Catechesis – Page 2 – Faith Unto Ages

The Early Church Fathers: Were they Miaphysite?

A common misconception about the Oriental Orthodox Church is that it’s Christology is ‘Monophysite’, meaning, that She followers the erroneous teachings of Eutyches of Constantinople that Jesus’ humanity had disappeared into His Divinity.

On the contrary, the Church teaches that Jesus Christ is Fully God and Fully Man; but One Concrete and Composite Nature from Two. This form of Christology is known as ‘Miaphysitism’, which has its basis in the teachings of the Early Church Fathers.

Below is an explanation of our Church’s Christology is more detail by His Holiness Pope Shenouda the Third, followed by a Florilegium on this dogmatic teaching.

St. Athanasius’ Apologia For the Incarnation, Pt. 2 – Refutation of the Jews and Gentiles

Introduction:

Throughout the work “On the Incarnation”, St. Athanasius had diligently made efforts to refute the skepticism of both the Jews and Gentiles alike; who found the dogmas of the Orthodox Church regarding Jesus’ Incarnation to be irrational. In response, the saint had appealed to scripture, reason, philosophy, and common sense to show that the skeptics had a position which was without any solid foundation. Throughout this essay, I will be demonstrating how St. Athanasius has argued against both camps; showing that he, just like St. Paul, was indeed by the Grace of God “appointed for the defense of the Gospel” (Philippians 1:17).

Repent and Believe in The Gospel!

The word Gospel comes from the Greek word evaggelion (εὐαγγέλιον) which means “Good news” or “Glad Tidings”. Within the ancient & pre-Christian Greco-Roman empire, it was common to see this word used when a king was praised for their accomplishments, military victory, or ascension to a throne.

For example, the Roman senator Paullus Fabius Maximus issued an edict in honor of Caesar Augustus. He declared that his birthday should be considered as the beginning of the year on the provincial calendar since he brought peace to the Roman Empire. Because of this, his birth was considered to be the beginning of “εὐαγγέλιον”.