Arianism

Refers to the doctrines of the Alexandrian priest Arius (ca. 250-ca. 336), which denied that Jesus was of the same substance as God and stated instead that he was only the highest of created beings. As such, the Son was not co-equal or co-eternal with the Father. According to the Arians, Jesus was created- not begotten- by God and he achieved his divinity through his perfect obedience to God. Arius' doctrine was condemned as heretical at a synod in Alexandria in 321 and definitively at the Council of Nicaea in 325. Arianism maintained a foothold in many Germanic nations. The Arian controversy was revived at different times and was eventually superseded by Unitarianism.