Elipandus (717–805) was a Spanish

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and the

archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

from 782. He was condemned by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as an

Adoptionist Adoptionism, also called dynamic monarchianism, is an early Christian nontrinitarian theological doctrine, which holds that Jesus was adopted as the Son of God at his baptism, his resurrection, or his ascension. How common adoptionist views ...

. Six letters written by Elipandus survive, including one to Migetius and another on behalf of the bishops of Spain to the bishops of

Francia Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...

. All in all, three of his letters address the Migetian controversy. He credited Bishop Ascaric of Braga with also fighting the "Migetians". Although he affirmed

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

teaching that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

is true Son of God, eternally begotten from God the Father and thus of one divine nature with the Father, he also proposed that Jesus, as the son of

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, according to his human nature was the adopted rather than the begotten son of

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. Elipandus's assertion seemed to suggest that Christ's human nature existed separately from His divine personhood. Thus, it seemed to be a nuanced form of

Nestorianism Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...

and came to be known as Adoptionism. Elipandus's teaching was condemned as

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

by the Councils of Ratisbon in 792 and of Frankfurt in 794. The heresy was rejected by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

theologian

Alcuin Alcuin of York (; la, Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; 735 – 19 May 804) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin, or Alchoin – was a scholar, clergyman, poet, and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student o ...

who wrote, among many other works against adoptionism, a ''Treatise against Elipandus'' in four books.

Paulinus II Saint Paulinus II ( 726 – 11 January 802 or 804 AD) was a priest, theologian, poet, and one of the most eminent scholars of the Carolingian Renaissance. From 787 to his death, he was the Patriarch of Aquileia. He participated in a number of syn ...

of Aquileia also composed a book refuting Elipandus unorthodox teachings for the Council of Frankfort.

Notes

References

* * * Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''The Growth of medieval Theology (600–1300).'' University of Chicago: Chicago, 1978. * Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
"Archive: The Complete Works of Bishop Elipandus of Toledo"
aymennjawad.org, July 2021. Corpus of Elipandus' surviving works in English translation. 717 births 805 deaths Archbishops of Toledo Spanish Christian theologians 8th-century archbishops 9th-century archbishops Nontrinitarian Christians {{Spain-reli-bio-stub