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In 318, Arius came into dispute with Bishop Alexander of Alexandria, who had succeeded Achillas, over his teachings of the fundamental truth God’s divine Sonship and substance. While Arius developed a following among the Syrian prelates, an Alexandrian synod of some 100 bishops condemned him in 321. He was excommunicated and fled to Palestine. There he entered into a friendship with Eusebius of Nicomedia. Arius, a proficient writer, produced many compositions, in both prose and verse defending his belief, in a media he called ''Thalia''. Most of these writings are not extant, having been destroyed as being heretical.
In opposition, Alexander of Alexandria presented his case to Alexander of Constantinople and Eusebius of Nicomedia, where the emperor was in residence. The arguments continued and became a powerful force within the Roman empire, such that the emperor Constantine could no longer ignore it. To settle the arguments he called a [[council]] with delegates drawn from all the empire. The purpose of this, the [[First Ecumenical Council|First Council of Nicaea]], was to determine as far as possible what had been taught from the beginning. The Council met in Nicaea, near Constantinople in 325. Here the confession of faith presented by Arius was cut to pieces. Then, under the guidance of Constantine, the Council developed a [[creed]], the Nicaean Creed for use in catechetical instruction and at baptisms, that rendered Arius’ language heretical.
With this decision, Arius and his followers were deposed and sent into exile. Yet, much concern remained over the use of the word ''homoousios'' that was used in formulating the case against Arius. The early, ill defined definitions of homoousios were part of the arguments used in deposing Paul of Samosata in 269 which at the time were considered to have Sabellian tendencies. In his arguments against Arius, Alexander of Alexandria refined the definition to mollify the earlier objections. However, not all agreed.