Monarchianism is a

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologian ...

that emphasizes God as one indivisible being,Encyclopædia Britannica: ''Monarchianism''
/ref>
at Catholic Encyclopedia, newadvent.org in direct contrast to Trinitarianism, which defines the

Godhead Godhead (from Middle English ''godhede'', "godhood", and unrelated to the modern word "head"), may refer to: * Deity * Divinity * Conceptions of God * In Abrahamic religions ** Godhead in Judaism, the unknowable aspect of God, which lies beyo ...

as three coeternal,

consubstantial Consubstantiality, a term derived from la, consubstantialitas, denotes identity of substance or essence in spite of difference in Aspect (religion), aspect. It appears most commonly in its adjectival form, "consubstantial", from Latin ''cons ...

, co-immanent, and equally divine

hypostases Hypostasis, hypostatic, or hypostatization (hypostatisation; from the Ancient Greek , "under state") may refer to: * Hypostasis (philosophy and religion), the essence or underlying reality ** Hypostasis (linguistics), personification of entities ...

History

During the

patristic period Patristics or patrology is the study of the List of early Christian writers, early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the Classical compound, combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (fathe ...

, Christian theologians attempted to clarify the relationship between the Father,

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

and

Holy Spirit In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...

. Monarchianism developed in the 2nd century and persisted further into the 3rd century.Encyclopædia Britannica: ''Monarchianism''
/ref> ''Monarchianism'' (from the Greek ''monarkhia'', meaning "ruling of one," and ''-ismos'', meaning "practice or teaching") stresses the absolute, uncompromising unity of God in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity, which is often lambasted as veiled

tritheism Tritheism (from Greek τριθεΐα, "three divinity") is a nontrinitarian Christian heresy in which the unity of the Trinity and thus monotheism are denied. It represents more a "possible deviation" than any actual school of thought positing thre ...

by nontrinitarian Christians and other monotheists. Monarchians were opposed by

Logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, wikt:λόγος, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive ...

theologians (

Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...

, Hippolytus,

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...

, and

Origen of Alexandria Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theolog ...

). The Trinitarian view gained prominence and was adopted at the First Council of Constantinople in 381. Monarchianism was considered a

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 ...

after the 4th century.

Types

Two types of monarchianism were propounded. Modalistic monarchianism (or Modalism) considers God to be one while appearing and working through the different "modes" of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Following this view, all the Godhead is understood to dwell in the person of Jesus from the

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...

. The terms "Father" and "Son" are then used to describe the distinction between the ''transcendence'' of God and the incarnation. Lastly, since God is understood as a Spirit in the context of the Gospel of John, it is held that the

should not be understood as a separate entity but rather as a mere descriptor of God's action. Notable adherents included

Noetus Noetus, a presbyter of the church of Asia Minor about AD 230, was a native of Smyrna, where (or perhaps in Ephesus) he became a prominent representative of the particular type of Christology now called modalistic monarchianism or patripassianism.A H ...

, Praxeas, and Sabellius, hence why the view is commonly called

Sabellianism In Christianity, Sabellianism is the Western Church equivalent to Patripassianism in the Eastern Church, which are both forms of theological modalism. Condemned as heresy, Modalism is the belief that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three diff ...

. Nevertheless, Sabellius's writings did not survive, so the little known about his beliefs is from secondary sources.

Adoptionism Adoptionism, also called dynamic monarchianism, is an Early Christianity, early Christian Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Diversity in early Christian theology, theological doctrine, which holds that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus was adopted as ...

(or ''dynamic monarchianism'') holds that God is one being, above all else, wholly indivisible, and of one nature. It holds that the Son was not co-eternal with the Father, and that

Jesus Christ 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 ...

was essentially granted godhood (adopted) for the plans of God and for his own perfect life and works. Different variations of Dynamism hold that Jesus was "adopted" either at the time of his

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

or his ascension. Notable adherents included

Theodotus of Byzantium Theodotus of Byzantium ( grc, Θεόδoτoς ''Theodotos''; also known as Theodotus the Tanner, Theodotus the Shoemaker, Theodotus the Cobbler, and Theodotus the Fuller; flourished late 2nd century) was an Adoptionist theologian from Byzantium, o ...

and Paul of Samosata, a bishop of Antioch. The name "Monarchian" properly does not strictly apply to the Adoptionists, or Dynamists, as they (the latter) "did not start from the monarchy of God, and their doctrine is strictly Christological".Catholic Encyclopedia - Monarchians

References

Sources

External links

* {{Heresies condemned by the Catholic Church Nontrinitarianism Christian terminology Heresy in ancient Christianity Nature of Jesus Christ

History

Types

See also

References

Sources

External links