Comparative Christology: Hypostasis, Nature(s), Will(s) and Energy(ies) in Severus of Antioch and Maximus the Confessor

Abstract

The Council of Chalcedon (451) marked the first major schism in the Church. In subsequent centuries, churches defined themselves in relation to Chalcedon with some identifying as Chalcedonian and others identifying as anti-Chalcedonian. Attempts at reconciling the Christological differences between Chalcedonian and anti-Chalcedonian churches started in the centuries immediately after Chalcedon, albeit without long lasting success. More recent attempts at reconciliation between the Chalcedonian, or Eastern Orthodox churches, and the anti-Chalcedonian, or Oriental Orthodox churches, have culminated in the composition of the two Agreed Statements by the Orthodox Joint Commission in 1989 and 1990. Despite their success in demonstrating that the compatibility of the Christologies of the Chalcedonian Eastern Orthodox and the anti-Chalcedonian, or Miaphysite, Oriental Orthodox, a few gaps could be identified in the statements especially with respect to their treatment of the issue of the will(s) and energy(ies) in Christ. The present investigation aims to bridge terminological gaps between the two churches by drawing on the writings of Severus of Antioch (c. 465-538), a non-Chalcedonian theologian, and Maximus the Confessor (c. 580-662), a Chalcedonian theologian. By analyzing their use of terms such as hypostasis, physis, thelema, and energeia, it is demonstrated that the differences between their Christological systems, and by extension those of their churches, have been often exaggerated. The analysis of their use of such terms serves to illuminate how the theologies of Severus and Maximus converge in ways not often recognized. In addition, the present study suggests addendums to the two Agreed Statements that further elucidate the proximity of the Christologies of the Eastern and Oriental families of Orthodoxy based on the theological contributions of Severus of Antioch and Maximus the Confessor.