Arianism, << AIR ee uh `nihz` uhm, >> was an early departure from generally accepted Christian teaching about the nature of the Trinity. It takes its name from its chief promoter, Arius, a priest in Alexandria, Egypt.
About A.D. 318, Arius and his disciples rejected the Christian doctrine that the three Persons of the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—are equal. In particular, Arius denied that the Son (Jesus Christ) shared the same eternal, divine nature as the Father. Arius instead taught that the Son was created by the Father to redeem the human race. Jesus thus was not eternal because he had not always existed. The Son, according to Arius, was “of like substance” rather than “of the same substance” as the Father. Arius further taught that both the Father and the Son were superior to the Holy Spirit.
In 325, the Council of Nicaea condemned the teachings of Arius as heresy—that is, opposed to basic Christian beliefs. However, many preachers and missionaries in the eastern Roman Empire continued throughout the 300’s to teach the view that Jesus Christ was not truly God. Church leaders vigorously opposed this teaching. The First Council of Constantinople reasserted the Nicene condemnation of Arianism as heresy in 381, and Arianism soon disappeared from the Roman Empire. However, its supporters remained active outside the empire. Arian teachings continued to circulate until the 600’s.
