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Arianism

Arianism (Koine Greek: Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine considered heretical by many modern mainstream branches of Christianity. It is first attributed to Arius (c. AD 256–336), a Christian presbyter who preached and studied in Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God the Father with the difference that the Son of God did not always exist but was begotten/made before time by God the Father; therefore, Jesus was not coeternal with God the Father, but nonetheless Jesus began to exist outside time.

Arius' trinitarian theology, later given an extreme form by Aetius and his disciple Eunomius and called anomoean ('dissimilar'), asserts a total dissimilarity between the Son and the Father. Arianism holds that the Son is distinct from the Father and therefore subordinate to him. The term Arian is derived from the name Arius; it was not what the followers of Arius' teachings called themselves, but rather a term used by outsiders. The nature of Arius's teachings and his supporters were opposed to the theological doctrines held by Homoousian Christians, regarding the nature of the Trinity and the nature of Christ.

There was a controversy between two interpretations of Jesus's divinity (Homoousianism and Arianism) based upon the theological orthodoxy of the time, one trinitarian and the other also a derivative of trinitarian orthodoxy, and each of them attempted to solve its respective theological dilemmas. Homoousianism was formally affirmed by the first two ecumenical councils; since then, Arianism has been condemned as "the heresy or sect of Arius". Trinitarian (Homoousian) doctrines were vigorously upheld by Patriarch Athanasius of Alexandria, who insisted that Jesus (God the Son) was "same in being" or "same in essence" with God the Father. Arius stated: "If the Father begat the Son, then he who was begotten had a beginning in existence, and from this it follows there was a time when the Son was not." The ecumenical First Council of Nicaea of 325 declared Arianism to be a heresy. According to Everett Ferguson, "The great majority of Christians had no clear views about the nature of the Trinity and they did not understand what was at stake in the issues that surrounded it."

Arianism is also used to refer to other nontrinitarian theological systems of the 4th century, which regarded Jesus Christ—the Son of God, the Logos—as either a begotten creature of a similar or different substance to that of the Father, but not identical (as Homoiousian and Anomoeanism) or as neither uncreated nor created in the sense other beings are created (as in semi-Arianism).

Origin
Some early Christians that were counted among Orthodoxy denied the eternal generation of the Son, seeing the Son as being begotten in time. These include Tertullian and Justin Martyr. Tertullian is considered a pre-Arian. Among the other church fathers, Origen was accused of Arianism for using terms like "second God", and Patriarch Dionysius of Alexandria was denounced at Rome for saying that Son is a work and creature of God. However, the Subordinationism of Origen is not identical to Arianism, and it has been generally viewed as closer to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan view.

Controversy over Arianism arose in the late 3rd century and persisted throughout most of the 4th century. It involved most church members—from simple believers, priests, and monks to bishops, emperors, and members of Rome's imperial family. Two Roman emperors, Constantius II and Valens, became Arians or Semi-Arians, as did prominent Gothic, Vandal, and Lombard warlords both before and after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The antipopes Felix II and Ursinus were Arian, and Pope Liberius was forced to sign the Arian Creed of Sirmium of 357 although the letter says he willingly agreed with Arianism. Such a deep controversy within the early Church during this period of its development could not have materialized without significant historical influences providing a basis for the Arian doctrines.

Arius had been a pupil of Lucian of Antioch at Lucian's private academy in Antioch and inherited from him a modified form of the teachings of Paul of Samosata. Arius taught that God the Father and the Son of God did not always exist together eternally.

Condemnation by the Council of Nicaea
Emperor Constantine the Great summoned the First Council of Nicaea, which defined the dogmatic fundaments of Christianity; these definitions served to rebut the questions posed by Arians. Since Arius was not a bishop, he was not allowed to sit on the council, and it was Eusebius of Nicomedia who spoke for him and the position he represented. All the bishops who were there were in agreement with the major theological points of the proto-orthodoxy,. Although the proto-orthodox won the previous disputes, due to the more accurate defining of orthodoxy, they were vanquished with their own weapons, ultimately being declared heretics, not because they would have fought against ideas regarded as theologically correct, but because their positions lacked the accuracy and refinement needed by the fusion of several contradictory theses accepted at the same time by later orthodox theologians.

Of the roughly 300 bishops in attendance at the Council of Nicaea, two bishops did not sign the Nicene Creed that condemned Arianism. Constantine the Great also ordered a penalty of death for those who refused to surrender the Arian writings:

"In addition, if any writing composed by Arius should be found, it should be handed over to the flames, so that not only will the wickedness of his teaching be obliterated, but nothing will be left even to remind anyone of him. And I hereby make a public order, that if someone should be discovered to have hidden a writing composed by Arius, and not to have immediately brought it forward and destroyed it by fire, his penalty shall be death. As soon as he is discovered in this offence, he shall be submitted for capital punishment. ..."

Ten years after the Council of Nicaea, Constantine the Great, who was himself later baptized by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia in 337 AD, convened another gathering of church leaders at the regional First Synod of Tyre in 335 (attended by 310 bishops), to address various charges mounted against Athanasius by his detractors, such as "murder, illegal taxation, sorcery, and treason", following his refusal to readmit Arius into fellowship. Athanasius was exiled to Trier (in modern Germany) following his conviction at Tyre of conspiracy, and Arius was, effectively, exonerated. Athanasius eventually returned to Alexandria in 346, after the deaths of both Arius and Constantine. Though Arianism had spread, Athanasius and other Nicene Christian church leaders crusaded against Arian theology, and Arius was anathemised and condemned as a heretic once more at the ecumenical First Council of Constantinople of 381 (attended by 150 bishops). The Roman Emperors Constantius II (337–361) and Valens (364–378) were Arians or Semi-Arians, as was the first King of Italy, Odoacer (433?–493), and the Lombards were also Arians or Semi-Arians until the 7th century. The ruling elite of Visigothic Spain was Arian until 589. Many Goths adopted Arian beliefs upon their conversion to Christianity. The Vandals actively spread Arianism in North Africa.

