Alexandros and Arius"^3 requesting both to agree and make
peace.
The division between the two, however, was too
profound to be soldered by a letter. On his part, Abba
Alexandros, the aged and venerable Pope of Alexandria, was
not the man to forego his Orthodoxy, not even to please an
emperor. He fully realised that the doctrine of Arius was
contrary to the teachings of Christ Himself, who had
declared that He was the Cornerstone on which the Church
reposes. As for Arius, he, too, had shown time and time
again, that he was unwilling to change his stand.
- The bearer of Emperor Constantan’s letter to
Alexandria was Bishop Hosius of Cordova whom he had
appointed as his religious Counsellor.^4 This Bishop had
suffered greatly in the persecutions of Maximinus, and
enjoyed a well-earned reputation for sanctity. He was
destined to play a foremost role in the troubled times that
followed.
By the time he reached Alexandria, Arius had already
left and gone to Palestine. Bishop Hosius concerted with
Abba Alexandros in an attempt to effect a reconciliation.
The Alexandrian Council was convoked for the third time.
After attending it, Hosius realised that Arius was not merely
a dissenter but also a trouble-maker and a heretic. He agreed
with Abba Alexandros that the only solution to this problem
lay in convoking an ecumenical council.
Hosius reported this to Emperor Constantine, who
accepted the idea. Thus it was decided to convoke the first
council of its kind – a council of representatives of all the
Christian churches in existence. The date for its meeting was
fixed for June 14, 325 A.D., and the place, the city of Nicea
a port on the Black Sea.