Trinity

TRINITY & OTHER DOCTRINES OF GOD:
PROF. M. M. NINAN
St. Cyril (376-444), was nephew of the patriarch of Alexandria, Theophilus.and later
became the Patriarch on the demise of Theophilus. In 412 he was the first to come up
with a proposal. His teaching may be summarized thus:
Cyril’s Views
Cyril supported the idea of the Word of God becoming flesh, thus getting accused by the
Nestorian camp of unreasonably “mixing” the Divine and human nature.
“Hypostatically united” was his main characterization of Jesus’ nature, the Divine and
human in one person and hypostasis (allowing, thus, the attribution of Jesus’ life events
to the Logos), but rejecting any “mixing” of the two (O’Collins, 2009, p. 193).
However, he often shifted between one and two natures (physeis), a term that would
soon become a central issue in theological debates. While, at the beginning of his
activity, he was in favor of one single physis, he later changed to two natures, while still
admitting a significant difference among the two natures forming the union.
”The Logos, pre-existing as a hypostatic distinction in the Godhead, united with
Himself complete manhood. But the union was not in the nature of a mere contact or
bond: the Logos had not only assumed flesh, but had become flesh. So Christ was the
Logos united with a complete human being; but so perfect was the union that the two
natures, divine and human, constituted only one person. (This union of the two natures
into one person is referred to as the hypostatic union.)
Nevertheless, the two natures were not confused or mingled: the flesh is flesh and not
deity, even if it has become flesh of God'; so that the one person still possessed the two
complete natures, and could assess experiences according to each of them: as the
Logos, His divine nature was impassible and unchangeable; but through the humanity
He had taken to Himself, He entered into all human feelings. Thus one person
experienced through two perfectly united natures. This ability to experience through
both natures, although there is only one person, is explained as due to an interchange
between the natures of their respective characteristics, the 'communicatio idiomatum'
of Latin theology.”
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