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How did Arianism remain influential after the Council of Nicaea?

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Christology The Transfiguration, the nature of Jesus as the Son of God being revealed to the apostles Peter, James, and John, mosaic icon, early 13th century; in the Louvre, Paris.

Arianism remained influential after the First Council of Nicaea due to shifting imperial support and its adoption by various Germanic tribes.1

Following the council, the movement persisted as church leaders who supported Arius worked to regain their positions and influence. The controversy was prolonged by imperial politics; for instance, the emperor Constantius II actively promoted Arian Christianity and sought to establish it as the state religion, often exiling orthodox leaders like St. Athanasius. During this period, various church councils issued creeds that attempted to compromise on or reject the Nicene definition of the Son’s divinity.12

Even after the First Council of Constantinople formally proscribed Arianism, the doctrine maintained significant favor among Germanic peoples. These groups, such as the Ostrogoths, practiced Arianism for centuries, with their clergy competing against orthodox institutions until their eventual conversion to "catholic" Christianity by the end of the 7th century.13