Alexandrian and Antiochene Christologies

[Daniel McLean]

Hello,

Could anyone recommend the best books to read for an undergraduate essay comparing the pre-Chalcedon christologies of Alexandria and Antioch?

Thank you.

Daniel

[Kris]

Hello,

Could anyone recommend the best books to read for an undergraduate essay comparing the pre-Chalcedon christologies of Alexandria and Antioch?

Thank you.

Daniel

St. Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy - Fr. John McGuckin

[Michael Stickles]

First, you might want to visit the Christological Controversy Study Area (http://www.monachos.net/library/Christological_Controversy_Study_Area) on this site. The "Two Schools" section has a brief intro to this specific topic.

Here are some print resources I know of. Unfortunately, I'm not personally familiar with their contents, so I can't tell you how accurate and/or unbiased they are.

Amazon.com has a reader page, "Compare Alexandrine Soteriology to Antioch's Christology (http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/3666IV9QGLXQF)", which has some suggested books. Google's book search includes a book called "What Christians Believe (http://books.google.com/books?id=dDXhYNUZ9W8C&pg=PA129&lpg=PA129&dq=christology+antioch+alexandria&source=web&ots=xb8g1Sftti&sig=twegK0rVn4kwU1UFMXHLiBZHDUs#PPA129,M1)" which also has a summary of the two viewpoints (not interrupted by missing pages). The Encyclopaedia Brittanica has an article on "Christology" which covers this topic.

For something that looks like an in-depth book devoted to this topic, the Christology in the Early Church (http://www.earlychurch.org.uk/christ.php) page at EarlyChurch.org.uk lists among their sources a work by R.V. Sellers: Two Ancient Christologies: A Study in the Christological Thought of the Schools of Alexandria and Antioch in the Early History of Christian Doctrine (London: SPCK, 1940).

A quick Google search using keywords "christology", "antioch", and "alexandria" turned up these and a lot more. Several were Google Books hits; not sure if the sections related to Christology were uninterrupted in all of them.

In Christ,
Mike

[Daniel McLean]

Thanks very much Mike and Kris - I'll have a look.

Daniel

[Dave Ferguson]

I think there is something on this in J.N.D. Kelly's 'Early Christian Doctrines'. I remember it being in Gerald Bray's 'Creeds, Councils and Christ'. Bray is one of the few evangelicals who has written extensively on the Fathers.

[Kosta]

In order to understand the two schools you cannot overlook Chalcedon. The council of Ephesus is basically the christology of Alexandria. The Antiochan delegation arrived late to the council of Ephesus, when they did finaly arrive (John of Antioch and his bishops) and saw how the council was started without them, they held a rival council of Ephesus which exhonerated there fellow kinsman Nestorius. The council of Ephesus didnt become offically "ecumenical in 433 a.d. when John of Antioch reconciled with St Cyril. The formula of reunion acknowledges the Two Natures of Christ and John of Antioch accepts the dogma of the Theotokos.

The council of Chalcedon on the other hand is basically the school of Antiochan Christology. The Antiochan Schoo with its emphasis on the humanity of Christ and the distinction of the two natures, basically was forgotten due to the influence of Peter the Fuller 30 years after Chalcedon.