Arius
Cyrenaic presbyter and founder of Arianism (died 336)
b. 250s · d. 336
Arius was a Libyan-born Cyrenaic presbyter and ascetic associated with the church of Alexandria. He became one of the most controversial theological figures of the fourth century, not because he single-handedly created a coherent movement, but because his dispute with ecclesiastical authorities brought longstanding Christological tensions into open conflict.
Related people
- Peter of Alexandria ordained by · traditional
Events
Places
- Cyrenaica birth
- Constantinople death
- Alexandria ministry
How we know
Recorded as a historical figure.
- The Seven Ecumenical Councils (NPNF series 2 vol. 14) 1 claim — First Council of Nicaea
- Ecclesiastical History 1 claim — Arius disputes with his bishop
What he held
- The Son is created The Son is a creature, made out of nothing before all ages, and there was when he was not.
In the disputes
- The Arian crisis Sixty years of argument about whether the Son is God in the same sense the Father is.