Beliefs
Little of Arius's own work survives except in quotations selected for polemical purposes by his opponents, and there is no certainty about what theological and philosophical traditions formed his thought. The influence from the One of Neo-Platonism was widespread throughout the Eastern Roman Empire and this influenced Arius.

Arius's basic premise is that only God is independent for his existence. Since the Son is dependent he must therefore be called a creature. Arians put forward a question for their belief: "Has God birthed Jesus willingly or unwillingly?" This question was used to argue that Jesus is dependent for his existence since Jesus exists only because God wants him to be.

Arianism taught that the Logos was a divine being begotten by God the Father before the creation of the world, made him a medium through whom everything else was created, and that the Son of God is subordinate to God the Father. The Logos is an inner attribute of God that is wisdom, while Jesus is called Logos only because of resemblance with the inner Logos of God.

A verse from Proverbs was used for the creation of the Son: "The Lord created me at the beginning of his work." Therefore, the Son was rather the very first and the most perfect of God's creatures, and he was called "God" only by the Father's permission and power. The definition of "Son" is ambiguous as Arians have applied an adoptionist theology to defend the creation ex nihilo of Jesus from God.

Arians do not believe in the traditional doctrine of the Trinity. The letter of the Arian bishop Auxentius of Durostorum regarding the Arian missionary Ulfilas gives a picture of Arian beliefs. The Arian Ulfilas, who was ordained a bishop by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia and returned to his people to work as a missionary, believed: God, the Father, ("unbegotten" God; Almighty God) always existing and who is the only true God. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, ("only-begotten god" ), was begotten before time began. The Holy Spirit is the illuminating and sanctifying power of God. 1 Corinthians 8:5–6 was cited as proof text:

"Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords/masters—yet for us there is one God (Gk. theos – θεός), the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord/Master (kyrios – κύριος), Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."

The creed of Arian Ulfilas (c. 311–383), which concludes the above-mentioned letter by Auxentius, distinguishes God the Father ("unbegotten"), who is the only true God, from the Son of God ("only-begotten"); and the Holy Spirit, the illuminating and sanctifying power, which is neither God the Father nor the Lord Jesus Christ:

"I, Ulfila, bishop and confessor, have always so believed, and in this, the one true faith, I make the journey to my Lord; I believe in only one God the Father, the unbegotten and invisible, and in his only-begotten Son, our Lord/Master and God, the designer and maker of all creation, having none other like him. Therefore, there is one God of all, who is also God of our God; and in one Holy Spirit, the illuminating and sanctifying power, as Christ said after his resurrection to his apostles: 'And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be clothed with power from on high' and again 'But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you'; Neither God nor Lord, but the faithful minister of Christ; not equal, but subject and obedient in all things to the Son. And I believe the Son to be subject and obedient in all things to God the Father."

A letter from Arius (c. 250–336) to the Arian Eusebius of Nicomedia (died 341) states the core beliefs of the Arians:

"Some of them say that the Son is an eructation, others that he is a production, others that he is also unbegotten. These are impieties to which we cannot listen, even though the heretics threaten us with a thousand deaths. But we say and believe and have taught, and do teach, that the Son is not unbegotten, nor in any way part of the unbegotten; and that he does not derive his subsistence from any matter; but that by his own will and counsel he has subsisted before time and before ages as perfect as God, only begotten and unchangeable, and that before he was begotten, or created, or purposed, or established, he was not. For he was not unbegotten. We are persecuted because we say that the Son has a beginning but that God is without beginning."

Principally, the dispute between Trinitarianism and Arianism was about:
 * has the Son always existed eternally with the Father or was the Son begotten at a certain time in the past?
 * is the Son equal to the Father or subordinate to the Father?

For Constantine, these were minor theological points that stood in the way of uniting the Empire, but for the theologians, it was of huge importance; for them, it was a matter of salvation.

For the theologians of the 19th century it was already obvious that in fact Arius and Alexander/Athanasius did not have much to quarrel about, the difference between their views was very small, and that the end of the fight was by no means clear during their quarrel, both Arius and Athanasius suffering a great deal for their own views. Arius was the father of Homoiousianism and Alexander the father of Homoousianism, which was championed by Athanasius. For those theologians it was clear that Arius, Alexander and Athanasius were far from a true doctrine of Trinity, which developed later, historically speaking.

Guido M. Berndt and Roland Steinacher state clearly that the beliefs of Arius were acceptable ("not especially unusual") to a huge number of orthodox clergy; this is the reason why such a major conflict was able to develop inside the Church, since Arius's theology received widespread sympathy (or at least was not considered to be overly controversial) and could not be dismissed outright as individual heresy.

Homoian Arianism
Arianism had several different variants, including Eunomianism and Homoian Arianism. Homoian Arianism is associated with Acacius and Eudoxius. Homoian Arianism avoided the use of the word ousia to describe the relation of Father to Son, and described these as "like" each other. Hanson lists twelve creeds that reflect the Homoian faith:
 * 1) The Second Sirmian Creed of 357
 * 2) The Creed of Nice (Constantinople) 360
 * 3) The creed put forward by Acacius at Seleucia, 359
 * 4) The Rule of Faith of Ulfilas
 * 5) The creed uttered by Ulfilas on his deathbed, 383
 * 6) The creed attributed to Eudoxius
 * 7) The Creed of Auxentius of Milan, 364
 * 8) The Creed of Germinius professed in correspondence with Ursacius of Singidunum and Valens of Mursa
 * 9) Palladius's rule of faith
 * 10) Three credal statements found in fragments, subordinating the Son to the Father

First Council of Nicaea

In 321, Arius was denounced by a synod at Alexandria for teaching a heterodox view of the relationship of Jesus to God the Father. Because Arius and his followers had great influence in the schools of Alexandria—counterparts to modern universities or seminaries—their theological views spread, especially in the eastern Mediterranean.

By 325, the controversy had become significant enough that the Emperor Constantine called an assembly of bishops, the First Council of Nicaea, which condemned Arius's doctrine and formulated the original Nicene Creed of 325. The Nicene Creed's central term, used to describe the relationship between the Father and the Son, is Homoousios (ὁμοούσιος), or Consubstantiality, meaning "of the same substance" or "of one being" (the Athanasian Creed is less often used but is a more overtly anti-Arian statement on the Trinity).

