What does homoousios mean?
Iconof the Council of Nicea Homoousios means "one substance" or "same substance." This is really important. Please bear with me while I explain why. To the Greeks, substance was everything. All matter, to them, was made up of earth, wind, fire, or air. God, however, was none of those things. Everything—no, really: everything— else was.
What is the significance of the doctrine of homoousios?
Homoousios, in Christianity, the key term of the Christological doctrine formulated at the first ecumenical council, held at Nicaea in 325, to affirm that God the Son and God the Father are of the same substance. The First Council of Nicaea, presided over by the emperor Constantine, was convened to resolve the controversy within...
Was orig Origen a homoousios?
Origen seems to have been the first ecclesiastical writer to use the word homoousios in a nontrinitarian context, but it is evident in his writings that he considered the Son's divinity lesser than the Father's, since he even calls the Son a creature.
When did the term homoousios become popular?
Homoousios had become so common a theological term by the middle of the 3rd century that one of the accusations made against St. Dionysius the Great, Bishop of Alexandria, when he was denounced to the pope was that he refused to use the word homoousios.
Who came up with homoousios?
The movement was named for Jacobus Arminius, a Dutch Reformed theologian of the University of Leiden (1603–09) who became involved in a highly publicized debate with his colleague Franciscus Gomarus, a rigid Calvinist, concerning the Calvinist interpretation of the divine decrees respecting election and reprobation.
What does the term homoousios in reference to Jesus divinity?
Homoousios, "of the same substance" was a term used in early church christological debates and adopted by church councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) to indicate that Jesus Christ was of the same essence as God the Father.
Who started monophysitism?
Tritheists, a group of sixth-century Monophysites said to have been founded by a Monophysite named John Ascunages of Antioch. Their principal writer was John Philoponus, who taught that the common nature of Father, Son and Holy Spirit is an abstraction of their distinct individual natures.
What is Origen best known for?
Origen, Latin in full Oregenes Adamantius, (born c. 185, probably Alexandria, Egypt—died c. 254, Tyre, Phoenicia [now Ṣūr, Lebanon]), the most important theologian and biblical scholar of the early Greek church. His greatest work is the Hexapla, which is a synopsis of six versions of the Old Testament.
Why is homoousios important?
Homoousios is one of the most important words in the Christian theological vocabulary, since it was used at the Council of Nicaea to express the divine consubstantiality of the Son with the Father.
How do you pronounce homoousios?
0:270:43How To Pronounce Homoousios - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipComo óseas como óseas como usas.MoreComo óseas como óseas como usas.
Who ended monophysitism?
Neither side was satisfied; the extreme Monophysites refused to accept the intended compromise, and the pope excommunicated the East for abrogating the Council of Chalcedon. The schism ended in 519 when Emperor Justin I enforced the definition of faith of Chalcedon.
When was monophysite founded?
MONOPHYSITISM , meaning "one nature" and referring to the person of Jesus Christ, is the name given to the rift that gradually developed in Eastern Christendom after the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
When was monophysitism condemned?
The Monophysites were condemned as heretics at the next two Oecumenical councils: Constantinople II (553) and Constantinople III (680-681).
What means Origen?
someone who is learned in theology or who speculates about theology.
When was Origen condemned?
In the year 400, Theophilus summoned a council in Alexandria, which condemned Origen and all his followers as heretics for having taught that God was incorporeal, which they decreed contradicted the only true and orthodox position, which was that God had a literal, physical body resembling that of a human.
What does the term Homoousian mean?
Definition of homoousian : an adherent of an ecclesiastical party of the fourth century holding to the doctrine of the Nicene Creed that the Son is of the same substance with the Father.
What is ousia and homoousios?
ousia (nature or essence) and hypostasis (entity, used as virtually equivalent to prosōpon, person). (In Latin these terms became substantia and persona.) Christ was said to have two natures, one of which was of the same nature (homoousios) as the Father, whereas the other was of the same nature as…
What is the meaning of Perichoresis?
Definition of perichoresis : a doctrine of the reciprocal inherence of the human and divine natures of Christ in each other also : circumincession.
What is the meaning of the word Theotokos?
A: Theotokos derives from the Greek terms: Theos / 'God'; and tiktein / 'to give birth'. Mary is the Theotokos, the one who gave birth to God. This single word sums up the meaning of Luke's phrase: 'Mother of the Lord' (Lk 1:43) and represents a counterpoint to John's teaching that the 'Word was made flesh' (Jn 1:14).
Who was the first ecclesiastical writer to use the word homoousios?
Origen seems to have been the first ecclesiastical writer to use the word homoousios in a nontrinitarian context, but it is evident in his writings that he considered the Son's divinity lesser than the Father's, since he even calls the Son a creature. It was by Athanasius of Alexandria and the Nicene Council that the Son was taken to have exactly the same essence with the Father, and in the Nicene Creed the Son was declared to be as immutable as his Father.
