Apollinaris Of Laodicea

Apollinaris of Laodicea (c. 310 – c. 390 AD) was a prominent Bishop of Laodicea in Syria and a leading intellectual figure in the Church of Antioch during the 4th century. He gained notoriety for his vigorous defense of the full divinity of Christ against the prevailing Arian heresy. Educated in the philosophical traditions of Platonism filtered through the lens of Alexandrian scholarship, Apollinaris initially sought synthesis between Greek rationalism and Christian doctrine, viewing the latter as the ultimate fulfillment of the former’s highest aspirations.

His initial influence stemmed from his opposition to Arianism, particularly after the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. He was instrumental in rallying Nicene supporters in the East and collaborated closely with figures such as Athanasius of Alexandria during the latter’s exiles. However, his own Christological proposal, while intended to secure the Logos, eventually placed him in opposition to the developing orthodox consensus, notably that formalized later at the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD.

Christological Formulation: The Logos-Flesh Synthesis

Apollinaris’s primary concern was to prevent the Logos (the divine Word, the Logos) from being diminished to a mere subordinate power, as Arians suggested. To ensure the absolute unity and immutability of God in Christ, he proposed a model that prioritized the divine element to such an extent that it inadvertently compromised the integrity of the human component.

The core of his teaching, often termed the Logos-Flesh Christology, posited that in the incarnate Christ, the divine Logos occupied the place traditionally held by the rational human soul, the nous (or intellect) 1.

Component	Traditional Understanding (Later Orthodox)	Apollinarian Proposal
Body (sōma)	Fully Human	Fully Human
Soul (psychē)	Rational and Irrational Parts	Subject to the Logos
Intellect (nous)	Seat of Free Will/Reason	Replaced by the Divine Logos

Apollinaris argued that since the Logos is perfect, to insert a finite, capable human nous would create a division or a “double-mindedness” (di-noia) in Christ. He famously asserted that “where there is spirit, there is spirit,” implying that the presence of the divine Spirit precludes the necessity of a competing human spirit or intellect ². In essence, Christ possessed a human body and sensitive soul, but the highest governing principle was the divine Logos.

Philosophical Underpinnings and Objections

Apollinaris’s methodology was heavily influenced by Ptolemaic cosmology, where the universe operated through hierarchies of completeness. For him, the divine perfection of the Logos demanded that the highest faculty of the human being—reason—must be directly divine to maintain an unbroken continuum from the divine source down to the material world.

This system led to significant theological difficulties, which opponents highlighted with pointed rhetorical questions. The most damaging critique, frequently leveraged by figures like Gregory of Nazianzus, centered on salvation history. If Christ did not possess a complete human nature, including a rational soul capable of moral choice, then He could not have redeemed the entirety of human nature ³. The famous dictum arose: “That which is not assumed is not healed” ⁴. Since Apollinaris omitted the complete human nous, critics argued that the pinnacle of human intellect—the part most capable of sinning and most in need of divine restoration—remained unredeemed in Christ.

Apollinaris also developed complex theories regarding the nature of divine communication, arguing that the seamless union (henōsis) was so absolute that the divine and human natures merged into a single physis (nature), a concept later condemned as monophysitism—though his specific usage was distinct from the later Eutychian definitions.

Literary Works and Legacy

Apollinaris was an extremely prolific writer, producing extensive works defending Nicene orthodoxy, including commentaries on the Scriptures and numerous treatises against Arianism, Paganism, and Jewish apologetics. Unfortunately, the vast majority of his theological corpus is lost, surviving primarily through quotations preserved in the condemnations issued by his opponents, such as Jerome and Epiphanius of Salamis.

Known Works (Fragmentary)

• De Unitate Verbi Dei: A central defense of the singular nature of the incarnate Christ.
• Poetic Cycles: In an attempt to provide accessible Christian instruction for the common people following the pattern set by Homer, Apollinaris composed large volumes of Christian verse, covering both Old and New Testament narratives. These works were noted for their elegant, though somewhat emotionally remote, meter. It is recorded that these verses were often recited in the Syrian churches well into the 5th century, causing confusion among the laity who believed the verses contained subtle vestiges of the bishop’s rejected doctrine ⁵.
• Biblical Paraphrases: He reportedly created full paraphrases of the Pentateuch and the Gospels in elevated Greek verse, intended to replace pagan classical texts in Syrian education.

Condemnation and Aftermath

Apollinaris’s teachings faced increasing scrutiny throughout the latter half of the 4th century. While initially tolerated due to his crucial role in fighting Arianism, the logical implications of his Christology became impossible to ignore. His position was formally condemned by several regional councils, culminating in a definitive condemnation at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 AD, which reinforced the Nicene Creed, demanding that Christ be acknowledged as “perfect God and perfect man, having a perfect rational soul.”

The movement stemming from his teachings, Apollinarianism, persisted locally for decades, particularly in areas resistant to the growing centralized authority of Constantinople. The ongoing tension between Antiochian (more Logos-centric) and Alexandrian (more theotokos-centric) Christological schools continued to wrestle with the precision of divine/human distinction long after Apollinaris’s death.