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Appollinarianism
Arianism
Docetism
Donatism
Ebionite
Encratite
Eutychianism
Gnosticism
Manichaeism
Marcionism
Monarchianism
Monophysitism
Monothelitism
Montanism
Nestorianism
Sabellianism
Apollinarianism-- Jesus fully God --
partially or incompletely human--
Appollinaris' (c. 350) views of Christ's nature were condemned at the
Council of Constantinople in 381.
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Arianism-- Jesus less than God -- more than
human--
The Arian controversy began in Alexandria, Egypt about 318 AD. Arius (c.
250-c. 336) was a popular Alexandrian priest whose theology about who
Jesus was was condemned as heretical by the First Council of Nicaea in 325
and also at the First Council of Constantinople in 381. Arius disagreed
with the Bishop Alexander of Alexandria's idea of the Trinity. Arius
thought that Alexander was confusing the Son with the Father, who stressed
the divinity of the Logos and also his exact likeness with the Father.
Arius argued that Jesus, the Logos, was a "creature" who was "begotten" of
the Father, who was "unbegotten." Arius, like Origen, believed that the
Father was the only true God. The Nicene Creed was written to respond to
Arianism.
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Docetism-- Jesus wholly divine -- his humanity
and suffering only seemed to be real--
This heresy emerged in about 110 C. E. The term "docetism" is derived from
the Greek word dokesis, "to seem." Ignatius warned the church of Smyrna of
the danger of this new heresy.
"Docetist" was first used to identify a particular group in Serapion's
condemnation of the Gospel of Peter (c 190 CE). Eusebius reports that
Serapion forbade use of the Gospel of Peter on the basis of its
docetism.(Eusebius, EH VI.xii).-- from Docetism by A. K. M. Adam
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Donatism--personal holiness of individuals validates a church office--
Donatism, named after its leader Donatus the Great, was a form of North
African Christianity that glorified martyrdom ("cult of the martyrs"). The
Donatist controversy emerged about 311 but its origins were in the times
following Diocletian's first edict against Christians (February 24, 303).
The emperor commanded their churches to be destroyed and their Sacred
Books burned.He outlawed Christianity.
Anyone who apostasized during that time by giving up the Sacred Books, by
delivering sacred objects, or betraying other Christians to the government
authorities were called a traditor. The Donatist schism began around 311
when a Caecilian, a man who opposed the cult of the martyrs, was
irregularly elected bishop of Carthage, after the equally disliked (by the
Donatists) Mensurius died. The Donatists argued that Caecilian's
ordination was invalid because one of the men who ordained him was a
traditor. When Constantine recognized Caecilian, the Donatists appealed.
Ultimately, at Constantine's referral, a bishop's council that met in
Arles, Gaul (314) rejected the Donatists' argument that a morally unworthy
clergyman could not perform valid ecclessial actions. A schism then
occurred with the Donatists claiming that they were the only true church.
Later Augustine of Hippo (354-430) also spent a great deal of energy
fighting Donatism. The schismatic African church remained into the seventh
century, when both it and Roman Catholicism were overcome by the Islamic
religion.
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Ebionite-- Jesus regarded as prophet rather than divine Word of God--
Ebionites originally were a first century Jewish-Christian sect. They
emphasized Jewish law and rejected Paul's teachings. Most considered him
to be a man, not God. Later use of this term refers to anyone who
minimizes the divinity of Christ.
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Encratite--sexual continence required for salvation--
The word "Encratite" comes from the Greek word enkrateia, meaning
"continence." It is a name applied to several early Christian sects, most
of which were Gnostic. Encratites were ascetics who refrained from
alcohol, animal products, and sex. Their ascetic practices were not
heteretical but rather the theology upon which their continence was based.
The name of Tatian (c. 120-173 CE), who edited a complilation of the
gospels called the Diatesseron is associated with this heresy. Around 172,
Tatian became a Gnostic of the Encratite sect. Tatian reinterpreted the
story of Adam and Eve and Christian documents such as 1 Corinthians 7:3-6
to support the idea that humans must abandon sexual intercourse in order
to regain the Spirit of God that had been lost because of Adam and Eve's
fraility. People were to be married to God, not to each other.
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Eutychianism-- Christ has but one nature, divine--
Named after Eutyches of Constantinople, who with Chrysphius, and Dioscoros
tried in 433 to make the 12 Anathemas of Cyril of Alexandria the standard
of orthodoxy and "do in" the "inspired man" Christology of Antioch. A goal
was to make Alexandria, instead of Constantinople, the second most
powerful see in Christendom (next to Rome). From Cyril, Eutyches argued
that Christ was one nature after the union. (See also Monophysitism and
Nestorianism.)
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Gnosticism-- dualistic worldview, gnosis is Greek for "knowledge"--
Gnostics did not share all the same beliefs; 13 papyrus volumes of Gnostic
texts were discovered in Nag Hammadi, Egypt in the middle of the 20th
century. They have given invaluable insight into this diverse movement.
According to the Gnostic Society Archives, "Gnosticism is the teaching
based on Gnosis, the knowledge of transcendence arrived at by way of
interior, intuitive means. Although Gnosticism thus rests on personal
religious experience, it is a mistake to assume all such experience
results in Gnostic recognitions."
