Bishop Alexander, however, would have none of it. He called a synod at Alexandria about 320, and the assembled churchmen condemned Arius’s teaching and excommunicated the former pastor. Arius turned to his friend, Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, and won his backing. Thus the theological quarrel became a test of strength between the two most important churches in the East: Nicomedia, the political capital, and Alexandria, the intellectual capital. With the backing of his friends, Arius returned to Alexandria, and riots erupted in the streets.
