1. Apollinaris of Laodicea (C. 310–390)
The Union of Divinity and Humanity in Christ (Logos-sarx/Monophysite)
Apolinaris the Younger was bishop of Laodicea in Syria.
Apollinaris is best known as a strong opponent of Arianism, and was an
important ally and partner of Athanasius in this regard. Apollinaris's
preference for emphasizing the divinity of Jesus and the unity of his person
led him to deny the existence of a human rational soul (i.e., nous, "mind")
in the human nature of Christ. Mind or nous, Apollinaris argues, was replaced
in Jesus by the Logos, so that his body was a glorified and spiritualized form
of humanity. The Logos became flesh in Christ by the union of the Divine
Intellect and the human body (not the mind); therefore it is a Logos-sarx
connection. In contrast, the orthodox position emphasized that Jesus Christ
took on human nature in its entirety, including the nose, because only then
could he be the Redeemer.
This extreme form of Monophysitism is actually a variation of
Docetism in the sense that if the divinity were to sway humanity without
limitation, there would be no real possibility of human error or real progress
in the humanity of Jesus Christ. This position was therefore condemned by a number
of synods, and especially by the Council of Constantinople in 381.
Nevertheless, Apollinaris made a lasting contribution to orthodox theology when
he declared that Christ is homoousios (of one essence) with the Father in terms
of his divinity and in a sense homoousios with us regarding his humanity. After
debate and clarification, this formula became official church teaching at the
Council of Chalcedon in 451.
2. Cappadoceans:
Basil of Caesarea and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus and his
brother Gregory of Nyssa are known as the Cappadocian Fathers. They come from
the Roman province of Cappadocia, which became modern Turkey. They shared a
common ambition to integrate Christianity with all that was good in classical
culture. They were known for their opposition to Arianism and their Trinitarian
teachings. They combined the Nicene belief that the Father and the Son are
homoousios (one substance) and Origen's belief that the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit are three hypostases (beings). They answered the objection, What does it
really mean to say that God is one substance in three hypostases? Basil saw the
distinction between substance and hypostases as that between the universal and
the particular. For example, the difference between humanity and the individual.
Each individual person is made up of the common essence of humanity. In the
same way, each of the three divine hypostases is the common substance of the
deity. With God, substance refers to that which is common to all, such as
goodness, divinity, or other attributes; while hypostasis is seen in the
special characteristic of Fatherhood, Sonship, or the three hypostases as
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
In addition to Arianism, they also argued against the Macedonians
who affirmed the deity of the Son but failed to hold the Holy Spirit as a
deity. Basil responded and affirmed the deity of the Holy Spirit without
overtly calling him God. Gregory of Nazianzus, who survived Basel, explicitly
affirmed and called the Holy Spirit as God. Another heresy that the Georges
(George of Nyssa and George of Nazianzus) had to deal with was Apollinism.
Apollinaris denied that Jesus had a human soul and mind. To this, Gregory
replied that Jesus Christ must be fully human in order to fully save us. The
Cappadocian Fathers thus significantly contributed to the interpretation of the
Trinitarian concept of their time.
3. Antiochene-Alexandrian
Debate: Cyril of Alexandria to Chalcedonian definition
Cyril of Alexandria: he was known for his dispute with Nestorius
(Nestorianism). Nestorius belongs to the Antiochene school of thought about the
person of Jesus Christ. This means he followed a "Word man" approach.
He taught that there are two distinct persons in Jesus Christ. He saw the man
in whom God the Word dwells. He also denied that the Virgin Mary was the
Theotokos, meaning Mother of God. It was the man Jesus. It represents an
extreme Antiochene Christology that emphasized the humanity of Jesus Christ.
The dispute began in AD 438 when Nestorius objected to the Virgin Mary's title theotokos
(Theotokos or Mother of God). He objected: God cannot have a mother; and surely
therefore no creature could form a member of the Godhead. That sounds logical
to him. That's why Mary couldn't stand God. She simply gave birth to a man (not
God) who was a vehicle for God. God simply could not be conceived for nine
months in his mother's womb. He could not suffer, die and be buried (God cannot
die or undergo all the stages of death). Against this position Cyril opposed
Nestorius because Nestorius held that the man Jesus became divine at some point
in his life after birth, or probably at baptism.
Nestorius' opinion was condemned by the Synod of Rome and finally
condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. He was deposed and exiled to
Egypt and died in 451 AD. After the Council of Ephesus, a document was produced
that was an attempt to bring about healing in the church. This was initiated by
the Oriental bishops (Antiochene) who supported Nestorius at the Council of
Ephesus. So John of Antioch sent the document to Cyril of Alexandria. Cyril
adopted a compromise formula in AD 433. In the Confession of Unity, the
Antiochene and Alexandrian views were drawn to reconciliation. Here the term
Theotokos was admitted and the union of two natures (Christ's divine and human)
was emphasized instead of union. But neither side was satisfied. As a result,
after the death of Cyril, all those who were dissatisfied with the compromise
agreement of 433 AD and who rejected the idea of two natures in Jesus made
Eutyches their status symbol.
Eutyches affirmed that the Lord Jesus Christ had two natures
before the incarnation, but after the incarnation both natures merged into one
divine nature. So Christ has only one nature, the divine nature. Eutyches
"one divine nature" denied the fully divine and fully human nature of
Christ. This led to a formal discussion that culminated in the condemnation and
excommunication of Eutyches. But in 445 AD, a meeting of the Council of Ephesus
restored Eutychus and declared him Orthodox, thanks to the support of Emperor
Theodosius II. But not many years after that Theodosius died in 350 and the
following year in 451 the Council of Chalcedon was called.
The Council of Chalcedon was called by Emperor Marian to settle
the affairs of Eutyches. It met in October 451 and came to be regarded as the
Fourth Ecumenical Council. It was the most important council with regard to the
Christian doctrine of the person of Jesus Christ. Both confusion and separation
were rejected at Chalcedon. The definition of the Kadıköy school is as follows:
"Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only Son perfect in God and perfect in man,
he is true God and true man, he has a mind and a body, He is the same as God,
His Father is homoousios. Except for sin, he is the only Son. it's like we are.
He was begotten of his Father ages ago as God, but in these last
days he was born of the Virgin Mary, theotokos as man, for our salvation. This
one and the same Christ, Son, Lord made himself known in two natures, without
confusion, without change, without division and separation." The
definition makes four points in opposition to four ancient heresies: Jesus
Christ is truly God (against Arius) and truly man (against Apollinaris) and is
united in one person (against Nestorius) and without confusion (against
Eutyches).The Chalcedonian definition reaffirms the unity of the person of
Christ—the reality and permanence of each nature and the relation between the
two natures.
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