Chalcedonian and miaphysite wording
- S16.1 Split after 451: ‘in two natures’ (Chalcedon, Leo) vs ‘one incarnate nature of God the Word’ (Cyril as read by Severus); both confess full deity and humanity without mixture (medium)
- S16.2 Two natural wills and operations, not opposed (Constantinople III), grounded in Gregory’s ’not assumed, not healed' (medium–high)
From the study it came from: Agree on the substance; Scripture supports two wills.
Two separate measures, shown side by side; neither is combined with the other (confidence-weighted, out of 4; counts show how many of this doctrine's 2 questions each rests on). This doctrine is second-order (tier weight 2). How scoring works · Scripture and tradition · Glossary · Every score with its citation
Closeness to Scripture
Closeness to the fathers
Charts: closeness to the fathers by question, and timeline
- c. 380 Gregory Nazianzen S16.2
- c. 431 Ephesus S16.1 · fathers varied
- c. 449 Leo the Great S16.1, S16.2 · fathers varied
- c. 451 Chalcedon S16.1 · fathers varied
- c. 515 Severus of Antioch S16.1 · fathers varied
- c. 515 Severus of Antioch S16.1, S16.2 · fathers varied
- c. 681 Constantinople III S16.2
- 1577 Formula of Concord Lutheran
- 1646 Westminster Confession Presbyterian
S16 · Chalcedonian and miaphysite wording
“In two natures” or “one incarnate nature”; two wills.
Tier: Second-order (scoring weight 2). How the tiers were set: theological triage. Site structure: structure.
Questions
- S16.1 The natures formula: ‘in two natures’ or ‘one incarnate nature’
- S16.2 Two wills (Constantinople III) (was
christology/X2)
Verdicts and trace
S16.1 · The natures formula
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S16.1 | Split after 451: ‘in two natures’ (Chalcedon, Leo) vs ‘one incarnate nature of God the Word’ (Cyril as read by Severus); both confess full deity and humanity without mixture | Medium | S16.1.1 · S16.1.3 weighing | chalcedon-chr-s1 · leo-the-great-chr-s1 · severus-of-antioch-chr-s1 · severus-of-antioch-chr-s2 · ephesus-chr-s1 | S16.1.4: not a Scripture question |
S16.2 · Two wills (Constantinople III)
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S16.2 | Two natural wills and operations, not opposed (Constantinople III), grounded in Gregory’s ’not assumed, not healed’ | Med–high | S16.2.1 · S16.2.3 weighing | gregory-nazianzen-chr-s1 · leo-the-great-chr-s1 · severus-of-antioch-chr-s2 · constantinople-iii-chr-s1 | S16.2.4: medium-high |
Post-750 development
S16.1 scores and their bases are given per tradition in S16.1 reasoning.
Which of this doctrine’s questions each tradition stays closest to, or departs from. Each row links to the tradition’s notes.
| Tradition | Closest to the fathers on | Departs or sharpens on |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | S16.2 | — |
| Orthodox | S16.2 | — |
| Oriental Orthodox | S16.2 | partly S16.2 |
| Lutheran | partly S16.2 | — |
| Anglican | partly S16.2 | — |
| Presbyterian | partly S16.2 | — |
| Reformed Baptist | partly S16.2 | — |
| General Baptist | partly S16.2 | — |
| Anabaptist | — | — |
Where the tier is contested
The default tier above follows the triage criteria. These traditions place it differently, and the scores page recomputes the rankings under each tradition’s own tiers.
| Tradition | Its tier | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Orthodox | First-order | Chalcedon received as ecumenical (to verify framing) |
| Oriental Orthodox | First-order | Cyril’s ‘one incarnate nature’ formula (to verify framing) |
Origin
Plan, overall verdict and verification status of the former christology category (shared with the other doctrines that came from it)
Christology
Method and conventions: docs/conventions.md. Reasoning: christology reasoning. Traditions’ sources: confessional sources.
1. Plan
Questions: X1 one person, truly God and truly man (and the formula: ‘in two natures’ or ‘one incarnate nature’); X2 one or two wills and operations in Christ. Scripture: John 1:1, 14; Phil 2:6–8; Col 2:9; Heb 2:14–17; 4:15; Luke 22:42; John 6:38. Fathers: Ignatius, Ephesians 7; Gregory Nazianzen, Letter 101; Cyril’s anathemas (Ephesus 431); Leo’s Tome (449); Chalcedon (451); Severus of Antioch’s letters; Constantinople III (681). Later: the Lutheran communication of attributes, Menno Simons on Christ’s flesh, and the classic non-Chalcedonian position.
2. Verdicts and trace
Weighed under the source-proximity principle: Scripture first, then the father tiers T1–T4.
3. Post-750 development
4. Overall verdict
X1: all nine confess one person fully God and fully man; the classic Mennonite ‘celestial flesh’ view qualifies how Christ’s flesh relates to Mary, and the Chalcedonian/Cyrilline split is largely terminological on the substance. X2: two wills is supported by Scripture and Gregory; the non-Chalcedonian one-operation view departs.
5. Verification status
Menno’s wording is verified from A True Confession … of the Incarnation. The Orthodox Creed’s Christological article and Formula of Concord VIII are cited from standard editions.