Copyright © By Dr. Adel Elsaie, Book Title: "Please Revise the Bible, Again"

3.6 Monarchianism

 

Monarchianism derives from the Greek word (mono - "one"; archia - "rule") meaning "uniqueness of first principle” that developed in the second century CE.  It arose as an attempt to maintain Monotheism and refute Trinity. The term monarchia was used by Christians who were concerned that certain interpretations of the doctrine of the Trinity were inconsistent with true monotheism. They sought to explain the person of Jesus in such a way that it preserved the unity of God

 

Monarchianism emerged in Asia Minor and came to Rome in about 190. It was divided into two groups. The first group, sometimes described as Dynamic monarchians, was led by Theodotus of Byzantium and Paul of Samosata a bishop of Antioch in Syria around 260 AD.  They believed that Jesus was a man, born of the Virgin Mary and they taught that the holy spirit was a force or presence of God the Father.  Present day groups in this category are the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the Unitarians.  Additionally, some ancient dynamic monarchianists were also known as Adoptionists who taught that Jesus was tested by God and after passing this test and upon his baptism; he was granted supernatural powers by God and adopted as the son. 

 

The second group is called Modal Monarchianism, led by Noetus of Smyrna, claimed that there was no difference between the Father and the Son. It was God the Father who was born of the Virgin Mary and suffered on the cross. Modal Monarchianism teaches that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are just modes of the single person who is God.  In other words, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not simultaneous and separate persons, but consecutive modes of one person.  Praxeas, a priest from Asia Minor, taught this in Rome around 200 CE.  Modern groups in this general category are the United Pentecostal and United Apostolic Churches.  However, the present day modalists maintain that God's name is Jesus.  They also require baptism "in Jesus' name" not "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit" for salvation.

 

The Ecumenical Councils of Church in the fourth century rejected their views and adopted the distinctness of the persons of the Trinity.

 

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