The Constancy and Development in the Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus

In The Constancy and Development of the Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus Vasilije Vranic offers an assessment of the involvement of Theodoret of Cyrrhus in the Nestorian and Miaphysite controversies of the fifth century. Theodoret’s Christological language and concepts are examined in their historical contexts. The study is based on the comparison between the early period of Theodoret’s Christological output (Expositio rectae fidei and Refutation of the Twelve Anathemas) and his mature period (Eranistes). Theodoret’s Christology is ultimately vindicated and his position as a credible theologian who anticipated the definition of the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) is assured, while proposing that challenges to the consistency of his Christology ought to be reconsidered. The Constancy and Development in the Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus 4 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 12 Abbreviations 14 1 Introduction 16 1.1 Statement of the Problem 16 1.2 Present Status of the Problem 17 1.3 Statement of Procedures and Methodology 25 Part 1: The Historical Background 28 2 Theodoret and the Nestorian Controversy (before AD 431) 30 2.1 The Origin of the Nestorian Controversy 32 2.2 Rome and the Nestorian Controversy 34 2.3 Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas and the Escalation of the Controversy 40 2.4 The Council of Ephesus (AD 431) 42 2.4.1 The Convocation of the Council 42 2.4.2 The Venue of the Council 45 2.4.3 The Eve of the Council of Ephesus AD 431 47 2.4.4 The Sessions of the Council of Ephesus 48 2.5 Reactions to the Decision of the Council of Ephesus 50 2.6 The Aftermath of the Council of Ephesus (AD 431) 52 2.7 The Tomos of Reunion 59 2.7.1 The Content of the Oriental Creed 60 2.7.2 The Reunion of AD 433 63 2.8 Hostility Continues: The Christological Debate from AD 434 to 444 64 2.8.1 The Controversy over Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia 66 2.9 The Miaphysite Controversy 72 2.9.1 The Resident Council of Constantinople (AD 448) 76 2.9.2 The Council of Ephesus (AD 449) 77 2.9.3 The Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) 79 2.10 Conclusion 84 Part 2: The Early Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus 86 3 Expositio rectae fidei 88 3.1 Authorship 88 3.2 Date of Composition 92 3.3 Outline of the Content 98 3.3.1 The Trinitarian Discussion—Chapters 1–9 98 3.3.2 The Christological Discussion—Chapters 10–18 102 3.4 The Theology of the Expositio rectae fidei 108 3.4.1 The Theological Lexicon of the Expositio rectae fidei 108 3.4.2 οὐσία and ὑπόστασις/τρόπος ὑπάρξεως 110 3.4.3 The Philosophical Background of οὐσία in the Expositio rectae fidei 115 3.4.4 φύσις 116 3.4.5 πρόσωπον 118 3.5 Theodoret, Theodore and the Cappadocian Lexicon in the Expositio rectae fidei 120 3.6 The Mode of Union of the Logos and Humanity in Christ 126 3.6.1 “Immutable” 126 3.6.2 “Unmixed” 128 3.7 The Logos as theios sporos: The Christology of the Expositio rectae fidei 130 3.7.1 The Doctrine of Incarnation in the Expositio rectae fidei 131 3.7.2 The Anthropological Model in the Expositio rectae fidei 133 3.7.3 Theodoret’s Anthropology and the Doctrine of Incarnation 141 4 Theodoret’s Christology at the Dawn of the Nestorian Controversy: Refutation of the Twelve Anathemas of Cyril of Alexandria 144 4.1 The Twelve Anathemas of Cyril of Alexandria 144 4.2 The Christological Content of the Twelve Anathemas 146 4.3 Theodoret’s Refutation of the Twelve Anathemas of Cyril 148 4.4 The Nature of the Christological Debate in Theodoret’s Refutation of Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas 150 4.4.1 The Content of the Refutation of Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas 152 4.5 The Exegetical Foundation for the “Immutable,” “Unmixed,” and “Impassible” 154 4.6 “Immutable” in the Refutation of Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas 157 4.7 Communicatio idiomatum and the “Immutable” 159 4.8 “Unmixed” in the Refutation of Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas 160 4.9 The Title “Theotokos” and the “Unmixed” 162 4.10 The Hypostatic Union and the “Unmixed” 163 4.11 “Impassible” in the Refutation of Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas 164 4.12 Conclusion 166 Part 3: Theodoret’s Mature Christology 168 5 Eranistes 170 5.1 The Date and Context of the Eranistes 171 5.2 The Content of the Eranistes 177 5.2.1 Introduction 177 5.2.2 Dialogue I—“Immutable” (ἄτρεπτος) 179 5.2.3 Dialogue ii—“Unmixed” (ἀσύγχυτος) 186 5.2.4 Dialogue iiΙ—“Impassible” (ἀπαθής) 193 5.2.5 Epilogue 196 5.3 Conclusion 199 6 The Mature Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus: The Evidence of the Eranistes 201 6.1 The Christological Lexicon of the Eranistes 201 6.1.1 οὐσία and φύσις 201 6.1.2 ὑπόστασις and πρόσωπον 202 6.2 The Christological Phraseology of the Eranistes 203 6.2.1 Homo assumptus: The Union of the Logos and the ἄνθρωπος in Christ 204 6.3 The Christology of the Eranistes 207 6.4 The Human Nature of Christ after the Resurrection: Communicatio idiomatum or theosis 211 6.5 Iconic Theophanies: An Echo of the Anthropomorphite Controversy? 