Title: Christology in the 3rd5th Councils
1Christology in the 3rd-5th Councils
- By Prof J Macdonald June 2007
2Arius and Julian
- Human attributes as proofs of lack of Divinity.
- For Arius Christs birth, human weakness, and
death are indications that he is not fully divine - For Julian, Christs death shows the Logos is not
Divine. He suggests that Diodore tries to argue
the two are separate.
3Origen on First Principles
- Origen of Alexandria and Caeseria 195-253AD
- Logos assumes the unfallen Christ nous
- His conception offered an answer to Arius and
Julian, but effectively split Christ into two
people.
4Diodore Bp. Of Tarsus
- Prominent Priest in Antioch 360s-370s
- Opposed Julian the Apostate
- Supported Pat. Meletius when exiled by
Constantius and Valens. - Bp. Of Tarsus 378
- Prominent at Council 381
- Emphasized separation of Christ and Logos
- Conflict with Apollinaris
- Writings only preserved in fragments
- Important Biblical Commentator emphasizing
literal meaning
5Diodore of Tarsus - text
- We will not allow ourselves to be misled into
believing that the God Logos suffered. It was
rather the child of Mary to whom sonship was
granted, the temple of the God-Logos, who was
destroyed by the Jews from which however, the one
who lived therein arose.
6Apollinaris Bp. of Laodicea 360-390
- 346 Excommunicated by Arians for supporting
Athanasius. - 360 chosen Old Nicean bp. Of Laodicea allied with
Paulinus of Antioch against Meletius - Rewrote OT and NT with father in classical style
when Julian forbids Christians to teach the pagan
classics. Wrote refutation of Porphyry (lost) and
response to Julian. - Attacked separation of Christ into two people
(Logos and XC nous) by making the Logos the soul
of Christ. - 362 to synod of Alexandria disagreement with
Athanasius over Christology - 374 Teacher of Jerome in Antioch, ally of Basil
- 377 at Rome, 379 Antioch, 381 Constantinople, and
382 Rome councils condemn Apollianaris doctrine.
Attacked by Gregory of Nyssa 382 and Diodore of
Tarsus - Apollinaris and his disciples writings survived
under names of fathers. - One incarnate nature introduced under name of
Athanasius.
7Athanasius and Gregory Nazianzus
- Tomus of Alexandrian council of 362AD tries to
reconcile those of Apollinarin and Diodoran
parties by rejecting 2 persons and soulless
Christ. - 372AD Athanasius responds to conflict of
Apollinarin and Diodoran parties in pro-Nicean
synod in Achaea. - Letter to Epictetus condemns division of Christ
into two. - Who are they who have been so reckless as to say
that Christ who suffered in the flesh and was
crucified is not Lord, Savior, God, and Son of
the Father. - 383AD Gregory condemns both Diodoran and
Apollinaran postions in letter to Cledonius - Christ is one thing and another thing, not one
person and another person, Mary is Theotokos. - What is not assumed is not healed
- Logos exists as a human soul does not assume a
separate human person. - These letters become the canonical texts in the
future controversy, used at Ephesus and Chalcedon.
8Theodore Bp. of Mopsuestia fl.383-428
- Student of Diodore. Teacher of Nestorius
- Chrysostoms fellow student of Libanius and
monastic. - Bp. Of Mopsuestia 392-428
- Anti-Eunomian
- Anti-Apollinarian The assumer and the assumed,
On the Incarnation c. 390 - In catechetical lectures and commentary on John
he presents a two subject Christology but tries
to soften Diodoran 2 sons, by arguing for a union
in one prosopon, so we speak of one Son. - Logos is not the one who suffers.
- The man Jesus is worshiped due to his close
association with the Logos. - Modern controversy over reliability of Greek
extracts versus Persian Syriac translations.
However, overall writings support criticisms of
his two subject Christology.
