6.2 - The Christological Controversy

  

Basil the Great stands with his brother Gregory of Nyssa and his classmate Gregory of Nazianzus, both of whom he recruited to help define and defend the doctrine of the Trinity. Basil himself was led to faith by his sister Macrina, whose life of service he sought to emulate.

Synopsis

After Athanasius' death, the Cappadocian Fathers helped push Trinitarianism across the finish line at the Council of Constantinople (381). Far from settling every dispute, however, the consensus that Jesus was God sparked new debates over the precise relationship between Christ's deity and humanity. In 451, the Council of Chalcedon crafted the definition that has endured ever since: Jesus is "the God-man:" one person with two distinct natures, 100% God and 100% man. 

Key Quotes

• “If you questioned a baker about the price of bread, he would answer that the Father is greater and the Son is subordinate to Him. If you went to take a bath, the bath attendant would tell you that in his opinion the Son simply comes from nothing.” (Gregory of Nyssa on Constantinople at the time of the Council)
• “What Christ has not assumed in our human nature cannot be redeemed.” (Gregory of Nazianzus)
• The Council of Chalcedon did not answer every conceivable question on how God can became man. However, it did erect a fence and say, 'Within these boundaries lies the mystery of the God-man.' That fence has endured to the present day."

Reflection Questions 

• While the Trinity was precisely formulated by Gregory of Nyssa (using ideas drawn from Tertullian), it has been said that to find the Trinity, we need only go to the Jordan (Matt. 3:16-17). What does that mean?
• What are the four errors concerning Christ's nature rejected by the Council of Chalcedon? How does each of these errant ideas undermine the Gospel?
• Does the Chalcedonian Definition improve our understanding or deepen the mystery of the "God-man"?

Further Resources

Here's a song I listened to a lot while writing this part of the course. It was inspired by a line from Gregory of Nyssa: "One who looks to this divine and infinite beauty…his desire to look never tires, for the revelations he awaits will be more magnificent and more divine than what he had already seen."