Title: Christology in the 3rd-5th 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 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
- Important Biblical Commentator emphasizing
literal meaning
5Apollinaris Bp. of Laodicea 360-390
- Born in Syrian Laodicea in 315 son of priest and
grammar teacher from Beirut - 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 - 363 Profession of faith with unusual 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. - Died 390
6Athanasius 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. The crucified one is God. - 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 Mother of
God. - 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 in future
controversy, used at Ephesus and Chalcedon.
7Theodore 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. - Defended Julian of Eclanum against Augustine.
8Theodore 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 deathHe
Himself was not tried with the trial of death but
He was near to him. P. 87
9Nestorius 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
10Cyril 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.
11Nestorius
- 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 Ariusfor 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 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.
12Cyril 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 Logos is the God and Master of XC
- Rejects Jesus a man activated or glorified by
Logos - Rejects man should be worshipped along with Logos
- Rejects XC glorified by HS as a foreign power
- Rejects XC as a different high priest than Logos
- XCs Flesh is of the Logos not of another person
Logos suffered, died and rose.
13Cyrils 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 reasonable 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.
14Cyril 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.
15Pope 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 by 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.
16Robber 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.
17Formula 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
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
18Monophysite 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 Henotikon to demand
anathema of Chalcedon. - Severus made Patriarch of Antioch 512AD
19Zenos 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 manhoodhomoousios
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.
20Severus 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 for
communion.
21Restoration 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
22Emperor Justinian On the Right Faith - 551AD
- 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. - 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.
23Council of Constantinople-553AD
- 2. If anyone shall not confess that the Word 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. - 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. - 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.
245th Council on One Person.
- 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.
255th 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.
265th 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.
275th 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.