Presbyter of Alexandria, originator of Arianism
Arius
c. AD 250–336
An Alexandrian priest whose teaching that the Son of God was created rather than co-eternal with the Father provoked the Arian controversy and the Council of Nicaea.
Life and work
Arius was a presbyter in Alexandria known for ascetic living and effective preaching. Around 318 he began teaching that the Son was brought into being by the Father and therefore was not eternal in the same sense — a position that seemed to many, including his own bishop Alexander, to make Christ a creature rather than fully divine.
The dispute spread rapidly through the Eastern church and threatened imperial unity, prompting Constantine to convene the Council of Nicaea in 325. The council condemned Arius's teaching, affirmed that the Son is homoousios (of one substance) with the Father, and exiled Arius.
The controversy did not end with Nicaea; Arian and semi-Arian positions retained substantial support for decades, and Arius was briefly readmitted to communion before dying suddenly in Constantinople in 336, an event later Christian writers described in dramatic and hostile terms.
- Occupation
- Presbyter
- Places
- Alexandria
- Dates
- c. AD 250–336 Traditional dating
Historical evidence
Arius's own writings survive only in fragments quoted by his opponents, notably Athanasius; no complete work of his has survived independently.
Further reading
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