Arius in the Church of Baukalis

A sample of what appears in the Real Messiah order it here

From Rowan Williams Arius: Heresy and Tradition

Epiphanius tells us that Arius was born in Libya: and a number of other smaller pieces of evidence tend to bear this out. Arius' two most consistent episcopal supporters in later years were Secundus and Theonas, bishops respectively of Ptolemais (or 'the Pentapolis' in some texts) and Marmarica: Ptolemais was the chief city of western or 'upper' Libya, the older Cyrenaica and the finas Alexandriae, the border of the urban area of Alexandria at the western end of the Mareotis ... The same picture is suggested in a letter from the Emperor Constantine to Arius, written around 333. Arius has been given permission to return from exile to his 'native territory' (unspecified) in 327 or 328, and Constantine writes as though Arius is currently in Libya. Evidently Arius is enjoying widespread popular support, since Constantine shows signs of panic at the idea of schism. A little earlier (331 or 332)we find Athanasius visiting Libya, and the Emperor's letter clearly suggests that it was becoming a very troubled area from the point of view of the Alexandrian see. Once again the whole pattern makes excellent sense in terms of partisanship for a local celebrity against intrusive foreign prelates.

If Epiphanius is to be relied on as regards Arius' place of birth, is he also to be trusted when he describes Arius as an 'old man' geron at the time of the outbreak of the controversy? Here we have no collateral evidence, though Constantine's letter of 333 contains a passage describing, in most insulting fashion, Arius' wasted and lifeless appearance - a passage which certainly fits a man well-advanced in years.

... The only clue we have as to Arius' education is the single word sulloukianista which occurs in his letter to Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, appealing for help in the first years of the controversy. Historians have generally taken 'fellow-Lucianist' pretty literally, and assumed a period of study with the martyr Lucian of Antioch. Ever since Newman this has produced some very questionable reconstruction of Arius' intellectual background ... we should not assume from the one word in Arius' letter that he had actually been Lucian's student. Wallace-Hadrill notes that Arius is not named by Philostorgius in his lists of Lucian's pupils and supposes that the Lucianists formed a coherent political and theological grouping quite independently of Arius. Certain if Philostorgius is to be believed, there were real theological divergences between this group and Arius and the later 'neo-Arians' of the mid-century traced their theological ancestry back to the Lucianists rather than Arius ... the anti-Nicene theological tradition evidently preserved the memory of a certain distance between Arius and some of his allies; it cannot be taken for granted that Arius was a disciple of Lucian in the sense that others such as Eusebius of Nicomedia claimed to be, even if he had attended lecturers by the martyr. 'Fellow-Lucianist' may be no more than a captatio benevolentaie - laying claim to a common ground with potential supporters ...

Whatever the nature and extent of his putative earlier travels the Arius who at last emerges into clear historical light at the end of the second decade of the fourth century is firmly anchored in Alexandria, presbyter of an important church and a popular preacher with a reputation for asceticism. Epiphanius pen-portrait is worth reproducing:

He was very tall in stature, with downcast countenance - counterfeited like a guileful serpent and well able to deceive any unsuspecting heart through its cleverly designed appearance. For he was always garbed in a short cloak (hemiphorion) and sleeveless tunic (kolobion); he spoke gently and people found him persuasive and flattering.

The sleeveless tunic is reminiscent of the exomis worn by both philosophers and by ascetics: Philo mentions that the contemplative Therapeutae of his day were dressed thus. Arius' costume would have identified him easily as a teacher of the way of salvation - a guru we might almost say. It is not surprising to find that Epiphanius also notes that he had the care of of seventy women living a life of ascetic seclusion presumably attached to his church. What we do know is precisely how long Arius occupied this influential post; as already noted he is said to have been ordained by Achillas and according to Theodoret Achillas' successor Alexander gave him authority to 'expound the Scriptures in church.' So we can perhaps trace Arius' public career back as far as 313, and assume that, for most of this decade he ministered at the Church Epiphanius calls 'Baucalis' - a respected cleric of some seniority, with a high reputation as a spiritual director. Before 313 nothing is clear; however one story emerges in the middle of the fifth century which has been widely believed ... that Arius was involved in the most serious internal disruption of Egyptian church life prior to the controversy over his own teachings: the schism initiated in 306 by Miletius bishop of Lycopolis.