Arianism taught that Christ was not equal to the Father but was a creature made by the Father. This heresy swept through the Church in the 4th century and is the fruit of rationalizing and privately interpreting many Scripture passages.
Ave Maria!
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Thank you for your interesting and helpful work.
I write to offer a suggestion. It might be more prudent to avoid saying that St. Athanasius “never saw” his victory, since the Saints are aware of the affairs on earth and remain interested in them. Surely St. Athanasius continued to assist and to pray for the victory of Orthodoxy. A more accurate phrase should be used, as in “never saw in the flesh” or something along those lines. Given the style of your presentations, I do not think such careful phrasing would be out of place or disruptive.
I was surprised to hear that Arius was a bishop. I had always heard that Arius was a priest. Was he raised to the episcopate after the controversy began? Was he legitimately a bishop?
It is interesting to remember that these men led real and long lives, that their status changed and that what was true of them at the beginning sometimes changed before the end.
Origen comes to mind as a particularly troubling example. I might suggest that you offer a comment on his status. He was apparently anathematized by an ecumenical council of the Church, yet he seems to be freely quoted in the Liturgy of the Hours and elsewhere. I am confused about how to thing about him and how to be wary of his words.
Thanks again for your good work.