Michael Brooks
Jesus Christ is believed by Catholics to have two natures, one divine and the other human, united in the single person of God's Son. This concept is known as the hypostatic union, which asserts that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man, with two complete and distinct natures. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that human nature was assumed, not absorbed, in the Incarnation, affirming the full reality of Christ's human soul and body, belonging to the divine person of the Son of God. This belief in the dual nature of Christ has been a central tenet of Catholic doctrine, with the Council of Chalcedon declaring that Christ was truly man and truly God, possessing two natures in one person.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of natures | Two (divine and human) |
| Nature of God and Man | Not mixed, combined, or added up |
| Nature of God | Eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent |
| Nature of Man | Finite, limited in knowledge and power |
| Personhood | Divine |
| Incarnation | Union of divine and human natures in one person |
| Hypostatic Union | Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man |
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What You'll Learn
Jesus Christ's two natures
The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ has two natures: one divine and the other human. This is known as the doctrine of the hypostatic union, which states that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. The two natures are not mixed or combined but are united in the one person of God's Son.
The concept of the hypostatic union developed out of the Christological debates of the late fourth and fifth centuries. During this time, the church was forced to address a number of divergent belief systems, such as Gnostic Docetism, which held that Christ was not truly human, and Monarchianism, which stated that God the Father was the sole deity and that Jesus was merely a mortal endowed with divine wisdom.
The First Council of Nicaea in 325 rejected Monarchianism, declaring that Jesus was the Son of God by nature rather than by adoption. In the fifth century, a dispute arose between Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius, with the latter arguing for two distinct substances or hypostases of divinity and humanity in Christ. Nestorius's views were condemned as heretical by the Council of Ephesus in 431, which affirmed that "the Word, uniting to himself in his person the flesh animated by a rational soul, became man."
The Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 agreed with the Antiochene theologian Theodore of Mopsuestia that there were two natures in the Incarnation. The council also insisted that hypostasis be used to indicate the person, rather than the nature, of Christ. The Chalcedonian Definition affirmed that Christ's two natures are perfectly united and cannot be confused, mixed, divided, or separated.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "human nature was assumed, not absorbed" in the Incarnation, and that Christ's human nature belongs to the divine person of the Son of God. As such, everything that Christ is and does in his human nature derives from "one of the Trinity."
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The Hypostatic Union
The concept of the hypostatic union is central to the Christian doctrine of salvation and states that Jesus Christ has two complete and distinct natures—one divine, and the other human—that are united in the one person of God's son. This doctrine was developed by the church in the first centuries following Christ's death to address divergent belief systems deemed heretical, such as Gnostic Docetism, which held that Christ was not truly human and did not truly suffer, and Monarchianism, which stated that God the Father was the only deity and that Jesus was a mortal endowed with divine wisdom.
The Greek term "hypostasis" translates literally as "substance" and denotes an actual, concrete existence. In the context of Christology, it refers to the two natures of Christ—his divinity and humanity—being one. The term was used by Cyril of Alexandria in his letter to Nestorius, who had argued for two distinct substances or hypostases of divinity and humanity in Christ, claiming that divinity could not be born from a human. Nestorius' views were labelled heretical by the Council of Ephesus in 431, and he was deposed.
The concept of the hypostatic union was further refined by theologians such as Theodore of Mopsuestia, who taught that Christ had two natures (dyophysite) and two corresponding hypostases (in the sense of "subject" or "essence" but not "person") that coexisted. The Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 agreed with Theodore's view of two natures in the Incarnation but insisted that "hypostasis" be used to indicate the person (prosopon) rather than the nature. The council affirmed that Christ's two natures are perfectly united and cannot be confused, mixed, divided, or separated, with each nature retaining its own attributes.
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The Monophysite heresy
Monophysitism, or monophysism, is a Christological doctrine that asserts that there was only one nature—the divine—in the person of Jesus Christ, who was the incarnated Word. The term monophysism comes from the Greek monos, meaning "solitary", and physis, meaning "nature".
The Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Reformed Christianity, and all mainstream Protestant denominations reject monophysitism as heretical. They instead uphold the dyophysitism of the 451 Council of Chalcedon, which agreed with Theodore of Mopsuestia that there were two natures in the Incarnation.
