The Heresies
The Chief Heresies: The major corruptions of the doctrines of the Church 1. Arianism The Arians were founded by the heresiarch Arius, an ambitious priest of Alexandria, born about A.D. 250 and died A.D. 336. They denied the divinity of our Lord, and said that He was not born of the Father, but made by Him; that He was not equal to, but inferior to, the Father. These heretics were condemned at the Council of Nicaea, a town in Bithynia, A.D. 325, under Pope St. Sylvester I. The Nicene creed was drawn up at this council. 2. Manicheanism This religion was founded by the Persian Mani in the latter half of the third century. The Manicheans taught that our Lord did not take to Himself a real body, but only the appearance of a body, something similar to what the angels assumed when they visited holy persons, as mentioned in Scripture. They also said that there were two gods, a good one and a bad one. These heresies commenced about A.D. 280, and were finally condemned in the Fourth ...