The Arian controversy was a theological dispute that arose in the early centuries of Christianity, primarily during the 4th century AD. It centered around the nature of Jesus Christ and his relationship to God the Father. Arius, a presbyter in Alexandria, Egypt, proposed a view that became known as Arianism. According to Arius, Jesus Christ, while divine, was a created being and not co-eternal or consubstantial with God the Father. Instead, Arius argued that there was a time when the son did not exist and that he was subordinate to the father.