The focus of the Council of Nicaea was the nature of the Son of God and his precise relationship to God the Father (see Paul of Samosata and the Synods of Antioch). Arius taught that Jesus Christ was divine/holy and was sent to earth for the salvation of mankind but that Jesus Christ was not equal to God the Father (infinite, primordial origin) in rank and that God the Father and the Son of God were not equal to the Holy Spirit. Under Arianism, Christ was instead not consubstantial with God the Father since both the Father and the Son under Arius were made of "like" essence or being (see homoiousia) but not of the same essence or being (see homoousia).

In the Arian view, God the Father is a deity and is divine and the Son of God is not a deity but divine (I, the LORD, am Deity alone.) God the Father sent Jesus to earth for salvation of mankind. Ousia is essence or being, in Eastern Christianity, and is the aspect of God that is completely incomprehensible to mankind and human perception. It is all that subsists by itself and which has not its being in another, God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all being uncreated.

According to the teaching of Arius, the preexistent Logos and thus the incarnate Jesus Christ was a begotten being; only the Son was directly begotten by God the Father, before ages, but was of a distinct, though similar, essence or substance from the Creator. His opponents argued that this would make Jesus less than God and that this was heretical. Much of the distinction between the differing factions was over the phrasing that Christ expressed in the New Testament to express submission to God the Father. The theological term for this submission is kenosis. This ecumenical council declared that Jesus Christ was true God, co-eternal and consubstantial (i.e., of the same substance) with God the Father.

Constantine is believed to have exiled those who refused to accept the Nicaean Creed—Arius himself, the deacon Euzoios, and the Libyan bishops Theonas of Marmarica and Secundus of Ptolemais—and also the bishops who signed the creed but refused to join in condemnation of Arius, Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea. The emperor also ordered all copies of the Thalia, the book in which Arius had expressed his teachings, to be burned. However, there is no evidence that his son and ultimate successor, Constantius II, who was a Semi-Arian Christian, was exiled.

Although he was committed to maintaining what the Great Church had defined at Nicaea, Constantine was also bent on pacifying the situation and eventually became more lenient toward those condemned and exiled at the council. First, he allowed Eusebius of Nicomedia, who was a protégé of his sister, and Theognis to return once they had signed an ambiguous statement of faith. The two, and other friends of Arius, worked for Arius's rehabilitation.

At the First Synod of Tyre in AD 335, they brought accusations against Athanasius, now bishop of Alexandria, the primary opponent of Arius. After this, Constantine had Athanasius banished since he considered him an impediment to reconciliation. In the same year, the Synod of Jerusalem under Constantine's direction readmitted Arius to communion in 336. Arius died on the way to this event in Constantinople. Some scholars suggest that Arius may have been poisoned by his opponents. Eusebius and Theognis remained in the Emperor's favor, and when Constantine, who had been a catechumen much of his adult life, accepted baptism on his deathbed, it was from Eusebius of Nicomedia.

Aftermath of Nicaea

The First Council of Nicaea did not end the controversy, as many bishops of the Eastern provinces disputed the homoousios, the central term of the Nicene Creed, as it had been used by Paul of Samosata, who had advocated a monarchianist Christology. Both the man and his teaching, including the term homoousios, had been condemned by the Synods of Antioch in 269. Hence, after Constantine's death in 337, open dispute resumed again. Constantine's son Constantius II, who had become emperor of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, actually encouraged the Arians and set out to reverse the Nicene Creed. His advisor in these affairs was Eusebius of Nicomedia, who had already at the Council of Nicaea been the head of the Arian party, who also was made the bishop of Constantinople.

Constantius used his power to exile bishops adhering to the Nicene Creed, especially St Athanasius of Alexandria, who fled to Rome. In 355 Constantius became the sole Roman emperor and extended his pro-Arian policy toward the western provinces, frequently using force to push through his creed, even exiling Pope Liberius and installing Antipope Felix II.

The Third Council of Sirmium in 357 was the high point of Arianism. The Seventh Arian Confession (Second Sirmium Confession) held that both homoousios (of one substance) and homoiousios (of similar substance) were unbiblical and that the Father is greater than the Son. (This confession was later known as the Blasphemy of Sirmium.)

But since many persons are disturbed by questions concerning what is called in Latin substantia, but in Greek ousia, that is, to make it understood more exactly, as to 'coessential,' or what is called, 'like-in-essence,' there ought to be no mention of any of these at all, nor exposition of them in the Church, for this reason and for this consideration, that in divine Scripture nothing is written about them, and that they are above men's knowledge and above men's understanding;

As debates raged in an attempt to come up with a new formula, three camps evolved among the opponents of the Nicene Creed. The first group mainly opposed the Nicene terminology and preferred the term homoiousios (alike in substance) to the Nicene homoousios, while they rejected Arius and his teaching and accepted the equality and co-eternality of the persons of the Trinity. Because of this centrist position, and despite their rejection of Arius, they were called "Semi-Arians" by their opponents. The second group also avoided invoking the name of Arius, but in large part followed Arius's teachings and, in another attempted compromise wording, described the Son as being like (homoios) the Father. A third group explicitly called upon Arius and described the Son as unlike (anhomoios) the Father. Constantius wavered in his support between the first and the second party, while harshly persecuting the third.

Epiphanius of Salamis labeled the party of Basil of Ancyra in 358 "Semi-Arianism". This is considered unfair by Kelly who states that some members of the group were virtually orthodox from the start but disliked the adjective homoousios while others had moved in that direction after the out-and-out Arians had come into the open.

The debates among these groups resulted in numerous synods, among them the Council of Serdica in 343, the Fourth Council of Sirmium in 358 and the double Council of Rimini and Seleucia in 359, and no fewer than fourteen further creed formulas between 340 and 360, leading the pagan observer Ammianus Marcellinus to comment sarcastically: "The highways were covered with galloping bishops." None of these attempts were acceptable to the defenders of Nicene orthodoxy; writing about the latter councils, Saint Jerome remarked that the world "awoke with a groan to find itself Arian."

