Arianism was first proposed early in the 4th century by the Alexandrian presbyter Arius. The fundamental premise of Arius was the uniqueness of God, who alone is self-existent and immutable. The Son, who is not self-existent, cannot be God. It affirmed that the Messiah is not truly divine but a created being. The Messiah was viewed as the most perfect creature in the material world, whose moral integrity led him to be "adopted" by God as a son but who nevertheless remained a secondary deity, or Logos substantially unlike the eternal, uncreated Father and subordinate to his will. Moreover, the Son can have no direct knowledge of the Father since the Son is finite and of a different order of existence.
An ascetical, moral leader of a Christian community in the area of Alexandria, Arius attracted a large following through a message integrating Neoplatonism, which accented the absolute oneness of the divinity as the highest perfection, with a literal, rationalist approach to the New Testament texts. Because the Godhead is unique, it cannot be shared or communicated so that the Son cannot be God. Because the Godhead is immutable, the Son, who is mutable (being represented in the Gospels as subject to growth and change) cannot be God. The Son must, therefore, be deemed a creature who has been called into existence out of nothing and has had a beginning. This thesis was publicized in 323 A.D. through the poetic verse Thalia (Banquet), and was widely spread by popular songs.
In 350 Constantius II became sole ruler of the Roman Empire, and he supported Arian doctrine. Church officials declared Arian doctrine to be the official doctrine of the Church.
In 360 at Constantinople, the official doctrine of the Church was changed back to the Nicene doctrine, and a statement of faith was issued stating that the Son was "like the Father who begot him".
The Arian persecution conducted by Emperor Valens (364-378) in the East helped to retain the Nicene doctrine as the official doctrine of the Church. When the emperors Gratian (367-383) and Theodosius I (379-395) took up the defense of orthodoxy, support for Arian doctrine became less popular. In 381 the Second Ecumenical Council met at Constantinople, and the Nicene doctrine was approved as the official doctrine of the Church.
Arianism continued among some of the Germanic tribes to about 800 A.D. In modern times some Unitarians are virtually Arians in that they are unwilling either to reduce Christ to a mere human being or to attribute to him a divine nature identical with that of the Father. The Christology of the Jehovah's Witnesses is also a form of Arianism; they regard Arius as a forerunner of Charles Taze Russell, the founder of their movement.
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Internet Information about Arians |
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Edited by Larry McCart |
Arians of the fourth century (300 to 400 A.D.) did not believe in the Nicene concept of the Trinity. Arians cited scripture to support their position. Arian citations strove for the most biased-free direct readings as opposed to interpretations that could be created to support the preexisting dogma of their Nicene adversaries.
During the fourth century, Christianity moved from the Grecian conception of creation (creation from a primordial chaos) to the ex-nihilo conception of creation (creation from nothing). This new doctrine included a new definition of man's place in the universe. Promoters of the new doctrine said that man was not any longer capable of unlimited growth as part of the great chain of being; according to the new doctrine, man was totally dependent on God for salvation.
Was Jesus part of the realm of God
or was Jesus part of the realm of man and matter? Arians, using
scriptural references, pointed out that God created Wisdom first, and
that Jesus came later. According to fourth century Arian doctrine, God was as Grecians had defined God,
remote and ineffable, and that Jesus won his divinity after the fact, in
return for his perfect obedience to God. According to Arian
doctrine, the alleged
"sacrifice of Jesus" (some believe a double was sacrificed in
the place of Jesus since reliable historical evidence indicates Jesus was seen alive and going about his business as usual after
the alleged "sacrifice") could not have been meritorious if he were God, for there would
have been nothing for Jesus to "sacrifice" and nothing for
mankind to imitate, since as God he would not experience doubt and pain
that would represent a real sacrifice.
The
Roman government was active during the fourth century sponsoring academic research
work in the area of psychology, and some Roman scholars were surprisingly
advanced in their understanding of some of the scientific principles of
psychology that could be used to control human behavior.
