Ar´ians, the adherents of the Alexandrian presbyter Arius, who, about A.D. 318, promulgated the doctrine that Christ was a created being inferior to God the Father in nature and dignity, though the first and noblest of all created beings; and also that the Holy Spirit is not God, but created by the power of the Son. Arianism has been defined as an attempt to determine the relations of the Persons of the Trinity on a basis of distinction and subordination. It does not seem to have sprung from any strong ethical impulse; its philosophy was pagan, and the object of the leaders political rather than religious. The doctrines were condemned by the Council of Nicæa in 325. Arius died in 336, and after his death his party gained considerable accessions, including several emperors, and for a time held a strong position. Since the middle of the seventh century, however, the Arians have nowhere constituted a distinct sect, although similar opinions have been advanced by various theologians in modern times. The Arian controversy was revived in England during the eighteenth century by William Whiston and Dr. Samuel Clarke.—Bibliography: H. M. Gwatkin, Studies of Arianism; J. H. Newman, Arians of the Fourth Century; J. H. Colligan, Arian Movement in England.
Arica (a˙-rē´ka˙), a seaport of Chile, 30 miles S. of Tacna; previous to 1880 it belonged to Peru. It has suffered frequently from earthquakes, being in 1868 almost entirely destroyed, part of it being also submerged by an earthquake wave. Pop. about 4000. It has a wireless station.
Arica. See Tacna-Arica Dispute.
Arichat (-shat´), a seaport town and fishing station of Nova Scotia, on a small bay, south coast of Madame Island. Pop. about 2500.
Ariège (a˙-rē-āzh), a mountainous department of France, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, comprising the ancient countship of Foix and parts of Languedoc and Gascony. The principal rivers are the Ariège, Arize, and Salat, tributaries of the Garonne. Sheep and cattle are reared; the arable land is small in quantity. Chief town, Foix. Area, 1892 sq. miles. Pop. (1921), 172,851.
A´riel, a symbolic name for Jerusalem in the Old Testament; in the demonology of the later Jews a spirit of the waters. In Shakespeare's Tempest, Ariel was the "tricksy spirit" whom Prospero had in his service.
Aries (ā´ri-ēz; Lat.), the Ram, a northern constellation. It is the first of the twelve signs of the zodiac, which the sun enters at the vernal equinox, about the 21st of March. The "First Point in Aries" is where the equator cuts the ecliptic in the ascending node, from which point the right ascensions of heavenly bodies are reckoned on the equator, and their longitudes upon the ecliptic. Owing to the precession of the equinoxes the sign Aries no longer corresponds with the constellation Aries, which it did 2000 years ago.
Ar´il, or Aril´lus, in some plants, as in the nutmeg, an extra covering of the seed, outside of the true seed-coats, proceeding from the placenta, partially investing the seed, and falling off spontaneously. It is either succulent or cartilaginous, coloured, elastic, rough, or knotted. In the nutmeg it is known as mace.