By History And Culture Media

5/12/2024

Arianism: The Early Christian Controversy Over the Nature of Christ

Arianism was one of the most significant theological controversies in early Christianity. It centered on the nature of Jesus Christ and his relationship to God the Father, leading to major doctrinal disputes and councils in the fourth century CE.

Origins of Arianism

Arianism is named after Arius, a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt, who lived from around 256 to 336 CE. Around 318 CE, Arius began teaching that:

• Jesus Christ was not co-eternal with God the Father.
  
  

• The Son was created by the Father and therefore had a beginning.
  
  

• Christ was divine but not equal to the Father in essence or eternity.
  
  

This view contrasted with the emerging orthodox Trinitarian doctrine, which taught that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-eternal and of the same divine substance.

Theological Beliefs of Arianism

Arian theology held that:

• The Father alone is unbegotten and eternal.
  
  

• The Son was begotten before time but was still a created being.
  
  

• There was a time “when the Son was not.”
  
  

This made Christ subordinate to the Father, challenging the full divinity of Christ as understood by other early Christian theologians.

Opposition and the First Council of Nicaea

Arius’s teachings quickly spread, especially among clergy in Alexandria and throughout the Eastern Roman Empire. However, his ideas provoked strong opposition from figures such as Athanasius of Alexandria, who argued that:

• Christ must be fully divine to effect human salvation.
  
  

• If Christ were a creature, Christians would be worshipping a created being rather than God.
  
  

To resolve this controversy, Emperor Constantine the Great convened the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.

Council’s Decision

The Council condemned Arianism as heresy and produced the Nicene Creed, affirming that:

• The Son is “begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios) with the Father.”
  
  

This established the orthodox Trinitarian doctrine within Christianity, though the Arian controversy continued for decades.

Continued Influence and Decline

Despite condemnation at Nicaea, Arianism remained influential:

• Many Eastern bishops and Roman emperors, such as Constantius II, favored Arianism or Semi-Arian compromises.
  
  

• Arian Christianity became widespread among Germanic tribes such as the Goths, Vandals, and Lombards, who converted through Arian missionaries.
  
  

However, by the late sixth century CE, Arianism largely declined as Germanic kingdoms adopted Nicene Christianity, and the doctrine was rejected by the broader Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Legacy of Arianism

Arianism’s historical significance includes:

• Shaping early Christological debates on the nature of Jesus.
  
  

• Prompting the Nicene Creed, a foundational Christian statement of faith.
  
  

• Influencing political-religious dynamics in the late Roman Empire and early medieval Europe.
  
  

Today, Arianism is regarded as a heresy in mainstream Christianity, but it remains an important topic in the study of early Church history and doctrinal development.

Conclusion

Arianism was a powerful theological movement that challenged early Christian beliefs about Christ’s divinity and relationship to the Father. Its legacy is evident in the doctrines, creeds, and church structures that emerged from the intense debates it sparked.

Further Reading

• Anonymous, Chronicon Paschale

• Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

• Eusebius of Caesarea, Life of Constantine

• Epiphanius of Salamis, The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis

• Hilary of Poitiers, The Trinity

• Historia Ecclesiastica, Socrates of Constantinople

• Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History

• St. Athanasius, On The Incarnation

• St. Jerome, The Complete Works of Saint Jerome

• Theodoret, Ecclesiastical History

Sources

• Anonymous, Chronicon Paschale

• Eusebius Pamphilius, The Life of Constantine

• Epiphanius of Salamis, The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis

• Hilary of Poitiers, The Trinity

• Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History

• Sozomenus, Ecclesiastical History

• St. Athanasius, On The Incarnation

• St. Jerome, The Complete Works of Saint Jerome

• Theodoret, Ecclesiastical History

• Arianism, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism, 5/12/2024