Not

But
Arianism got its start with Arius, and is
considered by some to be the greatest heresy in
the history of Christianity
The problem arose because the gospels refer to
God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but
they do not explicitly refer to how they relate to
one another
The concept of the trinity emerged as the best
way to explain their relationship, but there were
other theories that arose to explain them.
Arius challenges that if God created Jesus, then
God would have some sort of standing over Jesus,
and believed that there was a point where God
existed and Jesus did not.
This allowed the idea of polytheism into Christianity, and
caused major controversy, leading to the Bishop of Alexandria
dismissing the Arius.
In response to Arius, Constantine calls the Council of Nicaea in
325.
At the council of Nicaea Ariuss view is condemned, with the
emperor Constantine himself residing over many of the
discussions at the council. They further declare that the
Father and son are of the same substance. (Homo-ousios)
Even though condemned by the Council of Nicaea, Arianism
was still a controversial issue. Arius was brought back from
exile, and by the middle of the century, Arianism had become
favoured among Christian circles. Many positions in the
church were held by Arian bishops.
During this time other theories pop up; some believed the
Father was of similar substance to the Son (homoi-ousios),
while others said he was like Him (homoios).

A Nice Occasion
After the death of Arius and Constantine, two
rival groups emerged representing the
opposing positions.
The Eusebians, led by Eusebias of Nicomedia
were pro-Arianism while the orthodox party
led by Athanasius was pro-Trinity.
Athanasius was exiled multiple times by the
imperial despots, and spent twenty years of
his life in exile.
This gave rise to the phrase Athanasius
contra mundum which means Athanasius
against the world.
The orthodox position
came to a tipping point in
379. Gregory of Nazismus
preached on the deity of
Christ in Constantinople in
379, where reportedly
only one congregation was
not Arian.
His sermons were very
influential in the revival of
the orthodox position, and
earned him the title of
The Theologian. Basil the
Great and Gregory of
Nyssa also were key in
reviving the orthodox
position.




Theodosius the Great, a
Spaniard, removed the Arians
from power and substituted
the orthodox position. He then
convened the Council of
Constantinople.
The Nicene orthodox position
finally triumphed at the Council
of Constantinople in 381,
which condemned many of the
Trinitarian heresies.
From then on, the Arian
position was not widely
recognized and only existed in
small theological groups
Arianism wasnt completely shut down after
the council in 381. It continued in smaller
circles and still exists today.
It thrived mainly among the Germanic tribes
in the 5
th
and 6
th
century. Including the
Ostrogoths, the Visigoths, and the Vandals.
Justinian, an emperor in Constantinople,
fought against Arianism during this time.
The Arian view still exists today. This can be
seen among the doctrine of Jehovahs
Witnesses.
They believed that Jesus (Son of God) was
merely a creation of God, rather than a part
of the Trinitarian Godhead.
Assume a literal meaning of Jesus being the
incarnation of the Word (or Logos)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...
John 1:14 ESV
They believe that the Son of God is neither
eternal nor omnipotent.


According to Arius: The Logos was a
creature. And God himself could not create
the material world; indeed, Arius considered
God so far removed from men that it
was impossible to know him or to have
fellowship with him [he] satisfied the deep-
rooted Greek idea that God cannot be the
creator of the material universe.
Arius believed that Jesus was Gods greatest
creation
The Arian view of Jesus was like that of a
lesser god, or demigod. However, the worship
of the Son was never abandoned.
This implied polytheism, which was accepted
by many Greek pagans.
Converts from paganism found Arius ideas
easier to understand than Christian belief of
Christ being one with the Father.
They saw Jesus as a divine hero, rather than
an essence of God himself.
Obviously, Arianism was not accepted by
Emperor Constantine and the Christian
Roman Empire
Declared heretic
if any writing composed by Arius should
be found, it should be handed over to the
flames, so that not only will the wickedness
of his teaching be obliterated, but nothing
will be left even to remind anyone of him.
- Constantine I, circa AD 333
"HISTORY OF ARIANISM." HISTORY OF ARIANISM.
N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
"Biography of Arius." Biography of Arius. N.p., n.d.
Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language.
4th ed. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013. Print. pp.
107-108
"Trinity: Arius and the Nicene Creed." Trinity: Arius
and the Nicene Creed. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct.
2014.
Part of an Edict Against Arius and His Followers.
Wisconsin Lutheran College, 2014. Web. 15 Oct.
2014.