After Constantius's death in 361, his successor Julian, a devotee of Rome's pagan gods, declared that he would no longer attempt to favor one church faction over another, and allowed all exiled bishops to return; this resulted in further increasing dissension among Nicene Christians. The emperor Valens, however, revived Constantius's policy and supported the "Homoian" party, exiling bishops and often using force. During this persecution many bishops were exiled to the other ends of the Roman Empire (e.g., Saint Hilary of Poitiers to the eastern provinces). These contacts and the common plight subsequently led to a rapprochement between the western supporters of the Nicene Creed and the homoousios and the eastern Semi-Arians.

Council of Constantinople
It was not until the co-reigns of Gratian and Theodosius that Arianism was effectively wiped out among the ruling class and elite of the Eastern Empire. Valens died in the Battle of Adrianople in 378 and was succeeded by Theodosius I, who adhered to the Nicene Creed. This allowed for settling the dispute. Theodosius's wife St Flacilla was instrumental in his campaign to end Arianism.

Two days after Theodosius arrived in Constantinople, 24 November 380, he expelled the Arian bishop, Demophilus of Constantinople, and surrendered the churches of that city to Gregory of Nazianzus, the Homoiousian leader of the rather small Nicene community there, an act which provoked rioting. Theodosius had just been baptized, by bishop Acholius of Thessalonica, during a severe illness, as was common in the early Christian world. In February he and Gratian had published an edict that all their subjects should profess the faith of the bishops of Rome and Alexandria (i.e., the Nicene faith), or be handed over for punishment for not doing so.

Although much of the church hierarchy in the East had opposed the Nicene Creed in the decades leading up to Theodosius's accession, he managed to achieve unity on the basis of the Nicene Creed. In 381, at the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople, a group of mainly Eastern bishops assembled and accepted the Nicene Creed of 381, which was supplemented in regard to the Holy Spirit, as well as some other changes: see Comparison of Nicene Creeds of 325 and 381. This is generally considered the end of the dispute about the Trinity and the end of Arianism among the Roman, non-Germanic peoples.

Among medieval Germanic tribes

During the time of Arianism's flowering in Constantinople, the Gothic convert and Arian bishop Ulfilas (later the subject of the letter of Auxentius cited above) was sent as a missionary to the Gothic tribes across the Danube, a mission favored for political reasons by the Emperor Constantius II. The Homoians in the Danubian provinces played a major role in the conversion of the Goths to Arianism. Ulfilas's translation of the Bible into Gothic language and his initial success in converting the Goths to Arianism was strengthened by later events; the conversion of Goths led to a widespread diffusion of Arianism among other Germanic tribes as well (Vandals, Langobards, Svevi, and Burgundians). When the Germanic peoples entered the provinces of the Western Roman Empire and began founding their own kingdoms there, most of them were Arian Christians.

The conflict in the 4th century had seen Arian and Nicene factions struggling for control of Western Europe. In contrast, among the Arian German kingdoms established in the collapsing Western Empire in the 5th century were entirely separate Arian and Nicene Churches with parallel hierarchies, each serving different sets of believers. The Germanic elites were Arians, and the Romance majority population was Nicene.

The Arian Germanic tribes were generally tolerant towards Nicene Christians and other religious minorities, including the Jews.

The apparent resurgence of Arianism after Nicaea was more an anti-Nicene reaction exploited by Arian sympathizers than a pro-Arian development. By the end of the 4th century it had surrendered its remaining ground to Trinitarianism. In Western Europe, Arianism, which had been taught by Ulfilas, the Arian missionary to the Germanic tribes, was dominant among the Goths, Langobards and Vandals. By the 8th century, it had ceased to be the tribes' mainstream belief as the tribal rulers gradually came to adopt Nicene orthodoxy. This trend began in 496 with Clovis I of the Franks, then Reccared I of the Visigoths in 587 and Aripert I of the Lombards in 653.

The Franks and the Anglo-Saxons were unlike the other Germanic peoples in that they entered the Western Roman Empire as Pagans and were converted to Chalcedonian Christianity, led by their kings, Clovis I of the Franks, and Æthelberht of Kent and others in Britain (see also Christianity in Gaul and Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England). The remaining tribes – the Vandals and the Ostrogoths – did not convert as a people nor did they maintain territorial cohesion. Having been militarily defeated by the armies of Emperor Justinian I, the remnants were dispersed to the fringes of the empire and became lost to history. The Vandalic War of 533–534 dispersed the defeated Vandals. Following their final defeat at the Battle of Mons Lactarius in 553, the Ostrogoths went back north and (re)settled in south Austria.

From the 5th to the 7th century
Much of south-eastern Europe and central Europe, including many of the Goths and Vandals respectively, had embraced Arianism (the Visigoths converted to Arian Christianity in 376 through their bishop Wulfila), which led to Arianism being a religious factor in various wars in the Roman Empire. In the west, organized Arianism survived in North Africa, in Hispania, and parts of Italy until it was finally suppressed in the 6th and 7th centuries. Visigothic Spain converted to Nicene Christianity through their king Reccared I at the Third Council of Toledo in 589. Grimoald, King of the Lombards (662–671), and his young son and successor Garibald (671), were the last Arian kings in Europe.

From the 16th to the 19th century
Following the Protestant Reformation from 1517, it did not take long for Arian and other nontrinitarian views to resurface. The first recorded English antitrinitarian was John Assheton, who was forced to recant before Thomas Cranmer in 1548. At the Anabaptist Council of Venice 1550, the early Italian instigators of the Radical Reformation committed to the views of Michael Servetus, who was burned alive by the orders of John Calvin in 1553, and these were promulgated by Giorgio Biandrata and others into Poland and Transylvania.

The antitrinitarian wing of the Polish Reformation separated from the Calvinist ecclesia maior to form the ecclesia minor or Polish Brethren. These were commonly referred to as "Arians" due to their rejection of the Trinity, though in fact the Socinians, as they were later known, went further than Arius to the position of Photinus. The epithet "Arian" was also applied to the early Unitarians such as John Biddle, though in denial of the pre-existence of Christ they were again largely Socinians, not Arians.

