(22) The Arian Crisis

The Arian Crisis

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The Arians denied that Christ was the Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. He was the most excellent creation of God the Father, but not actually God Himself. As usual, there were innumerable variations on what they actually believed. Perhaps its appeal came from the way it sidestepped the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity. Many heresies down the Ages have been successful for a time by rejecting the Mysteries for some plausible substitute that can be comprehended by the human mind. But they all fail in the end. Yet in its heyday Arianism swept the world. Most significanly – and ominously – the Roman Army went solidly Arian, and so did the Emperors. The vast majority of bishops followed suit. Then, as S. Jerome writes, "The World awoke and groaned in amazement at finding itself Arian.” Nearly all the other bishops turned against Athanasius – it was ‘Athanasius contra mundum’ – ‘Athanasius against the World’. He walked into other bishops’ dioceses, ordained new, fully Catholic priests (which he was not supposed to do) and his follower, Bp Eusebius, went into the major city of Alexandria, announced the bishop deposed, and consecrated a new bishop. [This was far more drastic than anything Archpb. Lefebvre ever did.] Athanasius was excommunnicated four times, once with the signature of Pope Liberius – who was the first of all the popes not to be canonised after his death. Athanasius simply ignored this and kept on working. In the end he was canonised. See also in ‘The Annals of the Centuries’: https://sites.google.com/site/catholictopics/history/-1-an-overview/annals-of-the-centuries

Thus the Catholic Church demonstrated, during this terrible crisis, the resilience that had been prophetically built into her organisation by Christ, her founder. Yet it has been said that, after the Arian Crisis, the Church had lost her Springtime Freshness. There were other victories, with the salvation of innumerable souls, but an innocence has been lost that can never again be regained. Let us offer an Our Father in consolation to the Blessed Trinity for this loss.

With the conclusion of the Arian Schism it may be said that the days of The Early Church were now over. The next period may appropriately be named “The Ages of Faith”.