ARIANISM is the name given to the doc trine of the person of Christ advocated by Arius and his followers. It contained nothing essentially new, but it crystallized certain modes and tendencies of thought which had been more or less prevalent in the Church for three or four generations. (See CniusToLocv). The views of Arius and the strict Arian party may be summarized as follows: (1) The Son was created out of nothing and is therefore differ ent in essence from the Father. He is Logos, Wisdom, Son of God, but so only by the grace of God and not in and of himself. (2) There was (before time began) when he was not; that is, he is a finite being. (3) He was cre ated before everything else, and through him the universe was created and is administered.
(4) The Logos became the soul of the his torical Christ, and the human elements in the character of Jesus belonged to the Logos.
(5) Although the incarnate Logos is finite and hence is not God, he is to be worshipped, since he is exalted far above all other creatures, and is both Ruler and Redeemer.
The discussions at the Nicene Council re vealed the fact that there were three parties present: the strict Arians, the semi-Arians and the Alexander-Athanasian party. The latter party, with the help of Constantine and the Western bishops, secured the adoption of a creed (see Cams) which no strict Arian could subscribe to, since it declared that the Son is identical in essence (homoousian) with the Father. The semi-Arians, although they main tained that the Son was not identical in es sence, but of similar essence (homoiousian) with the Father, were finally constrained to sign the document. Soon after the closing of the council the semi-Arians began to assail the Nicene creed, and finally, through the influence of Eusebius (q.v.), they secured the recall of
Arius and his companions and the deposition and banishment of Athanasius. The sons of Constantine continued to favor the semi-Arian party, which included a large majority of the Eastern bishops; but the Western churches gen erally adhered to the Nicene creed. But the death of Constantino II in 361 and the acces sion of Julian left the Arian party without imperial support and Athanasius and his fol lowers regained considerable influence in the east. The accession of Valens in 363, however, reversed the governmental policy and led to the fanatical persecution of the Nicenes. But the distracted condition of the Orient, due to the war with Persia, and the demoralized state of many of the bishoprics under Arian leader ship, made it relatively easy for Theodosius the Great to espouse and support the Nicene party. A second cecumenical council held at Constanti nople in 381 reaffirmed the Nicene creed with slight additions and curtailments, thus complet ing the victory of Nicara in favor of the full deity of the Son. Arianism was soon sup pressed within the empire, but it continued for a long time to prevail among the barbarians. The conversion of Clovis, King of the Franks, to the orthodox faith in 496 was followed by a rapid decline of Arianism among the Teutonic peoples. (See Arius). Consult Gwatkin, H. M.,