In 1683, when Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, lay dying in Amsterdam—driven into exile by his outspoken opposition to King Charles II—he spoke to the minister Robert Ferguson, and professed himself an Arian.

In the 18th century the "dominant trend" in Britain, particularly in Latitudinarianism, was towards Arianism, with which the names of Samuel Clarke, Benjamin Hoadly, William Whiston and Isaac Newton are associated. To quote the Encyclopædia Britannica article on Arianism: "In modern times some Unitarians are virtually Arians in that they are unwilling either to reduce Christ to a mere human being or to attribute to him a divine nature identical with that of the Father."

A similar view was held by the ancient anti-Nicene Pneumatomachi (Greek: Πνευματομάχοι, "breath" or "spirit" and "fighters", combining as "fighters against the spirit"), so called because they opposed the deifying of the Nicene Holy Ghost. Although the Pneumatomachi's beliefs were somewhat reminiscent of Arianism, they were a distinct group.

Today
The teachings of the first two ecumenical councils—which entirely reject Arianism—are held by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East and almost all historic Protestant churches including Lutheran, Reformed (Presbyterian, Continental Reformed, and Congregationalist), Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, and Free Evangelical entirely reject the teachings associated with Arianism.

Modern groups which currently appear to embrace some of the principles of Arianism include Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses. Although the origins of their beliefs are not necessarily attributed to the teachings of Arius, many of the core beliefs of Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses are very similar to them.

Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses are often referred to as "modern-day Arians", usually by their opponents,   although Jehovah's Witnesses themselves have denied these claims. Significant similarities in doctrine include the identification of the Father as the only true God and of Jesus Christ as the first creation of God and the intermediate agent in the creation of all other things. They also deny the personhood of the Holy Spirit, which some Arians historically affirmed. Jehovah's Witnesses exclusively worship and pray to God the Father, or Jehovah, only through Jesus (the Son) as a mediator.

Iglesia ni Cristo
Iglesia ni Cristo's christology has parallels with Arianism in that it affirms that the Father is the only true God and denies the preexistence of Christ. Thus, Iglesia ni Cristo is Socinian rather than Arian in its Christology.

Other Socinian groups
Other Biblical Unitarians such as the Christadelphians and Church of God General Conference are also typically Socinian rather than Arian in their Christology.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches a nontrinitarian theology concerning the nature of the Godhead. Similarities between LDS doctrines and Arianism were alleged as early as 1846. However, there are a number of key differences between Arianism and Latter-day Saint theology. Whereas Arianism is a unitarian Christian form of classical theism, Latter-day Saint theology is a non-trinitarian (but not unitarian) form of Christianity outside of classical theism. Whereas Arianism teaches that God is eternal, was never a man, and could not incarnate as a man, the LDS Church teaches that "God Himself is an exalted man, perfected, enthroned, and supreme." Whereas Arianism denies that humans can become gods, the LDS Church affirms that humans can become gods through exaltation. Whereas Arianism teaches that the Son was created, the LDS Church teaches that he was procreated as a literal spirit child of the Heavenly Father and the Heavenly Mother. Whereas the creation of Christ ex nihilo is a fundamental premise of Arianism, the LDS Church denies any form of creation ex nihilo. Whereas Arianism teaches that God is incorporeal, the LDS Church teaches that God has a tangible body: "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us." Whereas Arianism traditionally taught that God is incomprehensible even to the Son, the LDS Church rejects the doctrine that God is incomprehensible. Whereas Arianism teaches that Christ is ontologically inferior and subordinate to the Father, the LDS Church teaches that Christ is equal in power and glory with the Father. The two should therefore be carefully distinguished; they are more similar in what they deny than in what they affirm.

The LDS Church teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three separate beings united in purpose: "the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost)... are three physically separate beings, but fully one in love, purpose and will", as illustrated in Jesus' Farewell Prayer, his baptism at the hands of John, his transfiguration, and the martyrdom of Stephen. Thus, the church's first Article of Faith states: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." Latter-day Saints believe that the three are collectively "one eternal God" but reject the Nicene definition of the Trinity (that the three are consubstantial). In some respects, Latter-day Saint theology is more similar to Social trinitarianism than to Arianism.

title: Arianism


text:
August 1

Pre-1600

 * 30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.
 * AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.
 * 527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
 * 607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).
 * 902 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabid army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
 * 1203 – Isaac II Angelos, restored Byzantine Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.
 * 1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.
 * 1469 – Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.
 * 1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
 * 1571 – The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus is concluded, by the surrender of Famagusta.

1601–1900

 * 1620 – Speedwell leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.
 * 1664 – Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.
 * 1714 – George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.
 * 1759 – Seven Years' War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.
 * 1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
 * 1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.
 * 1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
 * 1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise (1799) captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.
 * 1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force, although it remains legal in the possessions of the East India Company until the passage of the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.
 * 1834  – Construction begins on the Wilberforce Monument in Kingston Upon Hull.
 * 1842 – The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
 * 1849 – Joven Daniel wrecks at the coast of Araucanía, Chile, leading to allegations that local Mapuche tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped Elisa Bravo.
 * 1855 – The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.
 * 1863 – At the suggestion of Senator J. V. Snellman and the order of Emperor Alexander II, full rights are promised to the Finnish language by a language regulation in the Grand Duchy of Finland.
 * 1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
 * 1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.
 * 1894 – The Empire of Japan and Qing China declare war on each other after a week of fighting over Korea, formally inaugurating the First Sino-Japanese War.