9Theodore of Mopsuestia Texts
- On the Incarnation c. 390AD
- Since (the one who was assumed) had already been
found worthy of the union, he obtained all that
could properly be obtained by a man united to the
Only Begotten and Ruler of the universe, and was
counted worthy of higher gifts than the rest of
humanity as the endowment of the union came to be
his. Fragment 6 Book 7 - When we speak of the nature of God the Word as
complete and of his person as complete (for there
is no hypostasis without its person). Moreover,
the nature of the man is complete, and likewise
his person. But when we consider the union, then
we speak of one person. Fragment 7 book 8 - On the Nicene Creed
- he constantly receives adoration from all
creation because of his close union with God the
Word. p 54 - Paulis speaking of Christ who is from the Jews
according to the flesh and that he is naming
neither the nature of the Godhead of the Only
Begotten, nor God the Word who was from the
beginning p. 64 - It was not Divine nature which received death,
but it is clear that it was that man who was
assumed as a temple to God the Word p.66 - They rightly ascribed the sentence to judge the
living and the dead to the prosopon of the man
who was assumed on our behalf so that they should
show us the honor that came to the temple of God
the Word. P. 80 - He will come again through the same man who has
been assumed , because of the ineffable union
that that man had with God p. 81 - Apart from God he tasted death for every man as
translation of Heb 29 p. 86 - The Godhead was separated from the one who was
suffering in the trial of death, because it was
impossible for him to taste the trial of death
He Himself was not tried with the trial of death
but He was near to him. P. 87
10Nestorius Pat. Of Cpol 428-431
- Becomes Patriarch of Cpol in 428
- Suggests Christotokos, condemns Theotokos
(429) and initiates violence against his critics.
- 430 Nestorius has bishop anathematize use of
Theotokos. - Cyril writes in defense of Theotokos
- Nestorius deposes his opponents in Constantinople
as heretics - Nestorius 2nd Letter to Cyril objects to Divine
Person Suffering. - Nestorius asks for a council to try Cyril despite
John of Antiochs recommendation to compromise. - August 430 Roman synod condemns Nestorius,
November Alexandrian Synod condemns Nestorius. - Cyrils 3rd letter to Nestorius contains 12
anathemas. - Cyrils anathemas attacked by Anderew of Samosata
and Theodoret of Cyrus as Apollinarian, esp. 12. - 431 Council in Ephesus condemns Nestorius,
Convocation under John of Antioch condemns Cyril. - 431 Colloquy after council condemns Nestorius and
absolves Cyril and John of heresy
11Cyril 2nd Letter to Nestorius 430AD
- Ch.3 We affirm that the Logos united to Himself
according to hypostasis, flesh ensouled with a
rational soul and became man, and He was called
the Son of Man, not by mere favor or goodwill,
nor as in the assumption of mere appearance
(prosopon), and that on the one hand the natures
that came together to form a true unity are
different, but from them is one Christ and Son,
not that the differences are taken away through
the union - Ch.4 Thus it is said He was born and existed
before the ages from the Father and was born
according to the flesh from a woman - Ch. 5 Thus we say He suffered and resurrected,
not as if God the Logos suffered blows, piercing
of nails, or other wounds in His own nature (for
Divinity is impassible, because it is also
bodiless) but since what became His own body
suffered these things, again He is said to suffer
Himself on our behalf for the impassible one
suffered in the body - Ch. 7 This is why the Holy Fathers called the
Holy Virgin Theotokos, not as if the nature of
the Logos or His Divinity received the beginning
of its existence from the Holy Virgin, but
because of the rationally ensouled holy body
being born from her to which the Logos was united
by hypostasis He is said to be born in the flesh.
