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| In ] ''communicatio idiomatum'' ("communication of properties") is a Christological term, seeking to explain the interaction of deity and humanity in the ] of ]. Christian orthodoxy has maintained that the divine and the human are fully unified in Jesus Christ (according to the ]) but that the two natures also remain distinct (according to the ] in AD 451). Christians agree that the two natures, distinct yet unified, participate in some sort of exchange. However, there remains disagreement in the exact dynamic of this incarnational union. Those leaning toward an ] stress the distinction of natures and therefore a more tightly regulated communication of properties; those of the ] persuasion underscore the unity of Jesus Christ and therefore a more complete communication of properties. | |||
| In ] '''communicatio idiomatum''' ("sharing of attributes") is a term from the theology of the ], attempting to explain the relationship between two natures (divine and human) in one person (Jesus Christ). The theory is that both the properties of ] and the properties of the human nature can be ascribed to the person ]- a "Communication of Idioms" or attributes. | |||
| The doctrine has since the ] served as a bone of contention between Reformed and Lutheran Christians. In ] doctrine, the divine nature and the human nature are united strictly in the ''person'' of Christ. According to his humanity, Jesus Christ remains in heaven as the bodily high priest, even while in his divine nature he is omnipresent. This coincides with the Calvinistic view of the Lord's Supper (real presence), the belief that Christ is truly present at the meal, though not substantially and particularly joined to the elements. Lutherans, on the other hand, describe a union in which the divine and the human natures share their predicates more fully. Lutheran scholastics of the 17th century spoke of the ], the view that Jesus Christ's human nature becomes "majestic," suffused with the qualities of the divine nature. Therefore, in the eucharist the human, bodily presence of Jesus Christ is "in, within, under" the elements. | |||
| The assumption behind the theory, based on ] and the ], is that ] and the ] have the same rights and interest in all things created ''except'' in the human nature of Jesus Christ. His person is a result of the personal union between ] and (a) human nature; in other words the person of Jesus Christ has divine attributes and the divine being of ] is the subject of human properties. It is this theory which makes it possible for Christians to say "Christ is God" or "God is man" — two otherwise mutually exclusive concepts have been united through the communication of the properties of the two natures to the one person Jesus Christ. | |||
| To wit, where Lutherans can make bolder claims regarding the unity of Christ, the Reformed can make bolder claims for the preservation of the human nature of Christ. In more heated rhetoric, ] is accused of promoting ], and the Reformed a certain ]. | |||
| The guidelines for incarnational orthodoxy were set forth most authoritatively at the ] (AD 451). Its definition affirmed that Jesus Christ's two natures - divine and human - could not be confused or mixed on one hand, separated or divided on the other. | |||
| The doctrine has since the ] served as a bone of contention between Lutheran and Reformed Christians. Lutherans hold to the view that Jesus Christ's human nature takes on the predicates of the divine nature. This imputation allows not only for God's glory to be contained and manifest in the human person at the resurrection, but in this age it also provides the ground for the human presence of Jesus Christ "in, within, under" the bread and wine of the eucharist (the ] view of the Lord's Supper). In ] doctrine, the communicatio idiomatum, while effective for the purpose of salvation, does not refer to a sharing of divine attributes. Jesus Christ, the bodily man, remains in heaven as high priest, even while in his divine nature he is omnipresent. This coincides with the Calvinistic view of the Lord's Supper (real presence), the belief that Christ is truly present at the meal, though not substantially and particularly joined to the elements. Both Lutherans and Reformed claim to uphold the Christological definition offered at the ]. To wit, where Lutherans can make bolder claims regarding the unity of the person of Christ, the Reformed can make bolder claims for the preservation of the human nature of Christ. In more heated rhetoric, ] is accused of promoting ], and the Reformed a certain ]. | |||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
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In Christian theology communicatio idiomatum ("communication of properties") is a Christological term, seeking to explain the interaction of deity and humanity in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Christian orthodoxy has maintained that the divine and the human are fully unified in Jesus Christ (according to the Council of Ephesus in 431) but that the two natures also remain distinct (according to the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451). Christians agree that the two natures, distinct yet unified, participate in some sort of exchange. However, there remains disagreement in the exact dynamic of this incarnational union. Those leaning toward an Antiochene Christology stress the distinction of natures and therefore a more tightly regulated communication of properties; those of the Alexandrian Christology persuasion underscore the unity of Jesus Christ and therefore a more complete communication of properties.
The doctrine has since the Protestant Reformation served as a bone of contention between Reformed and Lutheran Christians. In Reformed doctrine, the divine nature and the human nature are united strictly in the person of Christ. According to his humanity, Jesus Christ remains in heaven as the bodily high priest, even while in his divine nature he is omnipresent. This coincides with the Calvinistic view of the Lord's Supper (real presence), the belief that Christ is truly present at the meal, though not substantially and particularly joined to the elements. Lutherans, on the other hand, describe a union in which the divine and the human natures share their predicates more fully. Lutheran scholastics of the 17th century spoke of the genus maiestaticum, the view that Jesus Christ's human nature becomes "majestic," suffused with the qualities of the divine nature. Therefore, in the eucharist the human, bodily presence of Jesus Christ is "in, within, under" the elements.
To wit, where Lutherans can make bolder claims regarding the unity of Christ, the Reformed can make bolder claims for the preservation of the human nature of Christ. In more heated rhetoric, Lutheranism is accused of promoting monophysitism, and the Reformed a certain Nestorianism.
See also