1901–present

 * 1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.
 * 1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot's test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator's certificate.
 * 1914 – World War I: The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire.
 * 1914 – World War I: The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.
 * 1915 – Patrick Pearse gives his famous speech "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace" at O'Donovan Rossa's funeral in Dublin.
 * 1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.
 * 1933 – Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff and August Lütgens are executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.
 * 1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
 * 1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution "Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH" to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.
 * 1943 – World War II: Operation Tidal Wave also known as "Black Sunday", was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.
 * 1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.
 * 1946 – Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.
 * 1950 – Guam is organized as an unincorporated territory of the United States as the President Harry S. Truman signs the Guam Organic Act.
 * 1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
 * 1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.
 * 1960  – Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.
 * 1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation's first centralized military espionage organization.
 * 1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
 * 1965 – Frank Herbert's novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world's best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
 * 1966 – Charles Whitman kills 16 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.
 * 1966  – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
 * 1968 – The coronation of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei, is held.
 * 1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
 * 1974 – Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the "Green Line", dividing Cyprus into two zones.
 * 1976 – Niki Lauda has a severe accident that almost claims his life at the German Grand Prix at Nurburgring.
 * 1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world's first democratically elected female head of state.
 * 1980  – A train crash kills 18 people in County Cork, Ireland.
 * 1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.
 * 1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.
 * 1988 – A British soldier was killed in the Inglis Barracks bombing in London, England.
 * 1993 – The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.
 * 2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.
 * 2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.
 * 2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.
 * 2008  – Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
 * 2017 – A suicide attack on a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan kills 20 people.
 * 2023 – Former US President Donald Trump is indicted for his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, his third indictment in 2023.

Pre-1600

 * 10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)
 * 126 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (d. 193)
 * 845 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 903)
 * 992 – Hyeonjong of Goryeo, Korean king (d. 1031)
 * 1068 – Emperor Taizu of Jin, Chinese emperor (d. 1123)
 * 1313 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (d. 1364)
 * 1377 – Go-Komatsu, Japanese emperor (d. 1433)
 * 1385 – John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (d. 1421)
 * 1410 – John IV, Count of Nassau-Siegen, German count (d. 1475)
 * 1492 – Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, German prince (d. 1566)
 * 1520 – Sigismund II, Polish king (d. 1572)
 * 1545 – Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (d. 1622)
 * 1555 – Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)
 * 1579 – Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1644)

1601–1900

 * 1626 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (d. 1676)
 * 1630 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1673)
 * 1659 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (d. 1734)
 * 1713 – Charles I, German duke and prince (d. 1780)
 * 1714 – Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (d. 1782)
 * 1738 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)
 * 1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (d. 1829)
 * 1770 – William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (d. 1838)
 * 1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)
 * 1779  – Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (d. 1851)
 * 1809 – William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (d. 1836)
 * 1815 – Richard Henry Dana Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1882)
 * 1818 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1889)
 * 1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)
 * 1831 – Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (d. 1918)
 * 1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)
 * 1856 – George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)
 * 1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (d. 1937)
 * 1858  – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1884)
 * 1860 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (d. 1918)
 * 1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
 * 1865 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (d. 1917)
 * 1871 – John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (d. 1969)
 * 1877 – George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (d. 1968)
 * 1878 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1961)
 * 1881 – Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1940)
 * 1885 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
 * 1889 – Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (d. 1979)
 * 1891 – Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1968)
 * 1893 – Alexander of Greece (d. 1920)
 * 1894 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)
 * 1898 – Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (d. 1980)
 * 1899 – Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
 * 1900 – Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (d. 1965)