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Manichaeism-- Dualistic religion (good vs. evil, etc.) founded in Persia
(Iran) by Syriac-speaking Manes (215-75 A.D.) --
This belief system is a blend of Gnostic Christianity, Buddhism, and
Zoroastrianism.
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Marcionism-- Rejection of the Old Testament and differentiation between a
superior God of goodness and a God of justice, the Creator God of the
Jews--
Marcion proposed the first canon based on the "Western text": it consisted
of Luke and ten of Paul's epistles; however he deleted any references in
these that appeared to approve of the Old Testament and the Creator God of
the Jews. He also made other changes to the materials. His proposal helped
to spur others to respond with other canons that retained the Hebrew
scriptures and did not reject Christianity's Judeo-heritage.
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Monarchianism--Undivided unity and sovereignty (monarchia) of God--
This viewpoint flourished in the 3rd century among eastern and western
Christians.
Dynamic Monarchianism
Jesus a human who became a God--
Modalistic Monarchianism
Argued that the Trinity is one God with different modes of divine action
rather than distinct persons.
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Monophysitism--Jesus was a God with human attributes; he had one (mono)
dominant nature: divine--
Monophysitism was popular in Palestine, Egypt, and Antioch. The fourth
church council Chalcedon declared this belief to be heresy in 451.
Descendents of the groups declared heretical still exist today: they are
the Oriental Orthodox churches, who accept the first three church councils
but not the fourth Their biblical canons are also different from the Roman
Catholic Church. These churches, who are in ecumenical dialogue concerning
the split of the church, prefer to be called "non-Chalcedonian." The
Oriental Orthodox churches include:
The Coptic Church of Egypt
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church
The Syrian Orthodox Church
The Armenian Orthodox Church
The Malankara (Indian) Orthodox Church
A web page about the Coptic Church says: "The Coptic Church has never
believed in monophysitism the way it was portrayed in the Council of
Chalcedon! " An Ethiopian Orthodox Church web page says,
The Ethiopian Church belongs to the group of Orthodox Churches wrongly
termed "Monophysite" but which prefer the epithet "Non-Chalcedonian." The
other members of this family are the Coptic, Armenian, Syrian and Indian
Churches. Together with the Roman Catholic Church and the Byzantine
Orthodox Church they comprised the One Church for four centuries until the
division arose on account of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 which
insisted that Christ had the two natures of humanity and divinity.
The Oriental Orthodox churches have been responsible for the preservations
of a number of ancient manuscripts that might otherwise have been lost.
The Ethiopian Orthodox church has the largest Christian canon.
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Monothelitism--
Jesus's acts expressed one divine-human energia instead of two cooperating
wills--
A Christology proposed in the 7th century by the patriarchs of
Constantinople and Alexandria in an attempt to unify the Eastern church
which had be split by the monophysite controversy. The Maronite Church in
Syria today holds to this monthelite view.
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Montanism-- An apocalyptic movement emphasizing revelation named after its
leader Montanus--
Called "the New Prophecy" by its followers, Montanism, which began about
170 A.D., emphasized prophecy, direct revelation from the Holy Spirit, and
a strict moral code. Two women, Priscilla and Maximilla, were leaders who
delivered messages while in states of ecstasy. It announced that Jesus was
about to return. It spread to Asia Minor, Antioch, Syria, and Rome. In the
East, the Book of Revelation was initially rejected because it was
considered to be tainted by Montanism. In the West, the Book of Hebrews
was reject for similar reasons.
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Nestorianism--
Refers to theology of Nestorius of Antioch, who became Bishop of
Constantinople in 428 A.D.
Nestorius believed that Mary was mother only of the human Jesus, not the
divine Logos and in the Antiochine "two-nature" Christology. Cyril of
Alexandria (who had the female Platonist philosopher Hypatia murdered in
415) first attacked his doctrines in a letter in 428. In his third letter
to Nestorius (430), Cyril attacked Nestorius' Christology and demanded
that he agree with Cyril's 12 Anathemas, which condemned the Antiochine
theology of two natures. Nestorius was to agree that the Word of God
suffered in the flesh (not that only the human part of Jesus suffered).
Politics became heaviest at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Nestorius'
strongest supporters, John of Antioch and other Syrians were delayed
because of weather. Nestorius himself was given military protection
because of danger to his person at the hands of the monks related to
Memnon, bishop of Ephesus and strong supporter of Cyril. Nestorius' views
were misrepresented --he was accused of teaching that Christ was only an
human being-- and he was excommunicated. Four days later, the Syrians
arrived and condemned Cyril and Memnon. Then the Roman delegates of Pope
Celestine arrived and deposed John of Antioch.
In short, the situation was a mess and the bad feelings and actions did
not end at Ephesus. (See a church history book for more information.) In
435, Nestorius, who continued to insist on his innocence, was exiled to
the Egyptian desert.
Certain bishops in Syria agreed with Nestorius and founded a new church.
There still is a small Nestorian church based in Iran, whose New Testament
canon is the smallest of Christian churches (22 instead of 27 books)
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Sabellianism-- See Modalistic Monarchianism--
Sabellius originated this theory of the Trinity, which flourished in the
3rd century.
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