Christian Anthropological Terms

<aside> Christian Anthropology examines human nature through the lens of divine revelation and Church tradition. This understanding is crucial as it shapes how we view human dignity, purpose, and relationship with God.

The Human Tripartite Formula

• Soma (σῶμα) - soma - Body - The physical vessel through which we experience and interact with creation
• Psyche (ψυχή) - psyche - Soul - The animate force that gives life and consciousness
• Pneuma (πνεῦμα) - pneuma - Spirit - The faculty through which we commune with God
• Nous (νοῦς) - The spiritual intellect or "eye of the soul" that perceives divine truth and guides the whole person toward God

Energies of the Soul

• Logistikon (λογιστικόν) - logistikon - The rational faculty that works with the nous for spiritual discernment and understanding
• Thymikon (θυμικόν) - thymikon - The spirited/emotional faculty that can be directed toward virtuous passion or destructive anger
• Epithymetikon (ἐπιθυμητικόν) - epithymetikon - The appetitive faculty that can be oriented toward divine longing or earthly desires

Nous (νοῦς) -nous- spiritual intellect or "eye of the soul" that perceives divine truth

• Often mistranslated simply as "mind," the nous is distinct from the rational faculty (logistikon). While the logistikon deals with discursive reasoning, the nous is the contemplative faculty that directly apprehends divine truth. When properly oriented, the nous guides the body, soul, and spirit in harmony toward communion with God. </aside>

Historical Theological Terms and Controversies

• Ousia (οὐσία) - ousia - Essence or substance. We have a human essence, and God has a divine essence. Jesus has a human and divine essence united without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration. His divinity parted not from his humanity for a single moment nor the twinkling of an eye
• Homoousios (ὁμοούσιος) - homoousios - "Of the same essence/substance" - Term championed by St. Athanasius to affirm Christ's full divinity, found in the Nicene Creed where we say that Christ is “of one essence with the Father by whom all things were made”
• Modalism - Also known as Sabellianism after Sabellius (3rd century), taught that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three distinct persons but three modes or manifestations of one divine person. This heresy was condemned at the Synod of Rome (262 AD) and again at the First Council of Constantinople (381 AD)
• Heteroousios (ἑτεροούσιος) - heteroousios - "Of different essence/substance" and Homoiousios (ὁμοιούσιος) - homoiousios - "Of similar essence/substance" - Both positions rejected by the Church for denying Christ's full divinity: Arians claimed Christ was of a different essence (heteroousios), while Semi-Arians proposed He was of similar essence (homoiousios). These positions challenged St. Athanasius's homoousios doctrine, claiming it too closely resembled modalism (which denied the distinct persons of the Trinity) - a heresy the Church had previously condemned
• Hypostasis (ὑπόστασις) - hypostasis - Person or substance, particularly the three persons of the Trinity. The Cappadocian Fathers (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus) developed this critical element of Trinitarian theology that helped to clarify how it is possible for Christ to be homooúsios (ὁμοούσιος, "of the same essence") and still be a distinct Person from God the Father and God the Holy Spirit
• Physis (φύσις) - physis - Nature, used in two key theological contexts: (1) as a proxy for ousia in Chalcedonian formulations regarding Christ's divine and human natures, and (2) as used by St. Cyril of Alexandria interchangeably with hypostasis to refer to the unified nature of Christ as the Incarnate Word
  • Monophysitism- Teaching that Christ has only one nature (primarily divine). The most notable example is the heresy of Eutyches, who taught that Christ's human nature was absorbed into his divine nature like a drop of vinegar in the ocean. Similar monophysite views were held by Apollinaris and others who diminished Christ's full humanity
  • Dyophysitism- Teaching that Christ has two natures (fully divine and fully human). While both Chalcedonian Orthodox and Nestorians affirm two natures, they differ in how these natures are united - Chalcedonians teach "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation" while Nestorians tend to emphasize separation between the natures
  • Miaphysitism - Oriental Orthodox teaching that Christ has one united nature from two, emphasizing unity while maintaining both divine and human aspects

Additional Greek Theological Concepts

• Typos (τύπος) - typos - Pattern or prefigurement in scripture
• Anamnesis (ἀνάμνησις) - anamnesis - Memorial or remembrance, especially in liturgical context
• Telos (τέλος) - telos - End, purpose, or goal
• Koinonia (κοινωνία) - koinonia - Communion, fellowship, sharing
• Theosis (θέωσις) - theosis - Deification, becoming like God; term usually used in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition and equivalent to our concept of sanctification.
• Kenosis (κένωσις) - kenosis - Self-emptying, particularly Christ's emptying himself of divine attributes
• Perichoresis (περιχώρησις) - perichoresis - Mutual indwelling of the persons of the Trinity
• Epiklesis (ἐπίκλησις) - epiklesis - Invocation of the Holy Spirit, especially in liturgy
• Metanoia (μετάνοια) - metanoia - Repentance, transformation of mind
• Apophatic (ἀποφατικός) - apophatikos - Negative theology, describing God by who God is not