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Arius | |
|---|---|
 Arius arguing for the supremacy of God the Father, and that the Son had a beginning as a true Firstborn | |
| Born | 256 |
| Died | 336 (aged 80) |
| Occupation | Presbyter |
| Notable work | Thalia |
| Theological work | |
| Era | 3rd and 4th centuries AD |
| Language | Koine Greek |
| Tradition or movement | Arianism |
| Notable ideas | Subordinationism |
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Arius (/əˈraɪəs, ˈɛəri-/; Koinē Greek: Ἄρειος, Áreios; 250 or 256 – 336) was a Cyrenaic presbyter, ascetic, and priest. He has been traditionally regarded as the founder of Arianism,[1][2] which holds that Jesus Christ was not coeternal with God the Father, but was rather created before time. Arian theology and its doctrine regarding the nature of the Godhead held in common a belief in subordinationism[3] with most Christian theologians of the 3rd century, with the notable exception of Athanasius of Alexandria.[4]
Constantine the Great's formal adoption of Christianity into the Roman Empire entailed the convention of ecumenical councils to remove theological divisions between opposing sects within the Church. Arius's theology was a prominent topic at the First Council of Nicaea, where Arianism was condemned in favor of Homoousian conceptions of God and Jesus. Opposition to Arianism remains embodied in the Nicene Creed, described as "a deliberately anti-Arian document."[5] Nevertheless, despite concerted opposition, Arian churches persisted for centuries throughout Europe (especially in various Germanic kingdoms), the Middle East, and North Africa. They were suppressed by military conquest or by voluntary royal conversion between the fifth and seventh centuries.
Arius's role as the sole originator of Arian theology has been disputed by historians such as Rowan Williams, who stated that "Arius' role in 'Arianism' was not that of the founder of a sect. It was not his individual teaching that dominated the mid-century eastern Church."[6] Richard Hanson writes that Arius' specific espousal of subordinationist theology brought "into unavoidable prominence a doctrinal crisis which had gradually been gathering[...] He was the spark that started the explosion. But in himself he was of no great significance."[7] The association between Arius and the theology titled after him has been argued to be a creation "based on the polemic of Nicene writers" such as Athanasius of Alexandria, a Homoousian.[8]
- ^ Torkington 2011, p. 113.
- ^ Anatolios 2011, p. 44, "Arius, who was born in Libya, was a respected ascetic and presbyter at the church of the Baucalis in Alexandria and was the founder of Arianism.".
- ^ Williams 2002, p. 98.
- ^ Hanson 1988, p. xix.
- ^ Hanson 1988, p. 164.
- ^ Williams 2004, p. 165.
- ^ Hanson 1988, p. xvii.
- ^ Williams 2004, p. 82.
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