At the time of Constantine there arose in Alexandria, in Egypt, a heretic by the name of Arius. He taught that Christ was not from eternity, but had a beginning, at the beginning of time, and was consequently a creature. Alexander, the bishop of Arius, defended the faith of the Church, that the Son was true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and One with the Father. Many took sides with Arius, and therefore Constantine called a council or synod of the Church at Nice, in Asia Minor, in the year 325. The Church had at that time eighteen hundred bishops. Of these, three hundred and eighteen met. Athanasius, who took the part of Alexander, especially exerted a great influence on the meeting through his clear exposition of the Word of God and by his great gift as a speaker. After a discussion lasting two months Arius was excommunicated from the Church as a heretic teaching false doctrines. His doctrine nevertheless found adherents for about three hundred years, and even at the present time we meet with them. The Church had to resist other heretics in subsequent times. 3. Mohammed Southeast of Palestine the large peninsula of Arabia is situated. Here lived about the year 600 a man named Mohammed. He was a merchant, who for the sake of commerce visited many countries, and became acquainted with both the Jewish and the Christian religion. He was a clever man, and had great gifts as a speaker. He determined to start a new religion, composed partly of what he had heard and partly of his own inventions. He pretended, perhaps imagined, that the angel Gabriel had appeared to him in a cave, and had instructed him what to teach. His chief doctrine was: There is one God, and Mohammed is his prophet. God had sent many prophets into the world, such as Moses and Christ; but Mohammed was the last and the greatest. He promised his followers a paradise of sensual pleasures. There was at this time a great deal of division in the Church, and no single country was powerful enough to resist the Arabians. At the time of Mohammed’s death he ruled over all of Arabia; and his successors, called Caliphs, conquered many countries in Asia and Africa, and they nearly exterminated Christianity where they came into power. The Arabians penetrated even into Europe, and conquered Spain, where they existed for about eight centuries. The teachings of Mohammed are contained in a book called the Koran. His adherents are called Mohammedans. The Turks are Mohammedans, but have taken the power from the Arabians, and the sultan of Turkey, residing in Constantinople, is the head of the “faithful.” 4. Introduction of Christianity in the North