12Nestorius
- 2nd Letter to Cyril 430AD
- Ch. 6 For the Logos whom you first called
impassible and not in need of a second birth you
later introduced as passible and recently born,
as if the natural properties of God the Logos
were removed by His conjunction with the Temple - Ch.7 Christs birth and the sufferings are not
passed down to us as if they applied to the
Divinity but to the humanity. Thus the Holy
Virgin should be called the Christotokos not
Theotokos Obviously God the Logos was not the
Son of David - to attribute to the Divinitythe properties of
the flesh that is associated with it, birth,
suffering and death, is either the error of
paganism or from a spirit sick with the madness
of Apollinaris and Arius for this notion must
say that the incarnation results in God the Logos
nursing, growing, fearing the passion, needing
help from an angel, not to mention circumcision,
sacrifice, sweating, hunger,all of these things
if they are attributed to Divinity are merely
lies - Quaternion 16 I worship the one who submitted to
death along with the Deity in so far as he is a
cooperator with the divine majesty. - For it was not God himself who was fashioned
within a mothernor God who was buried in a
tombbut since God was in the one assumed, the
assumed man was conjoined to the one who assumed
him, thus he is called God along side of him. - At Council of Ephesus 431AD Nestorius refused to
identify the hypostasis of the Son as the subject
of Christ. Also said It is not possible to call
the baby Jesus God.
13Cyril of Alexandria-3rd Letter to Nestorius 12
anathemas Nov. 430
- Mary is Theotokos
- Logos hypostatically united with flesh
- Rejects XC as conjunction of hypostases, vs. one
natural union - Rejects sayings divided between 2 hypostases and
2 prosopons - Rejects God bearing man (later authors prefer
man-bearing God) - Rejects Jesus a man activated or glorified by
Logos - Rejects man should be worshipped along with
Logos - Christs Flesh is of the Logos not of another
person Logos suffered, died and rose.
14Cyril of Alexandria - anathemas
- 1. If anyone does not confess Emmanuel to be
truly God and thus the holy virgin Theotokos,
because she gave birth in the flesh to the Logos
of God become flesh, let him be anathema. - 11. If anyone does not confess the life-giving
flesh of the Lord in the eucharist (see ch. 7)
to be that of the Logos of God the Father
Himself, but rather as that of some other person
joined to Him by worthiness or only as having a
Divine indwellinglet him be anathema. - 12 If anyone does not confess that the Logos of
God suffered in the flesh and tasted of death in
the flesh and became the firstborn from the dead,
just as He is life and lifegiving as God, let him
be anathema.
15Cyrils Letter to John of Antioch-433AD
- Ch. 5 - We confess our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Only-begotten Son of God, perfect God and perfect
man of a rational soul and body, born before the
ages according to Divinity and in these last days
for us and our salvation from the Virgin Mary
according to his humanity. He is homoousios with
the Father according to Divinity and homoousios
with us according to humanity. For there was a
union of two physes on account of which we
confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord - We confess that the Holy Virgin is the Theotokos
because God the Logos became incarnate and was
made man and from this conception united to
Himself the temple taken from her.
16Cyril 1st Letter to Succensus - c. 435AD
- Ch.7 Theoretically speaking, only as appears to
the eyes of the soul, concerning the manner of
the incarnation of the Only Begotten, we say that
two physes were united but there is only one
Christ and Son and Lord, the Logos of God made
man and incarnate. - We can take as our example the synthesis which
makes us men. For we are composed of body and
soul and we see two natures, one of the body and
another of the soul, but there is one man from
the union of both.
17Robber Council -449AD
- 448AD in opposition to Theodoret of Cyrus
Archimandrite Eutyches denies the survival of the
human nature after the union. - Eutyches is condemned by Pat. Flavian of
Constantinople and appealed to Rome. - Flavian and Theodoret are condemned and Flavian
dies of beating at 2nd Council of Ephesus in
449AD under Dioscurus Pat. of Alexandria who
suppresses Leos Tome. - 450AD Emperor Theodosius II dies. A new council
is called by Emperor Marcian. - 451AD Council of Chalcedon deposes Dioscorus,
restores Flavian and Theodoret, accepts Leos
Tome and constructs a new formula that combines
Cyrils and Leos terminology.
