Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

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Chur ch Mat ter s : Ret r i ev i ng the Great Trad i t i on

write on holy matters. His hymns, like the one below, also strike a characteristically Eastern note by stressing Christ as the Light who illuminates all things in heaven and earth and to whom the faithful are drawn.

O Light that knew no dawn, That shines to endless day, All things in earth and heav’n Are lustred by thy ray; No eye can to thy throne ascend, Nor mind thy brightness comprehend. Thy grace, O Father, give, That I may serve in fear; Above all boons, I pray Grant me thy voice to hear; From sin thy child in mercy free, And let me dwell in light with thee.

~ Mark A. Noll. Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity . Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997, pp. 129-130.

3. The Schools of Alexandria and Antioch

a. Alexandria, Egypt school of theology: emphasized Christ’s divinity sometimes at the expense of his humanity ; gave rise to Apollinarism: Jesus was fully God but his “rational soul” was inhabited by the divine Logos (this was condemned at the Council of Constantinople in 381, along with Arianism , Macedoniaism [which held the Holy Spirit to be a creature]). b. Antiochean school of theology: Athanasius, Origen, emphasized the unique distinction of Jesus’ two natures ; gave rise to Nestorianism: Jesus’ two natures are artificially joined [like a siamese twin] (this was condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431). 4. The Council of Chalcedon 451, 400 leaders who condemn Eutyches’ attempt to resolve the crisis; affirm that Jesus is both God and man in a single person, with his divine and human natures joined in such a way that neither is undermined, damaged, or affected wrongly.