Arius

• Arius (250-336 CE) was a Christian Presbyter practising in Alexandria, Egypt, but grew up in Ptolemais, Cyrenaica.
• He was the subject of a controversy within the Christian Church and his approach to Christianity was called Arianism.

Arius was opposed to Trinitarianism

• Arius opposed the Trinitarian Theology of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
• Arius believed Jesus, God the Son, was created by God the Father, and was therefore a separate Being.

Arius branded a Heretic

• In 325 CE, the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, branded him a Heretic, when it adopted the Nicene Creed which excluded Arianism.
• In 335 CE the Synod of Tyre exonerated him
• But in 381 CE, First Council of Constantinople branded him a Heretic again, after his death.

Schism within Christianity

• It was the first Doctrinal split in Christian theology, after Christianity had been legally tolerated by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 312 CE.
• Two Emperors were followers of Arianism, Constantius II and Valens.
• The Debate raged until the end of the 4th century CE when Trinitarianism succeeded.

The Germanic Tribes

• The Goths, The Lombards and the Vandals were converted to Arianism by the Arian Missionary Ulfilas (310-383 CE).
• Arianism prevailed until the Vandal Empire was destroyed in the 8th century CE.