Papers by Christian Lange
Millennium
This paper challenges the traditional notions of 'Monophysitism' and 'Nestorianism' or 'The Nesto... more This paper challenges the traditional notions of 'Monophysitism' and 'Nestorianism' or 'The Nestorian Church'. With regard to 'Monophysitism', it argues that two interpretations of the basic 'Alexandrian' Christological formula of the 'one nature of the God-Logos incarnate' need to be distinguished. One, according to which the individual properties of the two 'natures' of Christ were lost and mixed, and which can, indeed, be referred to as 'Monophysitism'in contrast to another interpretation which insisted that the individual characteristics of the two 'natures' were preserved and the 'God-Logos incarnate' remained consubstantial with human beings (homoousios hēmin). This second approach might be better referred to as 'Miaphysitism'. Similarly, this contribution suggests that it seems necessary to differentiate between what Nestorius of Constantinople himself taught and what his opponent Cyrill of Alexandria imputed to him. When analyzing Nestorius' own writings, it becomes clear that Nestorius neither challenged the true union between the God-Logos and the 'Man' nor assumed a time in which the 'Man' existed prior to his unification with the God-Logos. Therefore, Nestorius taught no 'Nestorianism' in the sense in which Cyrill of Alexandria introduced it. Likewise, the Christology of the Apostolic Church of the East is based on the views of Theodore of Mopsuestia. It is not before the 6 th century that representatives of this Church discovered Nestorius as a martyr for the 'orthodox belief' who was persecuted by the Egyptian 'Pharaoh', just as had been John Chrysostom before him. Because of its loyalty to the Christology of Theodore of Mopsuestia, it seems rather
Ostkirchliche Studien 71, 2022
The paper analyses the reception of the biblical person of Ijob in Christian Patristic, Jewish Ra... more The paper analyses the reception of the biblical person of Ijob in Christian Patristic, Jewish Rabbinic and early Quranic Exegesis in Late Antiquity. By doing so, it wishes to discuss similarities and differences, and to suggest a possible interreligious-discourse interaction.
WiReLex- Was wissenschaftlich-religionspädagogische Lexikon im Internet, 2022
This paper focuses on the Schism which occurred between the Eastern and Western Churches. It sugg... more This paper focuses on the Schism which occurred between the Eastern and Western Churches. It suggests to understand the Eastern schism as a longer process, which culminated in the establishment of Latin patriarchs in Antioch, Jerusalem and Constantinople.
Ostkirchliche Studien 69, 2020
This paper discusses the ecclesiology of Ephraem the Syrian. It describes both Ephraem's relation... more This paper discusses the ecclesiology of Ephraem the Syrian. It describes both Ephraem's relation to Jewish ideas of priesthood and covenant and Ephraem's position to the Roman Empire and its church. It also discusses aspects of his sacramental theology, for example, when dealing with the Last Supper.
Article "Monphysitism" in: The Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception 19 (2021), 856-858, 2021
It is the aim of this article to define the christological technical term "Monophysitism". It arg... more It is the aim of this article to define the christological technical term "Monophysitism". It argues that we should distinguish between true "Monophysites", who underlined that the incarnate God-Logos was no longer of one being with us human beings (homoousios hemin), and "Miaphysites", who stressed Christ's consubstantiality with us men.
Studia Patristica XLIII, 2013
This paper suggests the term Miaenenergetism for the history of dogma. It argues that there were ... more This paper suggests the term Miaenenergetism for the history of dogma. It argues that there were a number of pro- and anti-chalcedonian authors of the 5th to 7th centuries who spoke of a combined energy (mia energeia) emanating from the combined hypostasis of God the Word incarnata (mia physis tou theou logou sesarkomene). Just as modern research has argued that the term Miaphsitism seems rather adequate to describe the christological position of the opponents of the council of Chalcedon (451), so, too, the paper proposes the term Miaenergetism to replace Monenergetism.
Der Wahrheits anspruch der Theologie in Geschichte und Gegenwart Systematisches – Historisches – Vermischtes, 2021
The article deals with the understanding of time in the theology of Ephraem the Syrian (ca. 305-3... more The article deals with the understanding of time in the theology of Ephraem the Syrian (ca. 305-373). It argues that Ephraem differentiates between two aspects of time: On the one hand, there is the ordinary time with a present, a past and a future. On the other hand, there is sacred time. Salvific events in sacred time can fall into the ordinary time, e.g. during Christian baptism, when the Christian believer joins Jesus' baptism in the river Jordan
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Papers by Christian Lange