| Errors That Deny or Diminish The Reality or Importance of the Full Divinity of Jesus the Christ |
The Orthodox Response And Doctrinal Position |
Errors That Deny or Diminish The Reality or Importance of the Full Humanity of Jesus the Christ |
| Ignatius of Antioch: If Jesus was not human like us, he could not have saved us. Ireneaus: If the human being of Jesus had not been united to God, our salvation is incomplete. |
Docetism: Christ only appeared to be human Gnosticism: Jesus' humanity was not essential for salvation |
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| Ebionitism: denial of divinity and pre-existence of Christ. Son of God had no existence prior to birth from Mary. Subordinationism: the Son may have divinity or divine attributes but is of a lower order than the Father. |
Irenaeus: if He who is the Christ, the "Savior" is not fully God then we are not fully saved nor do we have salvation permanently. | |
| Arianism: the Logos (or pre-existent Son of God) is not God in the proper sense of the word, but a creature, albeit the first and highest creature and mediator between God and the rest of creation. | Council of Nicea (325 CE): Jesus is homoousios with the Father; i.e. of the same substance with the Father - true God. | |
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Logos-anthropos (Word-man) : the Word became a human being; the eternal Word assumes the full humanity of Jesus into itself; God dwells in the assumed man. Nestorianism (CE 451): proposed doctrine that there are two separate Persons in the Incarnate Christ, one divine, one human: rejected theotokos - proposed christokos. LaterNesotrianism (Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret, Ibas) writings supposedly supportive of Nestorius |
Council of Ephesus (431 CE): Mary is the mother of God. In Christ there is only one divine person. Council of Chalcedon (451 CE): In Christ there are two natures, truly God and truly man, unmixed and unconfused. 2nd Constantinople (553 CE) reaffirmed Chalcedon with particular refutation of Nestorianism |
Logos-sarx (Word-flesh): the Word became flesh but the "en-fleshed" Logos not fully human. [Note: erroneous logos-sarx not to be confused with orthodox use of logos-sarx of Cyril et al.] Apollinarianism: (erroneous logos-sarx) denies existence of rational human soul. Monophysitism: in the Incarnate Christ there was a single divine nature. |
| 3rd Constantinople (680 CE) affirmed doctrine of two nature and a consequential affirmation of two wills and two operations. | Monothelitism: in Christ there is only one will and that will is divine. Monenergism: there is but one "operation" or activity in the Incarnate Christ and that is divine, not human. |
Roch A. Kereszty, O.Cist.
New York: Alba House (1991)
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church
F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingston, Editors
New York: Oxford University Press (1983)
Dictionary of Theology, Revised Edition
Karl Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler
New York: Crossroad (1981)
History of the Christian Church, Volume I
Hubert Jedin, Editor
New York: Crossroad (1965)