1901–present

 * 1901 – Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (d. 1925)
 * 1903 – Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1995)
 * 1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)
 * 1907 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
 * 1910 – James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (d. 1974)
 * 1910  – Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
 * 1910  – Gerda Taro, German war photographer (d. 1937)
 * 1911 – Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (d. 1985)
 * 1912 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1979)
 * 1912  – Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (d. 1994)
 * 1912  – Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)
 * 1914 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (d. 1997)
 * 1914  – Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (d. 2015)
 * 1914  – J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
 * 1916 – Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
 * 1916  – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)
 * 1918 – T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (d. 2013)
 * 1919 – Stanley Middleton, English author (d. 2009)
 * 1920 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (d. 1992)
 * 1920  – James Mourilyan Tanner, British paediatric endocrinologist (d. 2010)
 * 1921 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (d. 2009)
 * 1921  – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990)
 * 1922 – Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)
 * 1924 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (d. 2015)
 * 1924  – Frank Havens, American canoeist (d. 2018)
 * 1924  – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
 * 1924  – Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1967)
 * 1925 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (d. 2000)
 * 1926 – George Habash, Palestinian politician, founder of the PFLP (d. 2008)
 * 1926  – George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (d. 2013)
 * 1926  – Hannah Hauxwell, English TV personality (d. 2018)
 * 1927 – María Teresa López Boegeholz, Chilean oceanographer (d. 2006)
 * 1927  – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (d. 2013)
 * 1928 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
 * 1929 – Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress (d. 2018)
 * 1929  – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1979)
 * 1929  – Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (d. 2006)
 * 1930 – Lionel Bart, English composer (d. 1999)
 * 1930  – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (d. 2002)
 * 1930  – Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (d. 1991)
 * 1930  – Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
 * 1930  – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)
 * 1930  – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)
 * 1931 – Ramblin' Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1931  – Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (d. 2016)
 * 1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)
 * 1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)
 * 1933  – Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2019)
 * 1933  – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)
 * 1933  – Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (d. 2012)
 * 1933  – Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (d. 2007)
 * 1934 – John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)
 * 1934  – Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer
 * 1935 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (d. 2014)
 * 1936 – W. D. Hamilton, Egyptian born British biologist, psychologist, and academic (d. 2000)
 * 1936  – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)
 * 1936  – Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic
 * 1937 – Al D'Amato, American lawyer and politician
 * 1939 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (d. 2015)
 * 1939  – Terry Kiser, American actor
 * 1939  – Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (d. 2014)
 * 1939  – Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (d. 2017)
 * 1940 – Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor
 * 1940  – Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire
 * 1940  – Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant
 * 1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)
 * 1941  – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)
 * 1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
 * 1942  – Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1944 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (d. 1998)
 * 1945 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
 * 1946 – Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (d. 2006)
 * 1946  – Rick Coonce, American drummer (d. 2011)
 * 1946  – Richard O. Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
 * 1946  – Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic
 * 1947 – Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author
 * 1947  – Chantal Montellier, French comics creator and artist
 * 1948 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios
 * 1948  – Cliff Branch, American football player (d. 2019)
 * 1948  – David Gemmell, English journalist and author (d. 2006)
 * 1949 – Bettina Arndt, Australian writer and commentator
 * 1949  – Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan
 * 1949  – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)
 * 1949  – Ray Nettles, American football player (d. 2009)
 * 1950 – Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach
 * 1951 – Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2023)
 * 1951  – Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
 * 1951  – Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager
 * 1952 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)
 * 1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1953  – Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author
 * 1954 – Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (d. 2006)
 * 1954  – James Gleick, American journalist and author
 * 1954  – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager
 * 1957 – Anne-Marie Hutchinson, British lawyer (d. 2020)
 * 1957  – Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
 * 1958 – Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2000)
 * 1958  – Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1958  – Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach
 * 1959 – Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
 * 1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter
 * 1960  – Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1962 – Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (d. 2013)
 * 1963 – Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer
 * 1963  – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor (d. 2022)
 * 1963  – John Carroll Lynch, American actor
 * 1963  – Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer
 * 1963  – Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1964 – Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1964  – Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician
 * 1964  – Augusta Read Thomas, American composer, conductor and educator
 * 1965 – Brandt Jobe, American golfer
 * 1965  – Sam Mendes, English director and producer
 * 1966 – James St. James, American club promoter and author
 * 1967 – Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach
 * 1967  – José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter
 * 1968 – Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach
 * 1968  – Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter
 * 1968  – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
 * 1969 – Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager
 * 1969  – Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout
 * 1969  – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist
 * 1970 – Quentin Coryatt, American football player
 * 1970  – David James, English footballer and manager
 * 1970  – Eugenie van Leeuwen, Dutch cricketer
 * 1972 – Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1972  – Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach
 * 1972  – Todd Bouman, American football player and coach
 * 1972  – Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic
 * 1973 – Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach
 * 1973  – Tempestt Bledsoe, American actress
 * 1973  – Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner
 * 1973  – Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer
 * 1974 – Cher Calvin, American journalist
 * 1974  – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (d. 2014)
 * 1974  – Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer
 * 1974  – Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach
 * 1974  – Beckie Scott, Canadian skier
 * 1975 – Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator
 * 1976 – Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
 * 1976  – Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer
 * 1976  – Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer
 * 1976  – David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1976  – Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager
 * 1976  – Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player
 * 1977 – Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
 * 1977  – Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor
 * 1977  – Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player
 * 1977  – Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1977  – Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer
 * 1978 – Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer
 * 1978  – Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete
 * 1978  – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1978  – Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer
 * 1978  – Edgerrin James, American football player
 * 1979 – Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer (d. 2019)
 * 1979  – Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
 * 1979  – Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer
 * 1979  – Grant Wooden, Australian rugby league player
 * 1980 – Mancini, Brazilian footballer
 * 1980  – Romain Barras, French decathlete
 * 1980  – Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer
 * 1981 – Dean Cox, Australian footballer
 * 1981  – Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author
 * 1981  – Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer
 * 1981  – Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer
 * 1981  – Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player
 * 1982 – Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer
 * 1982  – Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter
 * 1983 – Bobby Carpenter, American football player
 * 1983  – Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player
 * 1983  – Julien Faubert, French footballer
 * 1983  – David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete
 * 1984 – Steve Feak, American game designer
 * 1984  – Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist
 * 1984  – Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player
 * 1984  – Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer
 * 1985 – Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player
 * 1985  – Adam Jones, American baseball player
 * 1985  – Cole Kimball, American baseball player
 * 1985  – Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player
 * 1985  – Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer
 * 1985  – Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer
 * 1986 – Damien Allen, English footballer
 * 1986  – Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player
 * 1986  – Andrew Taylor, English footballer
 * 1986  – Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player
 * 1986  – Mike Wallace, American football player
 * 1987 – Iago Aspas, Spanish footballer
 * 1987  – Karen Carney, English women's footballer
 * 1987  – Taapsee Pannu, Indian actress
 * 1987  – Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer
 * 1987  – Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer
 * 1988 – Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer
 * 1988  – Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer
 * 1988  – Nemanja Matić, Serbian footballer
 * 1988  – Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player
 * 1989 – Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player
 * 1989  – Tiffany Young, Korean American singer, songwriter, and actress
 * 1990 – Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player
 * 1990  – Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player
 * 1991 – Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer
 * 1991  – Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer
 * 1992 – Austin Rivers, American basketball player
 * 1992  – Mrunal Thakur, Indian actress
 * 1993 – Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player
 * 1993  – Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer
 * 1993  – Saleh Gomaa, Egyptian footballer
 * 1994 – Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player
 * 1994  – Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer
 * 1995 – Madison Cawthorn, American politician
 * 1996 – Katie Boulter, British tennis player
 * 2001 – Scottie Barnes, American basketball player
 * 2001  – Park Si-eun, South Korean actress
 * 2001  – Ben Trbojevic, Australian rugby league player
 * 2003 – Joseph Sua'ali'i, Australian-Samoan rugby league player

Pre-1600

 * 30 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (b. 83 BC)
 * 371 – Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop and saint (b. 283)
 * 527 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor (b. 450)
 * 690s – Jonatus, abbot and saint
 * 873 – Thachulf, duke of Thuringia
 * 946 – Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, Abbasid vizier (b. 859)
 * 946  – Lady Xu Xinyue, Chinese queen (b. 902)
 * 953 – Yingtian, Chinese Khitan empress (b. 879)
 * 984 – Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester
 * 1098 – Adhemar of Le Puy, French papal legate
 * 1137 – Louis VI, king of France (b. 1081)
 * 1146 – Vsevolod II of Kiev, Russian prince
 * 1227 – Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1179)
 * 1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian archbishop and explorer (b. 1180)
 * 1299 – Conrad de Lichtenberg, Bishop of Strasbourg (b. 1240)
 * 1402 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1341)
 * 1457 – Lorenzo Valla, Italian author and educator (b. 1406)
 * 1464 – Cosimo de' Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1386)
 * 1494 – Giovanni Santi, artist and father of Raphael (b. c. 1435)
 * 1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian and scholar (b. 1493)
 * 1543 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1488)
 * 1546 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1506)
 * 1557 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish archbishop, historian, and cartographer (b. 1490)
 * 1580 – Albrecht Giese, Polish-German politician and diplomat (b. 1524)
 * 1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567)

