The Doctrine of the Person of Christ in the Early ChurchThe Person of Christ in the Theologians
The period of the theologians (300-600 A.D.) saw three major heresies spring up that threatened orthodox Christology: Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, and Eutychianism. These heresies, along with the clash between the theological schools of Antioch and Alexandria, set the stage for the council of Chalcedon in 451. The church was forced to respond to heretical teachings and divergent doctrinal opinions within its own ranks.
A rivalry developed between the church leaders and theological schools in the east. Those in the cities of Antioch and Alexandria had vastly different approaches to scripture, which naturally resulted in some disagreements in theology. The Antiochian scholars used a literal hermeneutic and sharply distguished Christ as Son of God (deity) and Son of Man (humanity). Their primary studies were of the person of Christ in the Gospels. These scholars vigorously opposed any doctrine that denigrated or destroyed Christ’s humanity, including Docetism and Apollinarianism (see below). However, this stress on the humanity of Christ caused them to obscure His deity. Conversely, the Alexandrian school greatly subordinated the human nature of Christ to the divine. The stress on the transcendental side of Christ’s person resulted primarily from their mystical, speculative hermeneutic. The Alexandrians concerned themselves with the affect of Christology on Soteriology, whereby they viewed Christ’s divinity as much more important. The focuses of Antioch on Christ’s humanity and the Alexandrians on Christ’s deity produced a natural rivalry, for each school obscured what the other supremely valued.
| . | Ibid., 11.2. | | . | Ibid., 11.5. |
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