What is homoousios in Greek?
In Latin, which is lacking a present participle of the verb 'to be', two main corresponding variants occurred. Since the Aristotelian term ousia was commonly translated in Latin as essentia ( essence) or substantia ( substance ), the Greek term homoousios was consequently translated into Latin as coessentialis or consubstantialis. Hence the English terms coessential and consubstantial. Some modern scholars say that homoousios is properly translated as coessential, while consubstantial has a much wider spectrum of meanings. The Book of Common Prayer renders the term as "being of one substance with the Father."
Which creed holds the Father and Son to be distinct yet also coequal, coeternal, and?
This notion, however, was also rejected at the Council of Nicaea, in favor of the Athanasian Creed, which holds the Father and Son to be distinct yet also coequal, coeternal, and consubstantial divine persons.
When was the Arian doctrine first proposed?
This doctrine was formulated in the 4th century, during the Arian controversy over Christology between Arius and Athanasius. The several distinct branches of Arianism which sometimes conflicted with each other as well as with the pro-Nicene homoousian creed can be roughly broken down into the following classifications:
Who opposed the doctrine of homoousion?
All of these positions and the almost innumerable variations on them which developed in the 4th century were strongly and tenaciously opposed by Athanasius and other pro-Nicenes, who insisted on the doctrine of homoousion or consubstantiality, eventually prevailing in the struggle to define this as a dogma of the still-united Western and Eastern churches for the next two millennia when its use was confirmed by the First Council of Constantinople. The struggle over the understanding of Christ's divinity was not solely a matter for the Church. The Roman Emperor Theodosius had published an edict, prior to the Council of Constantinople, declaring that the Nicene Creed was the legitimate doctrine and that those opposed to it were heretics.
Who used the term "coessentiality"?
It was used by Greek-speaking authors, like Didymus of Alexandria and other theologians.
Who is the author of The Eastern Fathers of the Fourth Century?
Florovsky, Georges (1987). The Eastern Fathers of the Fourth Century. Vaduz: Büchervertriebsanstalt. ISBN 9783905238075.
What does homoousios mean?
Homoousios means "one substance" or "same substance." This is really important.
Who said we acknowledge a God and a Son his Logos and a Holy Spirit?
Athenagoras goes on to answer that question immediately: We acknowledge a God, and a Son his Logos, and a Holy Spirit, united in substance. (ibid.) Justin Martyr, a couple decades earlier, adds his testimony to that of Athenagoras:
Did Constantine want homoousios inserted in the Creed of Nicea?
III:2:2). This is the tradition that Arius was disagreeing with, and this is the reason that Constantine wanted homoousios inserted in the Creed of Nicea.
Did Arius think Jesus was begotten by the Father?
Arius mistakenly thought and argued that the begetting of the Son constitutes a beginning. He could not have existed before then. The Church, however, taught that before Jesus was begotten by the Father, he already existed inside the Father as the Word, Wisdom, and Reason of the Father.
What does it mean when two things are homoousious?
So, in Greek, in the early fourth century, if two things were described as homoousious, it would mean that they were exactly the same kind of thing. If they were described as heteroousious, it would mean that they were different kinds of things. And if they were described as homoiousious, it would mean that they were similar—neither was exactly ...
Who said Jesus was homoousious with the Father?
In response, a bishop named Athanasius insisted that Jesus was homoousious with the Father—of the “same substance”—the same kind of being. In other words, Jesus is divine in the same way as the Father is. The issue was settled at the Council of Nicaea.
What does heterosexual mean?
Heterosexual starts with the Greek word hetero, which means “different.”. Ousious is the Greek word for “substance or being.”. It refers to the essential nature of something—what it really is. Homoousious would be “of the same substance.”. Heteroousious would be “of a different substance.”.
What is the term for the same substance?
Homoousious (literally, “same substance”) is a term that became very important in church history and was at the center of a controversy in the early fourth century leading up the Council of Nicea.
Who taught that Jesus was homoious?
It was in the early fourth century that a man named Arius began teaching that Jesus was homoiousious with the Father—of a “similar substance.”. According to Arianism, Jesus was “divine” but not in exactly the same way the Father was divine. He did not teach that Jesus was heteroousious, which would have indicated that Jesus was simply human ...
Is homoousious the same as heteroousious?
Homoousious would be “of the same substance.”. Heteroousious would be “of a different substance.”. There is one more word that is important in this context: homoiousious. The extra i in homoiousious changes the meaning to “of a similar substance.”. So, in Greek, in the early fourth century, if two things were described as homoousious, ...