1601–1900

 * 1603 – Matthew Browne, English politician (b. 1563)
 * 1714 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1665)
 * 1787 – Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1696)
 * 1795 – Clas Bjerkander, Swedish meteorologist, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1735)
 * 1796 – Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet, English colonel and politician (b. 1720)
 * 1797 – Emanuel Granberg, Finnish church painter (b. 1754)
 * 1798 – François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, French admiral (b. 1753)
 * 1807 – John Boorman, English cricketer (b. c. 1754)
 * 1807  – John Walker, English actor, philologist, and lexicographer (b. 1732)
 * 1808 – Lady Diana Beauclerk, English painter and illustrator (b. 1734)
 * 1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (b. 1763)
 * 1851 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (b. 1775)
 * 1863 – Jind Kaur Majarani (Regent) of the Sikh Empire (b. 1817)
 * 1866 – John Ross, American tribal chief (b. 1790)
 * 1869 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1815)
 * 1869  – Peter Julian Eymard, French Priest and Founder Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (b. 1811)

1901–present

 * 1903 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and scout (b. 1853)
 * 1911 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (b. 1852)
 * 1911  – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (b. 1843)
 * 1918 – John Riley Banister, American cowboy and police officer (b. 1854)
 * 1920 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian freedom fighter, lawyer and journalist (b. 1856)
 * 1921 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
 * 1922 – Donát Bánki, Hungarian engineer (b. 1856)
 * 1929 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
 * 1938 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and academic (b. 1862)
 * 1943 – Lydia Litvyak, Soviet lieutenant and pilot (b. 1921)
 * 1944 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (b. 1878)
 * 1957 – Rose Fyleman, English writer and poet (b. 1877)
 * 1959 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (b. 1921)
 * 1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (b. 1908)
 * 1966 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (b. 1941)
 * 1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)
 * 1970 – Frances Farmer, American actress (b. 1913)
 * 1970  – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (b. 1901)
 * 1970  – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
 * 1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (b. 1882)
 * 1973  – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (b. 1893)
 * 1974 – Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian cardinal (b. 1898)
 * 1977 – Francis Gary Powers, American captain and pilot (b. 1929)
 * 1980 – Patrick Depailler, French race car driver (b. 1944)
 * 1980  – Strother Martin, American actor (b. 1919)
 * 1981 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
 * 1981  – Kevin Lynch, Irish Republican, Hunger Striker
 * 1982 – T. Thirunavukarasu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
 * 1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (b. 1937)
 * 1990 – Norbert Elias, German-Dutch sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1897)
 * 1996 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
 * 1996  – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and surgeon (b. 1929)
 * 1998 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-British actress (b. 1927)
 * 2001 – Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974)
 * 2003 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
 * 2003  – Marie Trintignant, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1962)
 * 2004 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (b. 1913)
 * 2005 – Al Aronowitz, American journalist (b. 1928)
 * 2005  – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist and educator (b. 1918)
 * 2005  – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
 * 2005  – Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923)
 * 2006 – Bob Thaves, American illustrator (b. 1924)
 * 2006  – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and activist (b. 1949)
 * 2007 – Tommy Makem, Irish singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1932)
 * 2008 – Gertan Klauber, Czech-English actor (b. 1932)
 * 2008  – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
 * 2009 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (b. 1933)
 * 2010 – Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican-American activist (b. 1919)
 * 2010  – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer (b. 1910)
 * 2012 – Aldo Maldera, Italian footballer and agent (b. 1953)
 * 2012  – Douglas Townsend, American composer and musicologist (b. 1921)
 * 2012  – Barry Trapnell, English cricketer and academic (b. 1924)
 * 2013 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (b. 1922)
 * 2013  – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (b. 1932)
 * 2013  – Babe Martin, American baseball player (b. 1920)
 * 2013  – Toby Saks, American cellist and educator (b. 1942)
 * 2013  – Wilford White, American football player (b. 1928)
 * 2014 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (b. 1973)
 * 2014  – Jan Roar Leikvoll, Norwegian author (b. 1974)
 * 2014  – Charles T. Payne, American soldier (b. 1925)
 * 2014  – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (b. 1955)
 * 2015 – Stephan Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager (b. 1968)
 * 2015  – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (b. 1943)
 * 2015  – Bernard d'Espagnat, French physicist, philosopher, and author (b. 1921)
 * 2015  – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (b. 1939)
 * 2015  – Hong Yuanshuo, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1948)
 * 2016 – Queen Anne of Romania (b. 1923)
 * 2020 – Wilford Brimley, American actor and singer (b. 1934)
 * 2020  – Rickey Dixon, American professional football player (b. 1966)
 * 2020  – Rodney H. Pardey, American poker player (b. 1945)
 * 2021 – Abdalqadir as-Sufi, Scottish Islamic scholar and writer (b. 1930)
 * 2021  – Jerry Ziesmer, American assistant director, production manager and occasional actor (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances

 * Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)
 * Armed Forces Day (China) or Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Liberation Army (People's Republic of China)
 * Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)
 * Emancipation Day is commemorated in many parts of the former British Empire, which marks the day the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 came into effect which abolished chattel slavery in the British Empire:
 * Emancipation Day is a public holiday in Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
 * Christian feast day:
 * Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)
 * Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori
 * Æthelwold of Winchester
 * Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
 * Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder
 * Eusebius of Vercelli
 * Exuperius of Bayeux
 * Felix of Girona
 * Peter Apostle in Chains
 * Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)
 * The Holy Maccabees
 * August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Minden Day (United Kingdom)
 * National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.
 * National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.
 * Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)
 * Parents' Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
 * Statehood Day (Colorado)
 * Swiss National Day (Switzerland)
 * The beginning of autumn observances in the Northern hemisphere and spring observances in the Southern hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year):
 * Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1. (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)
 * Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)
 * Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)
 * Victory Day (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)
 * World Scout Scarf Day
 * Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: August 1