216 6.6 Conclusion 221 7 General Conclusions: The Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus—Development or Continuity? 224 Bibliography 228 Bibles 228 Dictionaries 228 Acta Conciliorum 228 Primary Sources 229 Secondary Sources 237 Index 255 1.0. Introduction PART I: The Historical Background 2.0. Theodoret and the Nestorian Controversy (before AD 431) 2.1. The Origin of the Nestorian Controversy 2.2. Rome and the Nestorian Controversy 2.3. Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas and the Escalation of the Controversy 2.4. The Council of Ephesus (AD 431 AD) 2.5. Reactions to the Decision of the Council of Ephesus 2.6. The Aftermath of the Council of Ephesus (AD 431) 2.7. The Tomos of Reunion 2.8. Hostility Continues: The Christological Debate from AD 434 to 444 2.9. The Miaphysite Controversy 2.10. Conclusion PART II: The Early Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus 3.0. Expositio rectae fidei 3.1. Authorship 3.2. Date of Composition 3.3. Outline of the Content 3.4. The Theology of the Expositio rectae fidei 3.5. Theodoret, Theodore and the Cappadocian Lexicon in the Expositio rectae fidei 3.6. The Mode of Union of the Logos and Humanity in Christ 3.7. The Logos as theios sporos: The Christology of the Expositio rectae fidei 4.0. Theodoret’s Christology at the Dawn of the Nestorian Controversy: Refutation of the Twelve Anathemas of Cyril of Alexandria 4.1. The Twelve Anathemas of Cyril of Alexandria 4.2. The Christological Content of the Twelve Anathemas 4.3. Theodoret’s Refutation of the Twelve Anathemas of Cyril 4.4. The Nature of the Christological debate in Theodoret’s Refutation of Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas 4.5. The Exegetical Foundation for the “Immutable,” “Unmixed,” and “Impassible” 4.6. “Immutable” in the Refutation of Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas 4.7. Communicatio idiomatum and the “Immutable” 4.8. “Unmixed” in the Refutation of Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas 4.9. The title “Theotokos” and the “Unmixed” 4.10. The hypostatic union and the “Unmixed” 4.11. “Impassible” in the Refutation of Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas 4.12. Conclusion PART III: Theodoret’s Mature Christology 5.0. Eranistes 5.1. The Date and Context of the Eranistes 5.2. The Content of the Eranistes 5.3. Conclusion 6.0. The Mature Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus: The Evidence of the Eranistes 6.1. The Christological Lexicon of the Eranistes 6.2. The Christological phraseology of the Eranistes 6.3. The Christology of the Eranistes 6.4. The Human Nature of Christ after the Resurrection: Communicatio idiomatum or theosis 6.5. Iconic Theophanies: An Echo of the Anthropomorphite controversy? 6.6. Conclusion 7.0. General Conclusions: The Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus - Development or Continuity? Bibliography In 'The constancy and development of the Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus' Vasilije Vranic offers an assessment of the involvement of Theodoret of Cyrrhus in the Nestorian and Miaphysite controversies of the fifth century.0Theodoret’s Christological language and concepts are examined in their historical contexts. The study is based on the comparison between the early period of Theodoret’s Christological output (Expositio rectae fidei and Refutation of the Twelve Anathemas) and his mature period (Eranistes). Theodoret’s Christology is ultimately vindicated and his position as a credible theologian who anticipated the definition of the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) is assured, while proposing that challenges to the consistency of his Christology ought to be reconsidered In The Constancy and Development of the Christology of Theodoret of Cyrrhus Vasilije Vranic offers an assessment of the Christological controversies of the fifth century through the study of select works of Theodoret of Cyrrhus