18Pope Leos Tome to Flavian 449AD
- Ch.3 Therefore the properties of both natures
and substances that have come together in one
person are preserved so that Christ Jesus might
from one element be capable of dying and from the
other incapablethe Creator and Lord of
everything willed to be among mortalsfor without
defect each nature retains its property - Ch.4 - The Son of God descending from his seat in
heaven enters this lower worldbecause He who in
His own sphere is invisible became visible in
ours The impassible God did not disdain to be
passible Man, and the immortal One to be
subjected to the laws of death - For each form does the acts which belong to it in
communion with the other the Word performing
what belongs to the Word and the flesh carrying
out what belongs to the flesh one of them shines
with miracles the other succumbs to injuriesit
does not belong to the same natureto be
transfixed with nails, and to open the gates of
paradise.. - Ch.5 Accordingly on account of this unity of
Person which is to be understood as existing in
both the natures, we read the Son of Man came
down from heaven the Son of God is said to have
been crucified that the properties of the Divine
and the human nature might be acknowledged to
remain in him without causing a division.
19Formula of Chalcedon-451AD
- Following the Holy Fathers we teach one and the
same Son our Lord Jesus Christ,complete in
humanity and complete in Divinity, truly God and
truly man, of a reasonable soul and body,
homoousios with the Father in Divinity and
homoousios with us in humanity, similar to us in
everything except sin, born before the ages from
the father in Divinity, but born in these last
days for us and our salvation from the virgin
Mary the Theotokos in humanity. One and the same
Lord Christ, the only begotten son, is known in
two physes unconfusedly, unchangeably,
undividedly, inseparably nothing of the
distinction of natures taken away through the
union, but rather the property of each physis is
preserved and is gathered together in one
prosopon and one hypostasis, not being
distinguished or divided into two prosopons
20Monophysite Schism
- After Chalcedon many Eastern Cyrillians reject
Chalcedon as favoring Nestorius doctrines as
West supports Theodoret and opponents of Cyril. - 482AD Emperor Zeno endorses Henotikon based on
theology of Cyril which unites East but is
rejected by Rome. - 511AD Emperor Anastasius, as a result of war with
Persia, gradually abandons the Henotikon to
demand anathema of Chalcedon. - Severus made Patriarch of Antioch 512AD
21Zenos Henotikon 482AD
- Affirms Ephesus I (omits Ephesus II and
Chalcedon) - Condemns Nestorius and Eutyches
- Accepts the 12 anathemas of Cyril
- We confess that the only begotten Son of God,
himself God, who truly assumed manhoodis
homoousios with the Father in respect to His
Divinity and with us in respect to humanity that
He descended and became incarnate of the
Theotokos, is one and not two for we affirm
both his miracles and the sufferingsare those of
a single person. qualifying Tome
22Severus Pat. Of Antioch 512-518AD Letter Count
Oecumenius
- We do not anathematize those who confess the
properties of the natures of which the one Christ
consists, but those who separate the properties,
and apportion them to each nature apart and He
is divided by the fact that they speak of two
natures after the union, with the natures which
have been cut asunder into a duality and
separated into a distinct diversity go the
operations and properties as the words of Leos
impious letter state in what he said the Word
doing what belongs to the Word and the body doing
what belongs to the body. - Comes to require anathema of Chalcedon as basis
for communion.
23Restoration of Chalcedon and attempts are reunion.
- Justin becomes Emperor in 518 deposes Severus and
restores communion with Rome. - Development of Neo-Chalcedonian Theology
emphasizing the agreement of Cyril and Chalcedon
Nephalius, John the Grammarian, John of
Scythopolis - Justinian attempts to reunite Monophysites with
Chalcedon based on Cyril. - 519AD Scythian monks one of the Holy Trinity
suffered for us, finally accepted by Pope John
II in 533AD - Colloquy in 533 encourages possible reunion
- 536 Condemnation of Anthimus and Severus
following controversy over Christs ignorance
leads to their condemnation of Leos doctrine of
two activities in Christ. - Justinian condemns three chapters Theodore of
Mopsuestia and anti Cyril writings of Theodoret
and Ibas in 544. - Justinian writes On the Right Faith in 551AD
- Justinian Calls 5th Ecumenical Council in
Chalcedon 553AD
24Scythian Monk John Maxentius c. 518ADWritings
against Nestorianism
- Surely this is the cause of your
errorunderstanding nature and person to be the
same and believing nature never able to be
without a personyou always preach two natures as
two persons. Adv Nest Dial I Ch.12 - I do not say that the divinity suffers but that
God suffered everything in the fleshbecause
Christ who suffered is without doubt God. Adv
Nest. Dial II. Ch.9 - If someone does not agree to confess Christ one
of the Holy Trinity, even with His own flesh who
has suffered for us in the flesh, , let him be
anathema. (Anath.4) - If someone says God was not made Christ, but
Christ was made God, let him be anathema.
