ep. 334. Also in 818 he wrote to Theodoros 15 posing a query about the telling of lies; Theodoros 15 replied noting that Athanasios 19 was still having to move about from place to place: Theod. Stud., Ep. 383. In 818 at some time he was with Naukratios 1, whom Theodoros 15 asked to pass his greetings on to Athanasios 19: Theod. Stud., Ep. 405. During the persecution under Leo V (Leo 15) he received from Theodoros 15 another letter of uncertain date; he was then in prison and separated from Ioseph 3: Theod. Stud., Ep. 79 (a. 815/818).

Some time between 821 and April 824 Athanasios 19 is mentioned in a letter of Theodoros 15 to the hegoumenos Niketas 43; on returning from a meeting with Niketas 43 at Akritas Theodoros 15 had described their encounter to Athanasios 19; Athanasios 19 had been reading a document drawn up to defend himself by the hegoumenos of the monastery of Maximinos (Anonymus 628) attempting to draw a distinction between the eucharist and communion: Theod. Stud., Ep. 452. Between 821 and 826 Athanasios 19 was the addressee of a letter from the bishop of Ephesus, Theophilos 15, which Theodoros 15 read: Theod. Stud., Ep. 455. He was sent by Theodoros 15 to visit the nun Hypakoe 1 with news about Theodoros 15, and was expected soon to return bringing news about Hypakoe 1: Theod. Stud., Ep. 540 (to Hypakoe 1; between 821 and 826).

Some time between 815 and 826 Athanasios 19 received a letter from Theodoros 15 in reply to a query concerning the veneration of icons: Theod. Stud., Ep. 428, cf. Ep. 476 (a. 821/826; mentioning this letter to the spatharios Niketas 148), Ep. 528 (a. 821/826; quoting this letter in full in a letter to Ioannes 451).

At some stage Athanasios 19 became a priest; he had a relative who died tragically at Antisarchos, between 821 and 826, and about whom Theodoros 15, at Athanasios 19's request, wrote to Laurentios 4 (ἀφ' αἵματος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Ἀθανασίου καὶ πρωτοπρεσβυτέρου, ὑφ' οὗ καὶ κινηθεὶς γράφω): Theod. Stud., Ep. 449.

In the letters Theodoros 15 regularly refers to Athanasios 19 as ὁ ἀδελφὸς Ἀθανάσιος. He addresses him as ἀδελφέ μου ἠγαπημένε or τέκνον μου ἠγαπημένον or similar: Theod. Stud., Ep. 48, 79, 114, 194, 334, 383.

He is perhaps alluded to but not by name in sermons of Theodoros 15 (Theodore the Stoudite): Theod. Stud., Catech. Magna 9, 14, 84.

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