Dr Paul Allen

The Arian controversy in the fourth century was arguably the greatest theological controversy in the history of the church. As Protestants, we might think that the Reformation controversies of the sixteenth century were the most momentous. Without wishing to minimize their importance, however, the Arian controversy was greater, because it went deeper.  The Reformers were arguing about how we receive the benefits of Christ; the men of the fourth century were arguing about something even more basic—who Christ is. Unless the right foundation is laid in the person of the Redeemer, little is gained in disputing about His benefits. The Arian controversy was sparked, not by Arius himself, but by the outstanding Christian thinker of the previous century, Origen (185–254). Origen had fought vigorously and successfully against one of the gravest threats to the orthodoxy of the third century—Modalism (or “Sabellianism”, after one of its leading advocates). Modalism tried to solve the mystery of h

English: Icon of Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Three hundred and twelve bishops gathered. In the center of the room, on a throne, lay the four gospels. The emperor himself, dressed in a purple gown and wearing a silver diadem, opened the council. It was he who had called them together. "I rejoice to see you here, yet I should be more pleased to see unity and affection among you." The place was Nicea. It was on this day, May 20, 325. The next few days would be devoted primarily to one purpose: finding a way to describe exactly who Jesus was. Arius had preached that Christ was a creation of God, the first of all his creatures, to be sure, but a creation nonetheless. He was not of the substance or nature of God. "There was a time when the Son was not," he and his followers insisted. They even made up songs with catchy tunes to propagandize their ideas among the masses. Bishop Alexander of Alexandria was horrified. Jesus, the Word, had co-existed eter