(Anath.7)
25Paul of Nisibis Professor of Aristotle and
later Metropolitan at School of Nisibisfrom
Dialogue of Justinian and Paul of Nisibis 532 or
562
- Ch. 10 If Christ possesses subsistence in His
Divine nature, and subsistence in His human
nature, then a subsistence plus a subsistence
makes two subsistences. Therefore Christ has two
hypostases and two natures. - Ch. 16 every hypostasis is known according to its
nature. And every nature which exists is known
and seen by sensation, perception, and the
contemplation of the mind in its own hypostasis.
26Leontius of Jerusalem and Justinian2 Natures
exist in one Person
- the humanity of the Lord never existed alone, nor
was distinct from the hypostasis of the Word. For
we say the humanity of the Savior subsisted in
the hypostasis of the Word from the beginning,
and never subsisted on its own." Leontius of
Jerusalem Dialogue with Nestorians II.14 - 11. Christ does not have two hypostases as He
has two natures, because His humanity is not
numbered and counted with Him as having its own
particular hypostasis, because it is truly His
own and not that of another man. But we know one
hypostasis of God the Word, which contains in
itself the two existent natures of His Divinity
and His humanity. Justinian Dialogue with Paul
of Nisibis (532 or 561 AD)
27Emperor Justinian On the Right Faith - 551AD
- Formula of Union We confess the Divine
Logoswho was begotten of the Father in a
timeless mannerin these last days for us and for
our salvation came down from heaven and was
incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the holy
glorious Theotokosand was born of her. He is the
Lord Jesus Christ, One of the Holy Trinity
homoousios to God the Father in His Divinityand
homoousios to us in his humanity. - Theopaschite formula The same one in His flesh
is passible and in his Divinity impassible. For
He who took upon Himself suffering and death is
not someone other than the Logos, but the
impassible and eternal Logos of God Himself
submitted to being born in human flesh, and He
accomplished all things. Wherefore we do not
believe that the Divine Logos who performed is
one and the Christ who endured the passion
another, but we confess that our Lord Jesus
Christ in one and the same Divine Logos of God
who was incarnate and became man, and both
miracles and the Passion are His which he
voluntarily bore in the flesh.
28Council of Constantinople-553AD
- Cyril 2. If anyone shall not confess that the
Logos of God has two nativities, the one from all
eternity of the Father, without time and without
body the other in these last days, coming down
from heaven and being made flesh of the holy and
glorious Mary, Theotokos and always a virgin, and
born of her let him be anathema. - Qualifying Leo 3. If anyone shall say that the
wonder-working Word of God is one Person and
the Christ that suffered another but that he
was not one and the same our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Word of God, incarnate and made man, and that
his miracles and the sufferings which of his own
will he endured in the flesh were not of the same
Person let him be anathema. - Chalcedon 4. If anyone shall say that the union
of the Word of God to man was only according to
grace or energy, or dignity, or equality of
honour speaking thus clearly of two persons, and
only designating disingenuously one Person and
one Christ when the reference is to his honour,
or his dignity, or his worship if anyone shall
not acknowledge as the Holy Fathers teach, that
the union of God the Word is made synthetically
and hypostatically, and that therefore there is
only one Person, to wit our Lord Jesus Christ,
one of the Holy Trinity let him be anathema.
295th Council on One Person.
