Christology

Christology is the study and doctrine of Jesus Christ’s identity, nature, and work. It examines how his humanity and divinity relate and what his life means for salvation.

Incarnation: The Christian doctrine that the divine Son became human in Jesus Christ. It names the central claim that Christology examines: God the Son became human.
Arianism: A fourth-century Christian teaching that the Son was created and therefore not coeternal with the Father. The Council of Nicaea rejected its account of Christ’s relation to the Father.
Council of Nicaea: A council held in 325 that affirmed the Son is of the same substance as the Father. Its creed gave a defining response to disputes over Christ’s divinity.
Athanasius of Alexandria: A fourth-century bishop and theologian who defended the Son’s full divinity against Arianism. His arguments helped secure the Nicene understanding of Christ.
Kenosis: The Christian theological concept of Christ’s self-emptying, drawn from Philippians 2:7. It raises questions about how the divine Son lived a genuinely human life.
Hypostatic Union: The doctrine that Jesus Christ is one person with both a divine nature and a human nature. It formulates how Christology holds together Christ’s divinity and humanity.
Docetism: An early Christian view that Jesus only seemed to possess a physical body and suffer. It denies the real humanity that orthodox Christology affirms.
Council of Chalcedon: A council held in 451 that confessed Christ as one person in two natures, divine and human. Its definition became a central statement of classical Christology.
Cyril of Alexandria: A fifth-century theologian who defended the unity of Christ’s person in debates preceding Chalcedon. His work shaped the controversy over whether Christ is one personal subject.
Resurrection of Jesus: The Christian claim that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead after his crucifixion. It is central to claims about Christ’s victory, identity, and saving work.

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