ORTHODOX CHRISTOLOGY
This Greek word means “nature”, a concrete reality of existence.
What is Physis?
This sacrament wipes away original/inherited sin.
What is Baptism?
Jonah didn’t just flee from a location, he fled from something spiritual. What was he trying to escape?
What is the presence and calling of God?
According to St. Macarius and St. Gregory Nazianzen, the proper function of memory is not merely psychological recall but this continual spiritual act that keeps the soul united to God.
What is the remembrance of God?
This early heretic promoted adoptionism.
Who is Paul of Samosata?
Nestorius preferred this title for St. Mary instead of Theotokos.
What is Christokos?
The 3 Aspects of salvation
What are the Past, the Present, and the Life to Come?
Jonah’s three days in the fish were not just punishment. What future event in salvation history do they prophetically point to?
What is Christ’s death, burial, and Resurrection on the third day?
The transformation of Saul into St. Paul demonstrates that salvation includes not only forgiveness, but this radical inner change.
What is repentance?
The Council that condemned Nestorianism.
What is the Council of Ephesus?
Nestorius believed Christ had these acting separately.
What are two separate natures, human and divine?
These two deadly spiritual states prevents us from moving forward with our spirtual life
What are laziness and discouragement?
The Ninevites did more than fast. What three actions showed their repentance was genuine?
What is fasting, wearing sackcloth (humility), and turning away from their evil ways?
Discouragement cuts off this “safe anchor” of the soul.
What is hope?
Greek Word for substance, particular example of a nature
Hypostases
The hero of the Council of Ephesus who declared “One Nature of God the Word Incarnate.”
Who is St. Cyril of Alexandria?
St. John Chrysostom describes the Church not as a courtroom for the sentencing of sinners, but as this healing institution; he famously notes that one may enter it as a wild animal such as a wolf, but through repentance, they leave as this.
What is a hospital, where a person enters as a predator but exits as a dove, sheep, or lamb?
The Fast of Jonah is placed before Great Lent for a reason. What spiritual purpose does this timing teach us?
What is preparing the heart through repentance before entering the greater journey of Lent?
“Abide in Me and I in you” is found in this Gospel chapter.
What is John 15:4
This early theological error proposed that Christ’s divinity was something adopted rather than inherent, laying groundwork for later Christological divisions.
What is Adoptionism?
St. Cyril wrote these twelve specific condemnations to dogmatize the correct understanding of the nature of Christ
What are the Twelve Anathemas
This phrase from the Reconciliation Prayer of St. Basil refers to unhealthy memory.
What is “the remembrance of evil entailing death”?
This three-day fast, first called the Fast of Nineveh, was added to the Coptic Church and reminds us of Jonah’s three days in the fish. It helps prepare our hearts before we begin Great Lent.
What is the three-day Fast of Nineveh, beginning exactly two weeks before Great Lent?
According to St. Athanasius, when the soul turns away from virtue and contemplation of God, it redirects its inner power toward this faculty, creating a false world that feeds passions.
What is the imagination?
By insisting that St. Mary must be called Theotokos, the Twelve Anathemas defended this theological truth about the One she bore.
What is that He is truly God the Word incarnate?