A Dispute in Alexandria
Alexandria was the intellectual capital of the eastern empire and a leading center of Christian learning. Arius, a respected ascetic and popular preacher, served as presbyter of one of the city's congregations. Around 318 he began to oppose the teaching of his bishop, Alexander, that the Son is eternal as the Father is eternal.
Arius believed he was protecting God's oneness. The Father alone, he said, is without beginning. Whatever comes from the Father must have a beginning, so the Son was brought into being from nothing before the ages. Alexander replied that God has always been Father, and therefore the Son has always been Son.
When private correction failed, a synod of Egyptian bishops deposed Arius around 320. He found allies elsewhere, above all Eusebius of Nicomedia, and he spread his views in a popular work of verse called the Thalia. Letters passed between bishops on both sides, and the bishops of the East divided.
When Constantine became sole emperor in 324, he found the eastern bishops in turmoil. His appeal for peace failed, and in 325 he summoned bishops from across the empire to Nicaea, the first council of the state church.
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