ARIANS, a denomination of Christians that take their name from Arius, a pres byter of Alexandria, who flourished in the year 315. The propagation of this doc trine was the occasion of the celebrated council of Nice by Constantine, in the year 325. Arius Christ to be God. in a subordinate sense, and con sidered his death to be a propitiation for sin The Arians acknowledge, that the Son was the word, though they deny its being eternal, contendingonly that it had been created prior to all other beings. They maintain that Christ is not the eter nal God ; but, in opposition to the Uni tarians, they contend for his pre-exist ence, a doctrine which they found on various passages of scripture, particularly these two, " before Abraham was 1 am ;" and "glorify me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Arians differ among themselves as to the extent of the doctrine. Some of them be
lieve Christ to have been the Creator of the world, and on that account has a claim to religious worship ; others admit of his pre-existence simply. Hence the appel lations high and low Arians. Dr. Clarke, Rector of St. James, in his " Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity ;" Mr. Henry Taylor, Vicar of Portsmouth, in a work entitled " Ben Mordicai's Apology;" Mr. Tomkins, in his " Mediator ;" and Mr. Hopkins, in his "Appeal to the Com mon Sense of all Christian People ;" have been deemed among the most able advo cates of Arianism. Dr. Price has been one of the last writers in behalf of this doctrine : in his sermons " On the Chris tian Doctrine" will be found an able de fence of low Arianism. See also a tract published in 1805, by Basanistes.