The Apollinarist Doctrine and Its Rejection by St. Gregory of Nyssa

From the misunderstanding of the unity of the person of Christ, Apollinaris of Laodicea came to the denial of the affirmation of the harmony between the two wills of Christ and at the same time to the denial of the rational soul of Christ. Apollinaris emphasizes the disunity in the person of Christ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTeologia Vol. 94; no. 1; pp. 77 - 89
Main Author Cristescu, Vasile
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Editura Universității Aurel Vlaicu 2023
Aurel Vlaicu University Publishing House
Subjects
Ancient World
Christian Theology and Religion
History of Religion
Systematic Theology
person of Christ
natures
rational soul
image of God
image of the servant
wills of Christ
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Summary:From the misunderstanding of the unity of the person of Christ, Apollinaris of Laodicea came to the denial of the affirmation of the harmony between the two wills of Christ and at the same time to the denial of the rational soul of Christ. Apollinaris emphasizes the disunity in the person of Christ that is necessarily born in him because of the rational soul and, through it, in the human will as well. St. Gregory of Nyssa strongly criticized the Apollinaris’ doctrine. He based his argument pointing out the truth that Christ can only be called man if he consists of a rational body and soul. In his treatise Adversum Apollinarem, St. Gregory exegetically addresses the Christological aspects misunderstood by Apollinaris and combats them step by step. Apollinaris’ support of the pre-existence of the body of Christ ruins the teaching of the Incarnation and the Trinitarian teaching. St Gregory understands the two Pauline formulas “image of God” and “image of the servant” in Philippians 2, 6-12 as two distinct natures.
ISSN:2247-4382
2247-4382