Arius

An icon from the time shows the First Council of Nicaea, which opposed Arius, who is shown at the bottom of the image. The central figure is Emperor Constantine.

Arius (born around 260 in Cyrenaica, now eastern Libya, died 336 in Constantinople) was an early Christian thinker and priest. He lived in Alexandria but was probably born in what is now Libya. He did not agree with his bishop, Alexander of Alexandria, who said that Jesus and God are the same. Arius said that Jesus and God are not the same and that Jesus was created and so there was a that he did not exist.

At the First Council of Nicaea, most bishops opposed Arius. The official document stated that God the Father and Jesus the Son have the same essence and therefore are the same being. It also states that Jesus and God have existed together for all time.

Arius Media

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  Greek icon of Arius getting slapped by Nicholas of Myra

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  Constantine I burning Arian books, illustration from a book of canon law, c. 825

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  The Arian Baptistery erected by Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great in Ravenna, Italy, around 500

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  Ceiling mosaic of the Arian Baptistry, in Ravenna, Italy, depicting the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost present, with John the Baptist

Reference

• Article about Arius from Encyclopedia Britannica