Arian
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a follower of Arius, Presbyter of Alexandria in the 4th century A. D., or one holding the system of doctrine associated with his name. During the first three centuries of the Christian era, what was subsequently called the doctrine of the Trinity had become the subject of controversy, chiefly in one direction; it had been decided against Sabellius that there are in the Godhead three distinct persons, whereas Sabellius had in effect reduced the three to one. In the year 317, Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, having publicly expressed his opinion that the Son of God is not only of the same dignity as the Father, but of the same essence (in Greek, ousia), Arius, one of the Presbyters, considered this view as leaning too much to Sabellianism, and, rushing to the other extreme, he declared that the Son of God was only the first and noblest of created beings, and though the universe had been brought into existence through His instrumentality by the Eternal Father, He was inferior, not merely in dignity, but in essence. The views of Arius commended themselves to multitudes, while they were abhorrent to still more; fierce controversy respecting them broke out, and the whole Christian world was soon compelled to take sides in the struggle. Constantine, the first Christian emperor, then the reigning sovereign, summoned a council to meet at Nice, in Bithynia, which it did in A. D. 325. It was the first general council and the most celebrated of all. It declared Christ to be homoousios, i, e., of the same essence as the Father, whereas Arius regarded Him as only homoiousios, of similar essence. The erring Presbyter was deposed and exiled. The Arians greatly weakened themselves by splitting into sects, and the doctrines regarding the relations of the three Divine Personages authoritatively proclaimed at Nice were at last all but universally adopted.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The narrative Collier's gave in 1921 — Arius the Alexandrian presbyter, the clash with Bishop Alexander, the Council of Nicaea in 325 and the victory of homoousios — is still the framework taught today, and 2025 marked the council's 1,700th anniversary. What has moved is the interpretation: since the later 20th century, and especially after Rowan Williams's Arius: Heresy and Tradition (1987), scholars have argued that "Arianism" was never the single organised system Collier's describes but a label applied by opponents to a loose range of theologians, many of whom owed little to Arius himself. The neat contrast between Arius's homoiousios and Nicaea's homoousios is also now seen as anachronistic, since the "similar essence" formula belongs to church parties of the 350s rather than to Arius. Arius's own writings survive only in fragments quoted by his enemies, which is why reconstructing what he actually taught remains contested.
Written for this edition, 2026.