Monophysitism is considered a heresy because it fails to distinguish between the human or mixed (theandric) activity of Christ as Man, and the purely Divine activity, will, knowledge, and nature of Christ. In other words, while monophysitism acknowledges the divinity of Christ, it denies that Christ also had a human will and intellect, which he had in common with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
The Oriental Orthodox reject the label of monophysitism and consider it a heresy, instead referring to their non-Chalcedonian beliefs as miaphysitism. Miaphysitism maintains that Christ's nature is from two—divine and human—but may only be referred to as one in its incarnate state because the natures always act in unity.
Monophysitism had numerous forms, including Acephali, Apollinarians, Docetists, and Eutychians. The Eutychianists are considered "real or ontological monophysites", teaching an "extreme form of the monophysite heresy that emphasizes the exclusive prevalence of the divinity in Christ".
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Nestorianism
Nestorius' theology was influenced by the teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, a prominent theologian of the Antiochian School. Nestorian Mariology favours the title "Christotokos", encompassing the term "Theotokos" ("God-bearer") for Mary, thus emphasising the distinction between the divine and human aspects of the Incarnation. Nestorianism promotes the concept of a prosopic union of two concrete realities (divine and human) in Jesus Christ, contrasting with the concept of a hypostatic union of two natures.
The Council of Ephesus in 431 labelled Nestorius a neo-adoptionist and a heretic, deposing him and anathematising him at the Second Council of Ephesus. The council, led by Cyril of Alexandria, implied that the man Jesus was divine and the Son of God only by grace, not by nature. This led to the formation of a schismatic sect, Nestorianism, which stressed the independence of Christ's divine and human natures, suggesting they were two persons loosely united.
In modern religious studies, the term "Nestorian" is increasingly used to refer specifically to the original teachings of Nestorius, rather than the Assyrian Church of the East or its offshoots. While Nestorianism has been condemned as heresy by the principal branches of Christianity, it represents a significant chapter in the history of Christian theology and its spread across diverse regions.
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Christ's personhood
The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ is one person with two natures, one divine and the other human. This doctrine is known as the Hypostatic Union and is a central tenet of orthodox Christianity. The concept of the Hypostatic Union states that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man, with two complete and distinct natures that are united in one person.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "human nature was assumed, not absorbed" in the Incarnation. This means that Christ took on a human nature, with its own operations of intellect and will, while remaining fully divine. The Church confesses the full reality of Christ's human soul and body, belonging to the divine person of the Son of God. This union of divine and human natures in Christ is a mystery, but it is essential to the Christian doctrine of salvation, as it allows Christ to share his divinity with humanity.
The idea that Jesus Christ has two natures has been a subject of debate and controversy throughout the history of the Church. In the early centuries after Christ's death, the Church had to address a number of divergent belief systems, such as Gnostic Docetism, which denied Christ's full humanity, and Monarchianism, which viewed Jesus as a mortal endowed with divine wisdom. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 declared that Jesus was the Son of God by nature, refuting these heresies.
The dispute between Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius in the 5th century also centred on Christ's nature. Nestorius argued for two distinct substances or hypostases, of divinity and humanity, in Christ, and refused to refer to Mary as the "God-bearer" or Theotokos. He was labelled a neo-adoptionist and a heretic by the Council of Ephesus in 431, which affirmed that Christ was "truly man and truly God," with two natures united in one person.
The Council of Chalcedon in 451 also addressed the issue, declaring that Christ's two natures are perfectly united without being confused, mixed, divided, or separated. The distinctiveness of each nature is conserved, and they concur in one person and one reality. This doctrine affirms the full deity and humanity of Christ, ensuring that neither is denied or diminished.
In conclusion, Christ's personhood is understood in Catholic theology as a single divine person with two natures, divine and human, united in the Hypostatic Union. This doctrine has been a central belief of the Catholic Church, shaping its understanding of Christ's nature and his role in salvation.
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Frequently asked questions
Jesus Christ has two natures: one divine and the other human.
The divine nature of Jesus Christ is that of God the Father, begotten before time and with no beginning. The human nature of Jesus Christ is that of a man born in time through the incarnation of God in the Virgin Mary.
The two natures of Jesus Christ are united in one person, who is both fully God and fully man. This union is known as the hypostatic union, in which the natures are not mixed, combined, or added up, but exist simultaneously and distinctly in Christ.
The belief in the two natures of Christ is important because it affirms the full deity of Christ as God incarnate and his real humanity as a man who suffered and died. This doctrine of the hypostatic union is a central tenet of orthodox Christianity and is essential for understanding the Christian concept of salvation.
