History of the Christian Church*
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
a Grace Notes course History of the Christian Church VOLUME 4. History of Medieval Christianity, AD 590 to 1517 By Philip Schaff CH411 Chapter 11: Doctrinal Controversies History of the Christian Church Volume 4. History of Medieval Christianity, AD 590 to 1517 CH411 Table of Contents Chapter 11. Doctrinal Controversies .............................................................................................2 4.106. General Survey ........................................................................................................................ 2 4.107. The Controversy on the Procession of the Holy Spirit............................................................. 3 4.108. The Arguments for and against the Filioque ........................................................................... 5 4.109. The Monotheletic Controversy................................................................................................ 8 4.110. The Doctrine of Two Wills in Christ ......................................................................................... 8 4.111. History of Monotheletism and Dyotheletism ........................................................................ 10 4.112. The Sixth Ecumenical Council. A.D. 680 ................................................................................. 12 4.113. The Heresy of Honorius ......................................................................................................... 12 4.114. Concilium Quinisextum. A.D. 692 ........................................................................................... 14 4.115. Reaction of Monotheletism. The Maronites ......................................................................... 16 4.116. The Adoptionist Controversy. Literature ............................................................................... 16 4.117. History of Adoptionism .......................................................................................................... 17 4.118. Doctrine of Adoptionism ....................................................................................................... 19 4.119. The Predestinarian Controversy ............................................................................................ 21 4.120. Gottschalk and Rabanus Maurus ........................................................................................... 22 4.121. Gottschalk and Hincmar ........................................................................................................ 24 4.122. The Contending Theories on Predestination, and the Victory of Semi-Augustinianism ....... 24 4.123. The Doctrine of Scotus Erigena ............................................................................................. 29 4.124. The Eucharistic Controversies. Literature ............................................................................. 30 4.125. The Two Theories of the Lord’s Supper ................................................................................. 31 4.126. The Theory of Paschasius Radbertus ..................................................................................... 32 4.127. The Theory of Ratramnus ...................................................................................................... 33 4.128. The Berengar Controversy ..................................................................................................... 35 4.129. Berengar’s Theory of the Lord’s Supper ................................................................................ 40 4.130. Lanfranc and the Triumph of Transubstantiation ................................................................. 41 Chapter 11. Doctrinal Controversies agitated by seven theological controversies of considerable interest. 4.106. General Survey 1. The controversy about the single or double Our period is far behind the preceding Procession of the Holy Spirit. This belongs to patristic and the succeeding scholastic in the doctrine of the Trinity and was not doctrinal importance, but it mediates settled, but divides to this day the Greek and between them by carrying the ideas of the Latin churches. fathers over to the acute analysis of the 2. The Monotheletic controversy is a schoolmen, and marks a progress in the continuation of the Eutychian and development of the Catholic system. It was Monophysitic controversies of the preceding History of the Christian Church, Philip Schaff 3 CH411: Volume 4, Chapter 11 a Grace Notes course period. It ended with the condemnation of deepened, and perpetuated the greatest Monotheletism and an addition to the schism in Christendom. Chalcedonian Christology, namely, the The single word Filioque keeps the oldest, doctrine that Christ has two wills as well as largest, and most nearly related churches two natures. divided since the ninth century, and still 3. The Adoptionist controversy is a forbids a reunion. The Eastern church regards continuation of the Nestorian. Adoptionism the doctrine of the single procession as the was condemned as inconsistent with the corner-stone of orthodoxy, and the doctrine personal union of the two natures in Christ. of the double procession as the mother of all 4 and 5. Two Eucharistic controversies heresies. She has held most tenaciously to her resulted in the general prevalence of the view since the fourth century, and is not doctrine of transubstantiation. likely ever to give it up. Nor can the Roman church change her doctrine of the double 6. The Predestinarian controversy between procession without sacrificing the principle of Gottschalk and Hincmar tended to weaken infallibility. the influence of the Augustinian system, and to promote semi-Pelagian views and The Protestant Confessions agree with the practices. Latin dogma, while on the much more vital question of the papacy they agree with the 7. The Image-controversy belongs to the Eastern church, though from a different point history of worship rather than theology, and of view. The church of England has has been discussed in the preceding chapter. introduced the double procession of the Spirit The first, second, and seventh controversies even into her litany. It should be affected the East and the West; the remembered, however, that this dogma was Adoptionist, the two Eucharistic, and the not a controverted question in the time of the Predestinarian controversies were Reformation, and was received from the exclusively carried on in the West, and medieval church without investigation. ignored in the East. Protestantism is at perfect liberty to go back 4.107. The Controversy on the Procession to the original form of the Nicene Creed if it of the Holy Spirit should be found to be more in accordance with the Scripture. But the main thing for See the Lit. in 4.67 p. 304 sq. The arguments Christians of all creeds is to produce “the fruit for both sides of the question were fully of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, long- discussed in the Union Synod of Ferrara- Florence, 1438–’39; see HEFELE: suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Conciliengesch. VII. P. II. p. 683 sqq.; 706 sqq.; meekness, self-control.” 712 sqq. Let us first glance at the external history of The FILIOQUE-controversy relates to the the controversy. eternal procession of the Holy Spirit, and is a 1. The New Testament. The exegetical continuation of the trinitarian controversies starting-point and foundation of the doctrine of the Nicene age. It marks the chief and of the procession of the Holy Spirit is the almost the only important dogmatic word of our Lord in the farewell address to difference between the Greek and Latin his disciples: When the Paraclete (the churches. It belongs to metaphysical theology, Advocate) is come, whom I will send unto you and has far less practical value than the from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy proceedeth (or, goeth forth) from the Father, Spirit in the hearts of men. But it figures very he shall bear witness of me.” largely in history, and has occasioned, On this passage the Nicene fathers based their doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit, History of the Christian Church, Philip Schaff 4 CH411: Volume 4, Chapter 11 a Grace Notes course as his personal property or characteristic the procession, the Spirit is active: in the individuality while the unbegotten mission, he is passive; the procession is Fatherhood belongs to the person of the spoken of in the present tense (ἐκπορεύεται) Father, and the eternal generation to the as a present act, the mission in the future person of the Son. tense (πέμψω) as a future act, so that the Our Lord says neither that the Holy Spirit former seems to belong to the eternal Trinity proceeds from the Father alone, nor that he of essence, the latter to the historical or proceeds from the Father and the Son. But in economical Trinity of revelation. several other passages of the same farewell Now God indeed reveals himself as he addresses he speaks of the Spirit as being actually is, and we may therefore reason back sent by the Father and the Son, and promises from the divine office of the Spirit to his this as a future event which was to take place divine nature, and from his temporal mission after his departure, and which actually did to his eternal relation. Yet it may be take place on the day of Pentecost and ever questioned whether such inference justifies since. the doctrine of a double procession in the On these passages is based the doctrine of the absence of any express Scripture