Adoptionism or adoptianism is an attempt to explain how Jesus is related God (that is, it was one option that arose in the Trinitarian controversies of the early church). Adoptionism arose among early Christians seeking to reconcile the claims that Jesus was the son of God with the radical monotheism of Judaism. Adoptionism states that Jesus was born fully human, and he became divine at a later point in his life (usually held to be at his baptism), at which point he became the adopted son of God. Adoptionism was condemned by the church as heresy at various times, most explicitly at the Council of Nicaea. This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... The adjective trinitarian is used in several senses: Ideas or things pertaining to the Holy Trinity A person or group adhering to the doctrine of Trinitarianism, which holds God to subsist in the form of the Holy Trinity The Trinitarian Order is a Catholic monastic order founded in 1198 by... The Early Christians is a term used to refer to the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth, before the emergence of established Christian orthodoxy. ... The Early Christians is a term used to refer to the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth, before the emergence of established Christian orthodoxy. ... Son of God is a biblical phrase from the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and the New Testament. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Baptism in early Christian art. ... Adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent (or parents) other than the birth parents. ... Son of God is a biblical phrase from the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), and the New Testament. ... St. ... The use of the term heresy in the context of Christianity is less common today, with some notable exceptions: see for example Rudolf Bultmann and the character of debates over ordination of women and gay priests. ... Council of Nicaea can refer to: First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 Second Council of Nicaea in AD 787 This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

History of Adoptionism

Adoptionism is one of two main forms of monarchianism; the other is modalism, which regards "Father" and "Son" as two aspects of the same subject. Adoptionism held that Christ as God is indeed the Son of God by generation and by nature, but Christ as man is Son of God only by adoption and grace, dispensed from the moment of his baptism. This position was one in a long series of Christian disagreements about the precise nature of Christ (see Christology) in the developing dogma of the Trinity, an attempt to explain the relationship between Jesus Christ, both as man and God and God the Father, while maintaining Christianity's monotheism. It differs significantly from the doctrine of the Trinity that was later accepted by the ecumenical councils. Monarchianism, or Monarchism as it is sometimes called, is a set of beliefs that emphasize God as being one, that God is the single and only ruler. ... In Christianity, Sabellianism (also known as modalism) is the second-century belief that the three persons of the Trinity are merely different modes or aspects of God, rather than three distinct persons. ... Christology is a field of study within Christian theology which is concerned with the nature of Jesus the Christ. ... For other uses, see Trinity (disambiguation). ... In theology, monotheism (Greek μόνος(monos) = single and θεός(theos) = God) is the belief in the existence of one deity or God, or in the oneness of God. ... In Christianity, an Ecumenical Council or general council is a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. ...

There were three waves of Adoptionist speculation. In The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture Bart D. Ehrman argues that the adoptionist view may date back almost to the time of Jesus. One of the early known exponents of Adoptionism was Theodotus of Byzantium. Also during the second century, Paul of Samosata and the followers of Monarchianism expressed similar views. The belief was declared heretical by Pope Victor I. Bart D. Ehrman is an historian of religions. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Theodotus of Byzantium (also known as Theodotus the Tanner) (fl. ... Paul of Samosata, patriarch of Antioch (260-269), Life Paul was born at Samosata into a family of humble origin. ... Monarchianism, or Monarchism as it is sometimes called, is a set of beliefs that emphasize God as being one, that God is the single and only ruler. ... The use of the term heresy in the context of Christianity is less common today, with some notable exceptions: see for example Rudolf Bultmann and the character of debates over ordination of women and gay priests. ... Saint Victor I was Pope from 189 to 199 (the Vatican cites 186 or 189 to 197 or 201). ...

The second movement of adoptionism, called Hispanicus error, in the late 8th century maintained by Elipandus, bishop of Toledo in the Caliphate of Cordoba and by Felix, bishop of Urgell in the foothills of the Pyrenees; Alcuin, the leading intellect at the court of Charlemagne was called in to write refutations against both of the bishops. Against Felix he wrote: Elipando (named in some sources as Elipandus) (717 - 808?) was a Spanish archbishop and theologian. ... Toledo is a city and municipality located in central Spain, about 70 kilometers south of Madrid. ... The interior of the Great Mosque in Córdoba, now a Christian cathedral. ... Felix, Bishop of Urgel (or Urgell), was a religious figure who lived at the monastery Sant Sadureni de Tabernoles in the foothills of the Pyrenees. ... Urgell is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. ... Rabanus Maurus (left), supported by Alcuin (middle), presents his work to Otgar of Mainz Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus or Ealhwine (c. ...

"As the Nestorian impiety divided Christ into two persons because of the two natures, so your unlearned temerity divided Him into two sons, one natural and one adoptive"

Beatus of Liébana, from the Kingdom of Asturias, also fought Adoptionism, which was a cause of controversy between Christians under Muslim rule in the former Visigothic capital of Toledo and the peripherical kingdom. The doctrine condemned as heresy by the Council of Frankfurt (794). The term Nestorianism is eponymous, even though the person who lent his name to it always denied the associated belief. ... The world map called St. ... The Kingdom of Asturias was the earliest Christian political entity to be established in the Iberian peninsula after the collapse of the Visigothic Kingdom after the defeat of King Rodrigo at the Battle of Guadalete and the subsequent Islamic conquest of Iberia. ... The Visigoths, originally Tervingi, or Vesi (the noble ones), one of the two main branches of the Goths (of which the Ostrogothi were the other), were one of the loosely-termed Germanic peoples that disturbed the late Roman Empire. ... Toledo is a city and municipality located in central Spain, about 70 kilometers south of Madrid. ...

A third wave was the revived form ("Neo-Adoptionism") of Abelard in the 12th century. Later, various modified and qualified Adoptionist tenets of some theologians from the 14th century. Duns Scotus (1300) and Durandus of Saint-Pourçain (1320) admit the term Filius adoptivus in a qualified sense. The defeat of Adoptionism was a check upon the dyophysitic and dyotheletic feature in the Chalcedon Christology, and put off indefinitely the development of the human side in Christ's Person. In more recent times the Jesuit Gabriel Vasquez, and the Lutheran divines Georgius Calixtus and Johann Ernst Immanuel Walch, have defended the Adoptionists as essentially orthodox. Pierre Abélard (in English, Peter Abelard) or Abailard (1079 - April 21, 1142) was a French scholastic philosopher. ... Blessed John Duns Scotus (c. ... Durandus of Saint-Pourçain (b. ... Gabriel Vasquez (b. ... Georgius Calixtus or Calisen (born December 14, 1586 in Medelby, Schleswig, Germany; died 1656) was a Lutheran theologian. ... Johann Ernst Immanuel Walch (1725 - 1778) was a German theologian. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Philip Schaff History of the Christian Church, Volume IV, 1882

Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... Philip Schaff (January 1, 1819-1893), was a Swiss-born, German-educated theologian and a historian of the Christian church, who, after his education, lived and taught in the United States. ...

See also

• Adoptivi
• Arianism
• Binitarianism

The Adoptivi, or Adoptiani, were an ancient religious sect whose name comes from the manner in which they understood Jesus to be the son of God in Christianity. ... This article is about theological views like those of Arius. ... Binitarianism is a theology of two in one God, as opposed to one (unitarianism) or three (trinitarianism). ...

External links

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Adoptianism

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Adoptionism, from a Roman perspective.