Deemed a heretic by the Ecumenical First Council of Nicaea of 325, Arius was later exonerated in 335 at the regional First Synod of Tyre, and then, after his death, pronounced a heretic again at the Ecumenical First Council of Constantinople of 381.

( Arius was a student of Lucian's private academy in Antioch.

In 321, Arius was denounced by a synod at Alexandria for teaching a heterodox view of the relationship of Jesus to God the Father.

Arius taught that Jesus Christ was divine and was sent to earth for the salvation of mankind but that Jesus Christ was not equal to the Father ( infinite, primordial origin ) and to the Holy Spirit ( giver of life ).

Under Arianism, Christ was instead not consubstantial with God the Father since both the Father and the Son under Arius were made of " like " essence or being ( see homoiousia ) but not of the same essence or being ( see homoousia ).

According to the teaching of Arius, the preexistent Logos and thus the incarnate Jesus Christ was a created being ; that only the Son was directly created and begotten by God the Father, before ages, but was of a distinct, though similar, essence or substance from the Creator ; his opponents argued that this would make Jesus less than God, and that this was heretical.

Arius was not really very important to general Arianism after his exile at Nicaea.

Already a recognized theologian and ascetic, he was the obvious choice to replace Alexander as the Patriarch of Alexandria on the latter's death in 328, despite the opposition of the followers of Arius and Meletius of Lycopolis.

In about 319, when Athanasius was a deacon, a presbyter named Arius came into a direct conflict with Alexander of Alexandria.

Support for Arius from powerful bishops like Eusebius of Caesarea and Eusebius of Nicomedia, further illustrate how Arius ' subordinationist Christology was shared by other Christians in the Empire.

The term Arian was first coined by Athanasius to describe both followers of Arius, and followers of ideas that he deemed as bad as Arius '.

In 338, he was summoned by Athanasius of Alexandria to help refute the teachings of Arius.

Separating from his superior, Metropolitan Acacius of Caesarea, a partisan of Arius who taught that Jesus was a divine being created by — and therefore inferior to — God the Father, St. Cyril took the side of the Eusebians of the post-Nicene conciliation party and thus got into difficulties with his superior that were increased by Acacius's jealousy of the importance assigned to St. Cyril's See by the Council of Nicaea.

Even if he did avoid the debatable term homooussios, he expressed its sense in many passages, which exclude equally Patripassianism, Sabellianism, and the formula " there was a time when the Son was not " attributed to Arius.

The Creed, which is now recited throughout the Christian world, was based largely on the teaching put forth by a man who eventually would become Pope Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, the chief opponent of Arius.

Since he was on the losing side of the long 4th-century contest between the allies and enemies of Arianism ( Eusebius was an early and vocal supporter of Arius ), posterity did not have much respect for Eusebius ' person and was neglectful in the preservation of his writings.

It was also because of this relationship that he was the first person whom Arius contacted after the latter was excommunicated from Alexandria by Alexander.

He was excommunicated by Bishop Peter of Alexandria in 311 for supporting Meletius, but under Peter's successor Achillas, Arius was readmitted to communion and in 313 made presbyter of the Baucalis district in Alexandria.

* 318: Arius condemned and excommunicated by a council convened by Alexander, bishop of Alexandria.

Arianism is defined as those teachings attributed to Arius which are in opposition to mainstream Trinitarian Christological doctrine, as determined by the first two Ecumenical Councils and currently maintained by the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and most Reformation Protestant Churches.

Some scholars suggest that Arius may have been poisoned by his opponents.

Because of this centrist position, and despite their rejection of Arius, they were called " semi-Arians " by their opponents.

It appears that Arius reproached Alexander for what he felt were misguided or heretical teachings being taught by the bishop.

After the lapse of three years, he succeeded in regaining the imperial favor by convincing Constantine that Arius and his views do not conflict with the Nicene Creed.

Not all of these views necessarily were held by Arius, the namesake of this Christology.

* The poetic work Banquet ( Thalia ) by the Libyan-born Egytian Christian priest Arius, age 73, expresses the doctrine that Jesus of Nazareth was not of the same substance as God but rather had a finite nature.

* Arius travels to Nicomedia at the invitation of bishop Eusebius, after having been accused of heresy and condemned by Alexander, the Patriarch of Alexandria.

Later, Arius ( 250-336 ), once he had been made a presbyter in Alexandria, began arguing that the teaching concerning the deity of Christ was an invention of men not found in Scripture and not believed by the Early Christians.

Euthydemus was defeated by Antiochus at the Battle of the Arius but after sustaining a famous siege in his capital Bactra ( Balkh ), he obtained an honourable peace by which Antiochus promised Euthydemus ' son Demetrius the hand of one of his daughters.

Athanasius may have accompanied Alexander to the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the council which produced the Nicene Creed and anathematized Arius and his followers.

* Kannengiesser, Charles, “ Alexander and Arius of Alexandria: The last Ante-Nicene theologians ”, Miscelanea En Homenaje Al P. Antonio Orbe Compostellanum Vol.

There are assorted notices of his activities in the writings of his contemporaries Athanasius, Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia, and Alexander of Alexandria.

He won the Battle of the Arius and besieged the Bactrian capital, and even emulated Alexander with an expedition into India where he met with king Sophagasenus receiving war elephants:

The Roman Emperor Constantine I, having been convinced by the Eusebians, commanded Alexander to formally receive Arius back.

According to Socrates Scholasticus, Arius did not in fact repent of his heresy, but was equivocating, and Bishop Alexander was aware of this.

Alexander, though threatened by the Eusebians with deposition and banishment, persisted in his refusal to admit Arius back into the Church, and shut himself up in the Church of Hagia Irene ( which at that time was the cathedral of Constantinople ) in fervent prayer that God would take him from this world rather than be forced to restore someone to communion who he feared was only feigning repentance.

Alexander did not long survive Arius.

The Trinitarian historian Socrates of Constantinople reports that Arius ignited the controversy that bears his name when St. Alexander of Alexandria, who had succeeded Achillas as the Bishop of Alexandria, gave a sermon on the similarity of the Son to the Father.

In a letter to Patriarch Alexander of Constantinople Arius ' bishop, Alexander of Alexandria, wrote that Arius derived his theology from Lucian.

Moreover, even Alexander never accused Lucian of having taught Arianism ; rather, he accused Lucian ad invidiam of heretical tendencies — which apparently, according to him, were transferred to his pupil, Arius.

The noted Russian historian Alexander Vasiliev refers to Lucian as " the Arius before Arius ".

At first, Bishop Alexander seemed unsure of what to do about Arius.

This council decided against Arius and Alexander deposed Arius from his office, excommunicating him and his supporters.