Term

Arianism

A doctrine that denies the full deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, teaching that the Son was a created being.

Filed underHistorical TheologyChristology

Definition

The erroneous doctrine that denies the full deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Arians put forward a positive Christology: A Son created and elected before all worlds by the Father. Denounced as heresy in councils at Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381).

Connections

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Type of: HeresyTerm
Contrasted with: Logos ChristologyTerm
Influenced: VisigothsTerm

Sources

1.Wayne A. Grudem Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. 2nd ed.. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020). 14C.2.a
2.Alan Richardson and John Bowden The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1983). 40

Last revised August 14, 2026