ARIANISM
Arianism is a
nontrinitarian Christological doctrine which asserts the belief that
Jesus Christ is the
Son of God who was begotten by
God the Father at a point in time, a creature distinct from the Father and is therefore subordinate to him, but the Son is also God (i.e. God the Son). Arian theology was first attributed to
Arius (
c. AD 256–336), a Christian
presbyter in
Alexandria of Egypt.
The term "Arian" is derived from the name Arius; and like "Christian", it was not a self-chosen designation but bestowed by hostile opponents—and never accepted by those on whom it had been imposed. The nature of Arius' teachings and his supporters were opposed to the theological views held by
Homoousian Christians, regarding the nature of the
Trinity and the nature of Christ. The Arian
concept of Christ is based on the belief that the Son of God did not always exist but was begotten within time by God the Father.
Arius stated: "If the Father begat the Son, then he who was begotten had a beginning in existence, and from this it follows there was a time when the Son was not." The Ecumenical
First Council of Nicaea of 325, convened by Emperor Constantine to ensure Church unity, disagreed and declared Arianism to be a heresy. According to Everett Ferguson, "The great majority of Christians had no clear views about the nature of the Trinity and they did not understand what was at stake in the issues that surrounded it."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism
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The exact relationship between Jesus and God was the subject of an early theological controversy referred to as "Arianism" that was resolved by the 1st Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.
Although Jesus is repeatedly referred to as the Son of God in the New Testament a literal interpretation of that relationship would conclude that Christ was created by God and therefore subordinate to God the Father!
That interpretation was finally rejected in AD 325 where it was reaffirmed that the
Trinity refers to the teaching that the one God is comprised of 3 distinct, equal, eternally co-existing persons - the
Father, the
Son (incarnate in Jesus Christ), and the
Holy Spirit.
Together, these 3 persons are often referred to as the "Godhead."
Although dismissed as heresy, modern groups that have retained some form of Arianism are the Unitarians, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons!