Apollinarism or Apollinarianism is a

Christological In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of ...

position proposed by

Apollinaris of Laodicea Apollinaris the Younger, also known as Apollinaris of Laodicea and Apollinarius (; died 382), was a bishop of Latakia, Laodicea in Syria. He is best known as a noted opponent of Arianism. Apollinaris's eagerness to emphasize the Godhead in Christ ...

that argues that

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

had a human body and sensitive human soul, but a

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

mind and not a human rational mind, the Divine

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...

taking the place of the latter. It was deemed heretical by the

First Council of Constantinople The First Council of Constantinople (; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. This second ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the ...

in 381 and virtually died out within the following decades. Sollier, Joseph. "Apollinarianism." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 8 February 2019

History

The

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

had been recognized at the

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea ( ; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The Council of Nicaea met from May until the end of July 325. This ec ...

in 325, but debate about exactly what it meant continued. A rival to the more common belief that Jesus Christ had two natures was monophysitism ("one nature"), the doctrine that Christ had only one nature. Apollinarism and Eutychianism were two forms of monophysitism. Apollinaris's rejection of Christ having a human mind was considered an over-reaction to

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

and its teaching that Christ was a lesser god. Theodoret charged Apollinaris with confounding the persons of the Godhead and giving in to the heretical ways of Sabellius.

Basil of Caesarea Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (330 – 1 or 2 January 379) was an early Roman Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia from 370 until his death in 379. He was an influential theologian who suppor ...

accused him of abandoning the literal sense of the scripture, and taking it up wholly with the allegorical sense. His views were condemned in a

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, under

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria ( – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor, or, among Coptic Christians, Athanasius the Apostolic, was a Christian theologian and the 20th patriarch of Alexandria (as Athanasius ...

, in 362, and later subdivided into several different heresies, the main ones of which were the Polemians and the Antidicomarianites. Apollinaris, considering the rational soul and spirit as essentially liable to sin and capable, at its best, of only precarious efforts, saw no way of saving Christ's impeccability and the infinite value of Redemption, except by the elimination of the human spirit from Jesus' humanity, and the substitution of the Divine Logos in its stead. Apollinarism was declared to be a

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

in 381 by the

Neo-Apollinarianism

Christian philosopher

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (; born August 23, 1949) is an American Analytic philosophy, analytic philosopher, Christian apologetics, Christian apologist, author, and theologian. He is a professor of philosophy at Houston Christian University and at the T ...

has proposed a neo-Apollinarian Christology in which the divine Logos completes the human nature of Christ. Craig says his proposal is tentative and he welcomes critique and interaction from other scholars.William Lane Craig and J.P. Moreland. 2003. ''Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview.'' InterVarsity Press. 608. Craig also clarifies "what I called a Neo-Apollinarian Christological model" by stating that

References

Sources

* *Artemi, E., «Mia physis of God Logos sesarkomeni» a)The analysis of this phrase according to Cyril of Alexandria b)The analysis of this phrase according to Apollinaris of Laodicea», Ecclesiastic Faros t. ΟΔ (2003), 293 – 304. *Chan, Joyce (2021).
Apollinarianism
', Carey Theological College, University of British Columbia. * McGrath, Alister. 1998. ''Historical Theology, An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought.'' Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Chapter 1. * {{Subject bar , portal1= Catholicism , portal2= Christianity 4th-century Christianity Christian terminology Heresy in ancient Christianity Nature of Jesus Christ

History

Neo-Apollinarianism

See also

References

Sources