Christianity had been independent of the Roman government up to about 325
A.D. when the Church became the Roman Church under the control of the
Roman Emperor. At the Council of
Nicaea, in 325 A.D., Emperor Constantine decided to put into Nicene
doctrine the Trinity concept -- that the creator (Jehovah) and the Redeemer (Jesus according to
Nicene doctrine) are one (the same essence)
despite a lack of scriptural support. Later thinkers such as Sir
Isaac Newton believed in a rationalist conception of God that was
supported by scripture. Some modern-day Christians cite 1 John 5:7 to support the Trinity concept:
"There are three who bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and
the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." This passage appears
to support the Nicene contention that Jesus is God, along with the Father and
the
Holy Spirit. This verse did not appear in 1 John until the
fourteenth century. This verse does not appear in any Grecian
manuscript, and this verse does not appear in the fifth-century Latin
Vulgate translation. Bible scholars have declared that this verse is a fraudulent insertion, and does
not belong in the Bible (according to Douglas Krueger in his book What
is Atheism?). This verse was not cited by Athanasius at
the Council of Nicaea. Arian Catholicism is an ideological and theological tradition
in Christianity
that claims to be true Catholic Christianity. The doctrine of Arian
Catholics is Arian
in nature, but not Anomoean,
and follows some of the Arian teachings that Arian Catholics claim
were compatible with early non-Roman Christianity, teaching that Jesus was
a man to be followed and not worshipped, and teaching that Jesus was the spiritual Son of God, and
therefore God the Father and the Son were not co-eternal nor of the same
substance. Arian Catholics believe that Christianity went astray during
the fourth century when the Roman Emperor replaced Bible Truth with a new
doctrine developed by mind control specialists who had
access to research activities at Roman universities involving the
development of techniques of mind control that could be used by a
scientific dictatorship in an effort to convert free Christians into
communist slaves. This new Roman
State religion (also known as Roman-Catholicism)
introduced the Trinity concept, altered the Ecumenism of the church, destroyed scriptures that were not
in keeping with the new authorized beliefs, and imposed severe penalties on those who did not comply. The
Arian belief has been deemed heresy
by trinitarian
Christians, but Arian Catholics deem trinitarian
Christians to be heretics
and apostates.
Within 75 years of the imposition of the Roman State religion on the majority of European Christians in 325 A.D., a communist social system became dominant in Europe -- and this communist social system lasted until about 1400 A.D. Communism is defined as State ownership or control of assets of the nation especially industrial properties, in a political situation where the individual is forced to accept the State religion and is subject to penalties for believing in Bible Truth. Between 400 A.D. and 1400 A.D. the State and those closely associated with the State owned and controlled the assets of the nation. These persons closely associated with the State (the communist elite) had special legal titles such as Duke, Barron, Prince, and even Lord. Those who were not part of the communist elite were required to believe in the Roman State religion, and were subject to severe penalties for believing in Bible Truth.
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Trinity, the first successful US federal government |
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atomic bomb test, New Mexico, USA, July 16, 1945 |
Arian Catholicism is based on the early (non-Roman) Catholic Church and some Arian concepts. Arian Catholicism claims to use logic, reason, and modern understanding of both the Universe and the Scriptures to bring the early Catholic Church into the 21st century and to avoid the heresy and apostasy of the mainstream Catholic Church.
Other theologians and Bishops have argued along similar grounds resulting in the alleged heresies of Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism/Eutychianism, Monothelitism, and most recently in early 18th century Britain (1707 - 1747 A.D.) when Arian doctrine had strong support within the Church of England; supporters of Arian doctrine included William Whiston and Samuel Clarke, prominent scientists of the day and disciples of Sir Isaac Newton in both their scientific and their theological views.
Arian Catholic Ministry
The Arian Catholic Church has an active clergy base, and also maintains a Global Internet Diocese, that serves people around the world through the Internet.