The History of Christianity: From the Disciples to the Dawn of the Reformation

Lecture 19: Theological Crisis and Council—Christology

•    The disputes, carried out in public and with the intervention of

imperial power, revealed within Christianity—a religion dedicated

to peace and unity—a deep tendency toward conflict and division.

•    Depending on the territory, the population, and the whim of a king,

Christianity could appear (in the West) as Chalcedonian or Arian

and (in the East) as Nestorian or monophysite.

Grillmeier (Bowden, trans.), From the Apostolic Age to Chalcedon (451)

(Christ in Christian Tradition, vol. 1).

Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, pp. 280–343.

1. How did the political and philosophical rivalries between patriarchal
   centers become exposed in the Christological debates of the 5th century?


2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the use of ontological
   language (philosophical language about being) to define the significance
   of Christ?

Suggested Reading

Questions to Consider