The Arian Argument and the Council of Nicea
The Arian argument marked the pinnacle of ancient church history. According to Christian belief, the dispute began about A.D 318 and finished around A.D 381. The belief in Jesus Christ's divinity was debated and established in Christian history at the Council of Nicea. The truth of Christianity was expressed at Nicea, which served as the foundation for earlier Christological developments. Yet, believe in Christ as God's son is also a foundation for Christian faith. The council of Nicea was concerned with the content of Christian doctrines. Faith in a God who in the form of his son makes atonement for human sins is the central belief of Christian teachings. People disagreed on the existence of God in three forms, and this fact was illustrated by the Arians who misinterpreted some terminologies in the scripture.
Arianism
In the time of the Council of Nicea, the church became recognized by the civil government. It is clear that the church in its previous history was not granted official status and in any case, was persecuted and oppressed. After the council, it is seen that the church was not only recognized but also became the favored religion in the Roman Empire. Being favored as the religion to follow, it was in this period that the first act of interference in church affairs happened. The emperors thought that they had the right to be involved and be the leaders in the ecclesiastical affairs. They also supposed that they could help in solving some disagreement in the church as well as enforcing some dogmas in the Christianity belief. The result of the interference was not always good to the church and brought so many challenges to the leadership of the church.
The Significance of Arianism and the Council of Nicea
Arianism history is not only a church history but also a history of the Roman Empire. There have been other heresies in the history of the church, but none of them is as prominent as Arianism. The Council of Nicea is also very prominent in the Christian teachings. The controversy of Arianism is as a result of the disagreement of whether Jesus was the son of God. The issue was more theological than Christological. However, theology and Christology are two things which cannot be separated in the teachings of Christianity since Arianism brought about Christological debates as seen by Athanasius. Arianism, therefore, was concerned by the work of Jesus Christ as well as Christian's salvation. Nevertheless, the issue was the existence of God in his three forms as well as theological.
The Problem of Confessing God and Jesus Christ
The problem was that the church had always been confessing its belief in God and his only begotten son. On the other hand, the church upheld harsh monotheism against the pagans and heretical polytheism. Therefore the problem became confessing both stands without denying one. The Apostolic Dogma had, therefore, limitation on its language which led to the misinterpretation by the Arians. The Arians misinterpreted "only begotten son" and stated that the statement did not mean that Jesus Christ was God in the absolute sense.
The Search for Proper Terminologies
Because of the misinterpretation, the church decided to find terminologies which will express the truth of the scripture to limit the Arians from misinterpreting the bible. At the time the church did not have proper terms to explain God's trinity of a person thus was not able to express the meaning of some scripture positively. From the very start, the church knew that only begotten" meant Jesus Christ was the natural son of God from eternity. To express the information clearly without disagreeing with the truth that God is one was the work of about fifty years. The word that filled all the requirements was homoousios which meant that God was of the same substance. The word apparently expressed that God and Jesus Christ, his son were equal and existed as one being which left no chance for Arianism. The word was chosen and proposed by the Council of Nicea for the purpose discussed above. However the use of the word was objected by many including who were opposed to Arianism. The word was objected since it was not scriptural and was also suspected of having Sabellian overtones. The word was used by Paul of Samosata to refute any personal difference in the Trinity an act which was condemned. The root of Arian controversy was as a result of the contradictory of Christology of Origen and also the Antiochene Mornachianism. The Arian disagreement and the decisions of the Council of Nicea were significant and still are important in the history of Christianity as well as the church.
Papal Infallibility
The first Vatican Council was held in 1869 and ended in 1870. The committee included the representation of several Christian churches. The event is one of the significant and vital occasions in the development of the history of Christianity. The proceedings of the councils talking about infallibility were followed with nervy attention. Furthermore, the issues at hand were rewarded with equal violence in Germany and France. The First Vatican Council done in 1870 revealed that some of the proceedings were not supposed to be addressed to the public. Among the confidential information of the council was submitted by the Curia to the Schema De Ecclesia Christi and distributed to members on January first. The proposition contained fifteen sections including the nature of the church, the role of the pope in the church as well as the relationship between the church and the state. However, if the relationship between the church and the state is compromised, then the state is responsible because it so disregards the rights and obligations of the church.
The Concept of Papal Infallibility
The circle of the outside members of the church believes that the pope cannot sin thus the church teachings on papal infallibility is a teaching which is misunderstood by many who are outside the church. Papal infallibility seems a muddle for many since they are incorrect about what infallibility encompasses. Some wonder how the popes can be infallible when they live in scandalous life. The objection show how people confuse infallibility and impeccability. People should know that the popes can also commit sin or misrepresent the teachings of the church.
Understanding Papal Infallibility
Other people think how infallibility can exist yet some other Popes differed with others. According to the First Vatican Council held in 1870, the reason for this misunderstanding is because people fail to accurately understand infallibility. It was made clear that a Pope's secretive theological opinions are not infallible, but the views he solemnly defines are the ones which are infallible. Infallibility, therefore, prevents papa from somberly and officially as teaching as "actuality" something that is, in fact, a fault. Infallibility, therefore, is not of any aid to papa in knowing what is factual nor does it stir him to impart exact opinions.
Controversy and Separation
The bishops who were in the council impugned the infallibility of the pope and stated that they would secede from Catholic Church. After the conclusion of the council, a new church was formed which cut loose the tradition of the Catholic which was termed as the Old Catholic. The first Vatican Council has therefore consolidated the position of the Catholic Church. The council promoted centralization of the Roman Empire as well as controlled the rational and divine life of the church which was sometimes back regarded as anachronistic.
Conclusion
This work has provided an exposition of the church's teachings and the concept of the triune God as well as the controversy of God's trinity. The work has relied on the solemn definition of the Council of Nicea which condemned Arianism. The second part of this work has talked about the infallibility of papal as discussed in Christianity teachings. The paper is, therefore, clarification writing on the Infallibility of the pope as well as an exposition of Arianism in the development of the Church's history. The Christianity teachings on both of the historical events in the development of the church history are addressed explicitly in this paper. It is therefore clear that many misinterpret the terminologies in the scripture as well as Christian faith in general.
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