Aëtius of Antioch (; grc-gre, Ἀέτιος ὁ Ἀντιοχεύς; la, Aëtius Antiochenus; ), surnamed "the Atheist" by his
trinitarian enemies, founder of
Anomoeanism, was a native of
Coele-Syria
Coele-Syria (, also spelt Coele Syria, Coelesyria, Celesyria) alternatively Coelo-Syria or Coelosyria (; grc-gre, Κοίλη Συρία, ''Koílē Syría'', 'Hollow Syria'; lat, Cœlē Syria or ), was a region of Syria in classical antiqui ...
.
Life and writings
Aëtius grew up in poverty or slavery.
[Philostorgius, in Photius, ''Epitome of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius'', book 3, chapter 15.] He later worked as a goldsmith in Antioch to support his widowed mother and studied philosophy. After his mother died, Aëtius continued his trade and extended his studies into the Christian scriptures, Christian theology, and medicine.
After working as a vine-dresser and then as a goldsmith, he became a traveling doctor, and displayed great skill in disputations on medical subjects; but his controversial power soon found a wider field for its exercise in the great theological question of the time. He studied successively under the
Arians, Athanasius, bishop of
Anazarbus
Anazarbus ( grc, Ἀναζαρβός, medieval Ain Zarba; modern Anavarza; ar, عَيْنُ زَرْبَة) was an ancient Cilician city. Under the late Roman Empire, it was the capital of Cilicia Secunda. Roman emperor Justinian I rebuil ...
, and the presbyter Antonius of
Tarsus. In 350 he was ordained a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
by Leontius of Antioch, but was shortly afterwards forced by the trinitarian party to leave that town. At the first
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...
of
Sirmium
Sirmium was a city in the Roman province of Pannonia, located on the Sava river, on the site of modern Sremska Mitrovica in the Vojvodina autonomous provice of Serbia. First mentioned in the 4th century BC and originally inhabited by Illyria ...
he won a dialectic victory over the
homoiousia
Homoiousios ( el, ὁμοιούσιος from , ''hómoios'', "similar" and , '' ousía'', "essence, being") is a Christian theological term, coined in the 4th century by a distinctive group of Christian theologians who held the belief that God ...
n bishops, Basilius and Eustathius, who sought in consequence vainly to stir up against him the enmity of
Constantius Gallus. In 356 he went to
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
with
Eunomius in order to advocate Arianism.
Here he is said to have debated Manichean
Aphthonius of Alexandria so vigorously that the latter died after the encounter. Aëtius was afterwards banished from Alexandria by
Constantius II
Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...
.
Julian recalled him from exile, bestowed upon him an estate in
Lesbos
Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...
, and retained him for a time at his court in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. Being consecrated a
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
, he used his office in the interests of Arianism by creating other bishops of that party. At the accession of
Valens
Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...
(364), he retired to his estate at Lesbos, but soon returned to Constantinople, where he died in 367.
Anomoean sect
The
Anomoean
In 4th-century Christianity, the Anomoeans , and known also as Heterousians , Aetians , or Eunomians , were a sect that upheld an extreme form of Arianism, that Jesus Christ was not of the same nature (consubstantial) as God the Father nor was of ...
sect of the Arians, of whom he was the leader, are sometimes called after him ''Aetians''. His work ''De Fide'' has been preserved in connection with a refutation written by
Epiphanius (''
Haer.'' lxxvi. 10). Its main thought is that the
homoousia
Homoousion ( ; grc, ὁμοούσιον, lit=same in being, same in essence, from , , "same" and , , "being" or "essence") is a Christian theological term, most notably used in the Nicene Creed for describing Jesus (God the Son) as "same in bei ...
, ''i.e.'' the doctrine that the Son (therefore the Begotten) is essentially
God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, is self-contradictory, since the idea of unbegottenness is just that which constitutes the nature of God.
In one of his treatises,
Saint Basil the Great writes against the Anomoeans led by Aëtius, whom he describes an instrument in the hands of "the enemy of truth".
[''Against Eunomius'', Book I] Aëtius is said to have been the first to articulate the doctrine that the Father and the Only Begotten Son do not share the same divine substance.
Notes
References
*
Harnack, A. ''History of Dogma'', vol iv, ''passim'' (reference in EB11)
*''
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the '' Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. S ...
'', ''s.v.'' Aetius.
*''
La Grande Encyclopédie
''La Grande Encyclopédie, inventaire raisonné des sciences, des lettres, et des arts'' (''The Great Encyclopedia: a systematic inventory of science, letters, and the arts'') is a 31-volume encyclopedia published in France from 1886 to 1902 by H. ...
'', ''s.v.'' Aétius d'Antioche.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aetius
4th-century Christian theologians
Arian Christians
4th-century Romans
4th-century Arian Christians
4th-century writers
Nature of Jesus Christ