- Chalcedon 5. If anyone understands the expression
"one only Person of our Lord Jesus Christ" in
this sense, that it is the union of many
hypostases, and if he attempts thus to introduce
into the mystery of Christ two hypostases, or two
Persons, and, after having introduced two
persons, speaks of one Person only out of
dignity, honour or worship, as both Theodorus and
Nestorius insanely have written if anyone shall
slander the holy Council of Chalcedon, pretending
that it made use of this expression one
hypostasis in this impious sense, and if he will
not recognize rather that the Word of God is
united with the flesh hypostatically, and that
therefore there is but one hypostasis or one only
Person, and that the holy Council of Chalcedon
has professed in this sense the one Person of our
Lord Jesus Christ let him be anathema. For since
one of the Holy Trinity has been made man, that
is, God the Word, the Holy Trinity has not been
increased by the addition of another person or
hypostasis.
305th Council on Theotokos
- 6. If anyone shall not truly, but only falsely,
call the holy, glorious, and ever-virgin Mary,
the Theotokos, or shall call her so only in a
relative sense, believing that she bare only a
simple man and that God the word was not
incarnate of her, but that the incarnation of God
the Word resulted only from the fact that he
united himself to that man who was born of her
if he shall calumniate the Holy Synod of
Chalcedon as though it had asserted the Virgin to
be Theotokos according to the impious sense of
Theodore or if anyone shall call her
anthropotokos or Christotokos, as if Christ were
not God, and shall not confess that she is
exactly and truly the Theotokos, because that God
the Word who before all ages was begotten of the
Father was in these last days made flesh and born
of her, and if anyone shall not confess that in
this sense the holy Synod of Chalcedon
acknowledged her to be the Theotokos let him be
anathema.
315th Council in 2 natures and from 2 natures
- 7. If anyone using the expression, "in two
natures," does not confess that our one Lord
Jesus Christ has been revealed in the divinity
and in the humanity but shall take the
expression so as to divide the elements, or
does not content himself with taking in a
theoretical manner the difference of the natures
which compose Him but shall make use of the
number two to divide the natures or to make of
them Persons properly so called let him be
anathema. - 8. If anyone uses the expression "of two
natures," confessing that a union was made of the
Godhead and of the humanity, or the expression
"the one nature made flesh of God the Word," and
shall not so understand those expressions as the
holy Fathers have taught, that is that of the
divine and human nature there was made an
hypostatic union, whereof is one Christ but from
these expressions shall try to introduce one
nature or substance made by a mixture of the
Godhead and manhood of Christ let him be
anathema. - Wherefore there is one Christ, both God and man,
homoousios with the Father as touching his
Godhead, and homoousios with us as touching his
manhood. Therefore they are equally condemned and
anathematized by the Church of God, who divide or
part the mystery of the divine dispensation of
Christ, or who introduce confusion into that
mystery.
325th Council Theopaschite and Theodore
- 10. If anyone does not confess that our Lord
Jesus Christ who was crucified in the flesh is
true God and the Lord of Glory and one of the
Holy Trinity let him be anathema. - 12. If anyone defends the impious Theodore of
Mopsuestia, who has said that the Word of God is
one person, but that another person is Christ,
vexed by the sufferings of the soul and the
desires of the flesh, . And, again, this same
impious Theodore has also said that the union of
God the Word with Christ is like to that which,
according to the doctrine of the Apostle, exists
between a man and his wife, "They twain shall be
in one flesh." If, then, anyone shall defend
this most impious Theodore and his impious
writings, in which he vomits the blasphemies
mentioned above, and countless others besides
let him be anathema.
33Justinian one hypostatic will and activity of
the Logos
- Rather, the humanity was known from the womb in
the unity of God the Word. Also the humanity is
not seen or known as properly having its own
hypostatic activity and operation. For the Only
Begotten Son took it and willed that by it He
become man, of His own strength, will, activity,
and ruling of every hypostatic operation which in
the economy is perfected. Also the constitution
of a human body in the womb of the virgin was not
for a human hypostasis of a certain man, but in
order that by it the economy and revelation of
God the Word would be accomplished for us On
account of this His body is named completely His,
because it is of His hypostasis by union, and
there is not another man who is known separately
in His own hypostasis. Dial with Paul of Nisibis
ch. 15. (532 or 561AD)