Question:
Answer:
Adoptionists claim Jesus was merely a man God adopted and made to be his divine Son (hence the term) but that he is not eternal with the Father. Paul of Samosata first held this view, and he was promptly deposed from his bishopric by a local synod of seventy clerics. However, Paul was backed by the powerful Queen of Zenobia, who ruled the Palmyrene Empire that stretched across Egypt, Judea, Edessa, and Antioch, and he refused to give up his rule.
His fortunes changed in A.D. 272 when the Roman Emperor Aurelian conquered the Palmyrene Empire, which resulted in the first destruction of the library of Alexandria (something for which Christians are often erroneously blamed). Aurelian was then petitioned to adjudicate the case involving Paul. Eusebius says he deferred to the judgment of the Church in Rome, which is evidence that even secular authorities understood the primacy of the successor of St. Peter and the authority he possessed. Paul of Samosata was deposed.