Trinitarian Debates: Mid 4th Century

Question 1

In the Synodal Letter of the Council of Antioch in what state did the author of the letter find “the church of the Antiochenes” upon his arrival AND what was the cause of that state?

Answer 1

“The church in much disorder with weeds because of the teachings of some in discord it seemed to be good that such conditions be thrown off and repelled not by alone”

Question 2

Who are the people the bishops want to keep from causing additional problems in Antioch?

Answer 2

The Arians

Question 3

Council of Antioch - What is the theological focus, “the highest priority of all, exceeding all others”, of the bishops?

Answer 3

The doctrine of the Son, which Arius got wrong

Question 4

Council of Antioch - If the Son of God is not the image “of the will or of any other thing”, then of what is he the image?

Answer 4

The Hypostasis of the Father himself.

Question 5

Council of Antioch - As did Alexander of Alexandria, this letter from the council of Antioch identifies Mary, Jesus’ mother, in a certain way in order to affirm that Jesus was divine from the moment of his birth. In what way does this letter refer to Mary in order to confirm Jesus’ divinity?

Answer 5

He was brought forth in flesh from Mary the God-bearing and made flesh, suffered, died and rose.

Question 6

Council of Antioch - What doctrinal positions were anathematized (“formally denounced”) by this council of bishops?

Answer 6

• Those that suppose that he is immutable by the self-act of his will just as those who derive his generation from nothing and state that his it not immutable by natures as the father;

Question 7

Council of Antioch - The notion, that the Son is the image of the Father, is an important one to these bishops, as it was to Alexander of Alexandria. What do the bishops mean to communicate when they say the Son is the image of the Father?

Answer 7

They mean to communicate that the Son is just as Divine and Eternal as the Father

Question 8

Council of Antioch - Who are the people excommunicated at the end of the letter by the council of Antioch for holding the same views as Arius?

Answer 8

• Theodotus of the church of the Laodiceans
• Narcissus from Neronias
• Eusebius of Caesarea of Palestine

Question 9

Creed of Nicaea - What are the phrases “from the substance of the Father” and “homoousios with the Father” meant to convey about the relationship between the father and son?

Answer 9

“from the substance (essence;ousia) of the father” - means to be the same as the Father

“homoousios (of one ousia) with the father” - same as/one with the father

-purpose to state that the Son is just as much God as the father because he is just as eternal

Question 10

Creed of Nicaea - How does the Creed differ from Arius’ argument?

Answer 10

• Arius says begotten = made; the Creed says begotten is God from God and the Son is the only begotten and the Son comes from God as opposed to from nothing
• “ousia” language designed to make the interpretation of Arius impossible
• this creed shifts from distinction to UNITY in the trinity

Question 11

Theologians writing after the Creed of Nicaea will need to sort out how the terms “hypostasis” and “substance” (ousia) should be used to speak of the being of God. Determine whether these terms seem to mean the same thing or different things in the Creed of Nicaea AND then state what it is that they mean (to what do they refer).

Answer 11

Creed says hyposasis and ousia are the same

Origenists say 3 hypostasis one ousia;
Arius and Eusebius say each being is its own hypostasis
This Creed says God is ONE hypostasis and ONE ousia/substance

Question 12

Eusebius of Caesarea - Is the unity of God or the diversity of God most prominent in his thought?

Answer 12

Diversity

Question 13

Eusebius of Caesarea - What does Eusebius say, “‘homoousios with the Father’ indicates”?

Answer 13

Section 13: Indicates that the Son of God bears not resemblance to created creatures but he is alike in every way to the Father, he is of no substance but the Father

Question 14

Eusebius of Caesarea - Eusebius argues that there was a point when the Son was not. How does he argue this?

Answer 14

Eusebius argues that before he was begotten, he was not- Eusebius interprets this to mean that there really was a point in time before the Son was begotten when the Son was not. He argues that the son was not an eternal existence with the father but just the existence prior to his incarnation. The statement for his theology teaches his position.

Question 15

Define Homoousia

Answer 15

homo - the same
ousia - essence

homo + ousia = “the same nature as” or “of one essence with”
The Son is homoousios with the father = “the Son has the same nature as the father”

Question 16

What are the three meanings of “ousia?”

Answer 16

1) A generic meaning: identifying the genus/class/kind to which a number of individuals belong - The son is homoousious with the Father because they share/participate in the same kind of essence - (Origen, Eusebius, same essence but not identical)
2) An individual or being: a particular entity - homoousios = two or more entitites that are IDENTICAL - Ths Son is homoousious with the Father because his being is the being of the Father
3) Matter or Stuff - homoousious = two or more entitites are parts of the same matter/stuff - the Son if homoousois because his essence is a piece of what was once the Father’s essence.

Question 17

What does Constantine think about the definition of “ousia” as “matter or stuff?”

Answer 17

Constantine outright rejects the third meaning (as matter or stuff) - the son being a piece of the father (NOT an iceberg from a glacier)
-This is distinctly anti-Arian because that is how they used it (as matter)

Question 18

How do the Arians regard “ousia?”

Answer 18

Arians also don’t agree with homoousius because it implies the iceberg theory, Arians consider ousia as matter but don’t think about divinity of Son in these terms.

They are all about 3 seperate essences

Question 19

How does Nicaea use “ousia?”

Answer 19

Nicaea = Meaning #2 (individual or being) - enables hyposates and ousia to mean the same thing - two entities that are identical because they have the same essence or being

Question 20

Originist theology meant to ____ the hypostases of the trinity, and after this there is a series of theologies meant to ________.

Answer 20

distinguish

to secure the unity of God

Question 21

What was important about the Council of Antioch and when did it take place?

Answer 21

Council of Antioch 325 - similar arguments as Alexander in his letters, mostly just historically significant

-56 Bishops to elect a new Bishop of Antioch; chose to address Arianism here to make sure the Council of Nicea went down against Arius firmly; issue excomunications against 3 people including Eusebius of Cessarea

Question 22

What was important about the Council of Nicaea and when did it take place?

Answer 22

Council of Nicea
-purpose to resolve the theological and political problem of Arius.

Creed establish guidelines for proper theological guidelines that guide theological guidelines
(bumper bowling = creeds -bumpers/guidelines for theological discourse)

Question 23

How is “hypostasis” defined by Origen/Arius and Nicaea?

Answer 23

1) Individual existent; a seperate/distinct thing that really exists (Origen and Arius)
2) Essence or nature of something (Nicaea)

Question 24

What were the three main theologies that developed after Nicaea?

Answer 24

Homoousians - the essence of the Son is the SAME as the essence of the father. (Alexander of Alexandria; the Nicene Creed; Marcellus of Acyra; Athanasius)

Heteroousians - (Radical Homoians - the son is like the father, not the same) - the Son is of a DIFFERENT essence than the father (similar to Arius) The Son’s essence is like the will of the Father that generated it; temporal (Aetius, Unomius of Cyzicus) Sirmium (AD 357) - Rejects Nicaea, called “The Blasphemy and said that the Son is less than the Father and was radical subordination

Homoiousians - the essence of the Son is LIKE the essence of the Father (Basil of Ancyra) - this could become radical and become heteroousian

- Ancyra (358 AD) 
- Nike / Constantinople (360 AD): deposed Basil of Ancyra ; emperial sanctioned  creed authored with a radical Homoiousian Creed
- After Nicea, homoi and homo united against hetero with Nicaea as their backer