MASTERARBEIT / MASTER’S THESIS Titel der Masterarbeit / Title of the Master‘s Thesis “The Arian Controversy vis-à-vis the Council of Nicea and inculturation of the faith” verfasst von / submitted by Rodgers Mulenga angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) Wien, 2017 / Vienna 2017 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 066 795 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Masterstudium Theologische Spezialisierungen / degree programme as it appears on Advanced Theological Studies the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jan-Heiner Tück 2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................................... 10 ARIUS ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 1. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION .................................................................................................. 10 1.1. HISTORICAL AND INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND ........................................................... 12 1.1.1. Philosophical influence - middle Platonism ................................................................................ 13 1.1.2. Doctrine of the Three Principles ................................................................................................. 13 1.1.3. Concept of the Platonic Deity ..................................................................................................... 15 1.2. THEOLOGICAL INFLUENCE ..................................................................................................... 18 1.2.1. Origen (182 – 254 AD) ............................................................................................................... 18 1.2.2. Gregory Thaumaturgus (213 -270 AD) ...................................................................................... 21 1.3.0. THE TEACHING OF ARIUS (256 – 336 AD) ............................................................................... 22 1.3.1. Jesus as a creature ......................................................................................................................... 24 1.3.2. Created before time ....................................................................................................................... 25 1.3.3. Jesus as alien to the father ............................................................................................................. 26 1.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................................ 28 2. THE FIRST ECUMENICAL COUNCIL OF NICEA (325 AD) ........................................................... 28 2.1. The imperial Church ........................................................................................................................... 29 2.1.1. The intervention of Constantine .................................................................................................... 31 2.2. Participants at the council of Nicea ..................................................................................................... 33 2.3. The deliberations of Nicea .................................................................................................................. 34 2.4. The Nicene Creed ............................................................................................................................... 37 2.5. The Christological article and its four interpolations .......................................................................... 38 2.5.1. The first interpolation: ‘from the substance of the father’ ........................................................... 38 2.5.2. Second interpolation – ‘true God from true God’ ........................................................................ 39 2.5.3. Third interpolation – ‘Begotten not made’ ................................................................................... 40 2.5.4. The fourth interpolation – ‘of one substance with the father' (homoousios) ................................ 41 2.6. Debate surrounding the term “homoousios” ....................................................................................... 43 2.7. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................... 45 3 3. INCULTURATION OF CHRISTOLOGY IN AN AFRICAN CONTEXT ........................................... 45 3.1. What is Inculturation? ......................................................................................................................... 46 3.2. Hellenisation of Christology .............................................................................................................. 53 3.2.1. Lessons to learn from Hellenisation at Nicea ............................................................................... 55 3.3. DE-HELLENISATION OF THEOLOGY .......................................................................................... 55 3.3.1. Response of Benedict XVI against De-hellenisation .................................................................... 57 3.4. Pope Francis on Inculturation ............................................................................................................. 63 3.5. Inculturation of the Gospel in an African Context .............................................................................. 64 3.5.1. The cult of Ancestors .................................................................................................................... 67 3.5.1.2. An ancestor in an African context .......................................................................................... 68 3.6. African Christological concepts .......................................................................................................... 69 3.6.1. Jesus as a King or Chief ................................................................................................................ 70 3.6.2. Christ as brother ancestor ............................................................................................................ 71 3.6.3. Christ as Proto ancestor................................................................................................................. 73 3.7. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 74 GENERAL CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................... 76 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 80 BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................................... 81 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ 84 ABSTRAKT ............................................................................................................................................... 85 CURRICULUM VITAE ............................................................................................................................. 86 4 PREFACE The work contained in this thesis could not have been possible without the blessings of God who gave me good health of mind and body. I am more than grateful to Him, for in Him I live, move and have my being. My gratitude also goes to my Archbishop, Most Rev. Ignatius Chama of Kasama Archdiocese in Zambia for sending me to Vienna in Austria to pursue further studies. To the Archbishop of Vienna, His Eminence Christoph Cardinal Schönborn for offering me board and room by placing me in a parish through which I have received the necessary material support. Special thanks go to Prof. Dr. Jan-Heiner Tück for accepting to supervise this work, for his invaluable suggestions, encouragements and motivation that shaped this work to be what it is. Lastly but not the least, I am indebted to the community of Pfarre Gartenstadt where I have been at home during my entire period of study for the past four years. Special thanks go to Pfarrer Pawel Wojciga for his great friendship and support, to the workers in the Parish and the parishioners. 5 6 INTRODUCTION At the heart of the Christian Faith is the belief in the Holy Trinity, that is, belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Focus in this paper will be around the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. The central question of discussion concerns the doctrine of his divinity. History shows that belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ was not so crystal clear from the beginning of the Christian faith. It was only after