Was Jesus heteroousious?
He did not teach that Jesus was heteroousious, which would have indicated that Jesus was simply human or radically different from the Father in some other way; rather, he taught that Jesus was “similar” to the Father. In response, a bishop named Athanasius insisted that Jesus was homoousious with the Father—of the “same substance”—the same kind ...
Who was the first ecclesiastical writer to use the word "homoousios?
Origen seems to have been the first ecclesiastical writer to use the word "homoousios" in a Trinitarian context, but it is evident in his writings that he considered the Son's divinity lesser than the Father's, since he even calls the Son a creature. It was by Athanasius and the Nicene Synod that the Son was taken to have exactly the same nature or essence with the Father, and at the Nicene Creed the Son was declared to be as immutable as his Father is. Some theologians preferred the use of the term Template:Polytonic ( homoioúsios, from ὅμοιος, hómoios, "similar" rather than ὁμός, homós, "same") in order to emphasize distinctions among the three persons in the Godhead, but the term homoousios became a consistent mark of Nicene orthodoxy in both East and West. According to this doctrine, Jesus Christ is the physical manifestation of Logos (or the divine word) and consequently possesses all of the inherent, ineffable perfections which religion and philosophy attribute to the Supreme Being. Three distinct and infinite minds or substances, three co-equal and eternal realities, participate in (or share) the same, single Divine Essence ( ousia ).
When was the Arian doctrine first proposed?
This doctrine was formulated in the 4th century during the extraordinary Trinitarian or Arian controversy. The several distinct branches of Arianism which sometimes conflicted with each other as well as with the pro-Nicene homoousian creed can be roughly broken down into the following classification:
Why was the term "homoiousios" used?
The term "homoiousios" was also preferred by many Origenists over the term "homoousios" because they felt it left "more room for distinctions in the Godhead". Another consideration may have been the association of the latter term with Paul of Samosata and with Gnosticism 's Platonic chain of being.
What is the origin of homoousianism?
Homoiousianism arose as an attempt to reconcile two opposite teachings, homoousianism and homoianism. Following Trinitarian doctrines of the First Council of Nicaea (325), homoousians believed that God the Son was of the same ( ὁμός, homós, "same") essence with God the Father.
What is the meaning of Homoiousios?
Homoiousios ( Greek: ὁμοιούσιος from ὅμοιος, hómoios, "similar" and οὐσία, ousía, "essence, being") is a Christian theological term, coined in the 4th century by a distinctive group of Christian theologians who held the belief that God the Son was of a similar, but not identical, essence (or substance) with God the Father.
What is Homoiousios in Greek?
Not to be confused with Homoousian. Homoiousios ( Greek: ὁμοιούσιος from ὅμοιος, hómoios, "similar" and οὐσία, ousía, "essence, being") is a Christian theological term, coined in the 4th century by a distinctive group of Christian theologians who held the belief that God the Son was of a similar, but not identical, ...
Overview
Adoption in the Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the official doctrine of most Christian churches – the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox churches, Church of the East, and Anglican Communion, as well as Lutheran, Reformed, Evangelical, and most mainline Protestant churches – with regard to the ontological status of the three persons or hypostases of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Origen seems to have been the first ecclesiastical writer to use the word homoousios in a nontrin…
Terminology
The term ὁμοούσιον, the accusative case form of ὁμοούσιος (homoousios, "consubstantial"), was adopted at the First Council of Nicaea (325) in order to clarify the ontology of Christ. From its Greek original, the term was translated into other languages. In Latin, which is lacking a present participle of the verb 'to be', two main corresponding variants occurred. Since the Aristotelian term ousia was commonly translated in Latin as essentia (essence) or substantia (substance), the Greek term h…
Pre-Nicene usage
The term ὁμοούσιος had been used before its adoption by the First Council of Nicaea. The Gnostics were the first to use the word ὁμοούσιος, while before the Gnostics there is no trace at all of its existence. The early church theologians were probably made aware of this concept, and thus of the doctrine of emanation, taught by the Gnostics. In Gnostic texts, the word ὁμοούσιος is used with the following meanings:
See also
• Consubstantiality
Bibliography
• Athanasopoulos, Constantinos; Schneider, Christoph, eds. (2013). Divine Essence and Divine Energies: Ecumenical Reflections on the Presence of God. Cambridge, UK: James Clarke & Co. ISBN 9780227900086.
• Beatrice, Pier Franco (2002). "The Word "Homoousios" from Hellenism to Christianity". Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture. 71 (2): 243–272.
External links
• Steenburg, MC, A World Full of Arians: A Study of the Arian Debate and the Trinitarian Controversy from AD 360–380, Monachos.net, archived from the original on 2008-12-07.
• "Homoousion", Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent.