Spanish Adoptionism
Encyclopedia
Spanish Adoptionism was a Christian
theological position which was articulated in Umayyad
and Christian
-held regions of the Iberian peninsula
in the 8th- and 9th centuries. The issue seems to have begun with the claim of archbishop Elipandus of Toledo that – in respect to his human nature – Jesus Christ was adoptive Son of God
. Another leading advocate of this Christology was Felix of Urgel. In Spain, Adoptionism was opposed by Beatus of Liebana
, and in the Carolingian
territories, the Adoptionist position was condemned by Pope Hadrian I, Alcuin of York, Agobard
, and officially in Carolingian territory by the Council of Frankfurt (794).
appears to have differed sharply from the Adoptionism
of early Christianity. Spanish advocates predicated the term adoptivus of Christ only in respect to his humanity; once the divine Son of God
"emptied himself" of divinity and "took the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:7), Christ's human nature was "adopted" as divine.
Historically, many scholars have followed the Adoptionists' Carolingian opponents in labeling Spanish Adoptionism as a minor revival of “Nestorian” Christology. John C. Cavadini has challenged this notion by attempting to take the Spanish Christology in its own Spanish/North African context in his important study, The Last Christology of the West: Adoptionism in Spain and Gaul, 785-820.
, was the first well-known advocate of this “Adoptionist” christology, which he articulated in response to the position of another Spanish writer, Migetius. Migetius apparently taught a form of Trinitarian theology which Elipandus found troubling; in his “Letter to Migetius,” Elipandus defended the single persona of Christ in the face of this issue. Contrary to what the label “Adoptionist” might suggest, Elipandus accepted the full humanity and divinity of the person of Jesus Christ; Elipandus’ use of adoptivus in reference to Christ appears in his exegesis of the "kenotic hymn"
of Philippians 2:6-7. Here, Elipandus argued that Christ, after “emptying himself” of divinity and becoming a human being, was “Son of God” by virtue of adoption:
Elipandus, unlike Arius
or Nestorius
held to a strict singular personhood in the incarnation
, that of the eternal, divine Son. Some, like Ansprenger, have claimed that Elipandus’ Christology bears similarities to that of the earlier Antiochene theologian Theodore of Mopsuestia
and may indicate a line of influence from Nestorian
sources.
(or Lieban), was, like Elipandus, a native of Spain, but unlike Elipandus, he lived outside of Muslim territory in the small Christian kingdom of Asturias
. A monk, Beatus appears to have been person of influence in Asturias, possibly counselor to the Queen of Leon
. Beatus was also a skilled exegete, best-known for his Commentary on the Apocalypse of John.
In Adversus Elipandum, written in response to Elipandus’ Adoptionist teachings, Beatus chastised Elipandus for what he saw as a misuse of the word servus (“slave” or “servant”), arguing that Philippians 2 referred to Christ’s servanthood in relation to God. The “self-emptying” of the Son in the incarnation was not to be understood as a humiliation to the point that the human Christ would have to be adopted once more in divinity, he claimed. Additionally, Beatus criticized Elipandus for his emphasis on Christ sharing in humanity. Beatus saw this as unnecessary, and dangerously close to ignoring Jesus’ distinctness from the rest of humanity; instead, he focused his attention on Christ’s mediatorial position on the cross as a sufficient salvific bridge between God and humanity. In Adversus Elipandum, Beatus distinguished between the adoption of Christians as children by God, rejecting the adoption of Christ:
in Carolingian-occupied territory in the Pyrenees
, for another opinion on the matter. It was Felix’s teaching that first caught the attention of Frankish scholars and churchmen. None of Felix’s works survive, and his teachings only survive as they were portrayed by the Carolingian scholars who opposed him.
Felix appears to have relied heavily on the language of adoption, tying the adoption of Christ’s humanity by the divine to Christ’s mediation of adoptive son-ship for all believing Christians. Cavadini sees in this position a moderating stance between Elipandus and Beatus. Ultimately, Felix’s Christology became the prime target for Carolingian interlocutors. Facing ecclesiastical and political pressure, he recanted before the pope. In 799, Felix composed his Confessio, in which he renounced “Nestorian” teachings and agreed to no longer use the term adoptivus.
, although the pope does not seem to have been fully informed on the content of the teaching. The pope’s initial negative response – describing Adoptionism as Nestorian in separating the Son of God from the human son of Mary – shaped the perception of the theology for later Carolingians.
Charlemagne
as well grew concerned by reports of heresy in his new Pyrenees territories, and commissioned his own response to the Adoptionist teaching, spearheaded by his erudite court scholar Alcuin of York. This Carolingian response developed in three regional councils called by the king in 792 (Regensburg), 795 (Frankfurt), and 799 (Aachen).
The Council of Frankfurt
in 795 was particularly significant, commissioning three documents to address the Adoptionist position: “The Letter of the Bishops of Frankland to the Bishops of Spain (written by Alcuin), the Liber sacrosyllabus of Paulinus of Aquileia, and the “Letter of Charlemagne to Elipandus.” All three works followed Pope Hadrian’s early characterization of the Adoptionist position as Nestorian. Alcuin in particular developed his critique around the classical orthodox Christological dichotomy which emerged from the eastern Christological controversies of the fifth and sixth centuries: Nestorianism
on one extreme and Monophysitism
on the other. Alcuin refined this view in his writings against Felix of Urgel: “Letter 23 to Felix,” Adversus Felicem Urgellitanum Episcopum Libri VII, and Liber Adversus Haeresin Felicis. Other Carolingian attacks on Adoptionism were composed by Benedict of Aniane
, Paulinus of Aquileia (Three Books Against Felix), and later, by Agobard
. An official condemnation by Pope Leo III in 798 ended with Felix's final recantation in 799.
Modern scholars have often followed the critiques of Hadrian, Alcuin, or Agobard in constructing an interpretation of Spanish Adoptionism. Both Ansprenger and Harnack, noting similarities between Theodore of Mopsuestia’s Christology and that of the Spanish Adoptionists, concluded that the Spanish must have had access to Theodore’s biblical commentaries. However, John C. Cavadini has argued that the Carolingian attack on Spanish Adoptionism as “Nestorian” was based on a misunderstanding of the Spanish debate. Cavadini stresses that for all that Beatus and Elipandus might disagree, they drew inspiration from a common Christological tradition different from that of the theologians on the other side of the Pyrenees. Neither Spaniard referred to the eastern Christological debates, nor did they cite the teaching of the Council of Chalcedon
(451). Rather, Cavadini claims, they drew on the unique theological heritage of Iberian Christianity, with a heavy reliance upon Augustine of Hippo
, Hilary of Poitiers
, and Isidore of Seville
.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
theological position which was articulated in Umayyad
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ruled the Iberian peninsula and part of North Africa, from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031. This period was characterized by remarkable success in trade and culture; many of the masterpieces of Islamic Iberia were constructed in this period, including the famous...
and Christian
Kingdom of Asturias
The Kingdom of Asturias was a Kingdom in the Iberian peninsula founded in 718 by Visigothic nobles under the leadership of Pelagius of Asturias. It was the first Christian political entity established following the collapse of the Visigothic kingdom after Islamic conquest of Hispania...
-held regions of the Iberian peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
in the 8th- and 9th centuries. The issue seems to have begun with the claim of archbishop Elipandus of Toledo that – in respect to his human nature – Jesus Christ was adoptive Son of God
Son of God
"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
. Another leading advocate of this Christology was Felix of Urgel. In Spain, Adoptionism was opposed by Beatus of Liebana
Beatus of Liébana
Saint Beatus of Liébana was a monk, theologian and geographer from the Kingdom of Asturias, in modern northern Spain, who worked and lived in the Picos de Europa mountains of the region of Liébana, in what is now Cantabria and his feast day is February 19.-Biography:He created an important...
, and in the Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
territories, the Adoptionist position was condemned by Pope Hadrian I, Alcuin of York, Agobard
Agobard
Agobard of Lyon was a Spanish-born priest and archbishop of Lyon, during the Carolingian Renaissance. The author of multiple treatises, ranging in subject matter from the iconoclast controversy to Spanish Adoptionism to critiques of the Carolingian royal family, Agobard is best known for his...
, and officially in Carolingian territory by the Council of Frankfurt (794).
Introduction
Despite the shared name of "Adoptionism" the Spanish Adoptionist ChristologyChristology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
appears to have differed sharply from the Adoptionism
Adoptionism
Adoptionism, sometimes called dynamic monarchianism, is a minority Christian belief that Jesus was adopted as God's son at his baptism...
of early Christianity. Spanish advocates predicated the term adoptivus of Christ only in respect to his humanity; once the divine Son of God
Son of God
"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
"emptied himself" of divinity and "took the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:7), Christ's human nature was "adopted" as divine.
Historically, many scholars have followed the Adoptionists' Carolingian opponents in labeling Spanish Adoptionism as a minor revival of “Nestorian” Christology. John C. Cavadini has challenged this notion by attempting to take the Spanish Christology in its own Spanish/North African context in his important study, The Last Christology of the West: Adoptionism in Spain and Gaul, 785-820.
Elipandus of Toledo
Elipandus (ca. 716-805), bishop of Muslim-controlled ToledoToledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, was the first well-known advocate of this “Adoptionist” christology, which he articulated in response to the position of another Spanish writer, Migetius. Migetius apparently taught a form of Trinitarian theology which Elipandus found troubling; in his “Letter to Migetius,” Elipandus defended the single persona of Christ in the face of this issue. Contrary to what the label “Adoptionist” might suggest, Elipandus accepted the full humanity and divinity of the person of Jesus Christ; Elipandus’ use of adoptivus in reference to Christ appears in his exegesis of the "kenotic hymn"
Kenosis
In Christian theology, Kenosis In Christian theology, Kenosis In Christian theology, Kenosis (from the Greek word for emptiness (kénōsis) is the 'self-emptying' of one's own will and becoming entirely receptive to God's divine will....
of Philippians 2:6-7. Here, Elipandus argued that Christ, after “emptying himself” of divinity and becoming a human being, was “Son of God” by virtue of adoption:
- "The Son of God himself, who by emptying himself, takes up adoption."
Elipandus, unlike Arius
Arius
Arius was a Christian presbyter in Alexandria, Egypt of Libyan origins. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead, which emphasized the Father's divinity over the Son , and his opposition to the Athanasian or Trinitarian Christology, made him a controversial figure in the First Council of...
or Nestorius
Nestorius
Nestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
held to a strict singular personhood in the incarnation
Incarnation
Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial....
, that of the eternal, divine Son. Some, like Ansprenger, have claimed that Elipandus’ Christology bears similarities to that of the earlier Antiochene theologian Theodore of Mopsuestia
Theodore of Mopsuestia
Theodore the Interpreter was bishop of Mopsuestia from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate...
and may indicate a line of influence from Nestorian
Nestorianism
Nestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
sources.
Beatus of Liebana
Beatus of LiebanaBeatus of Liébana
Saint Beatus of Liébana was a monk, theologian and geographer from the Kingdom of Asturias, in modern northern Spain, who worked and lived in the Picos de Europa mountains of the region of Liébana, in what is now Cantabria and his feast day is February 19.-Biography:He created an important...
(or Lieban), was, like Elipandus, a native of Spain, but unlike Elipandus, he lived outside of Muslim territory in the small Christian kingdom of Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
. A monk, Beatus appears to have been person of influence in Asturias, possibly counselor to the Queen of Leon
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...
. Beatus was also a skilled exegete, best-known for his Commentary on the Apocalypse of John.
In Adversus Elipandum, written in response to Elipandus’ Adoptionist teachings, Beatus chastised Elipandus for what he saw as a misuse of the word servus (“slave” or “servant”), arguing that Philippians 2 referred to Christ’s servanthood in relation to God. The “self-emptying” of the Son in the incarnation was not to be understood as a humiliation to the point that the human Christ would have to be adopted once more in divinity, he claimed. Additionally, Beatus criticized Elipandus for his emphasis on Christ sharing in humanity. Beatus saw this as unnecessary, and dangerously close to ignoring Jesus’ distinctness from the rest of humanity; instead, he focused his attention on Christ’s mediatorial position on the cross as a sufficient salvific bridge between God and humanity. In Adversus Elipandum, Beatus distinguished between the adoption of Christians as children by God, rejecting the adoption of Christ:
- Now truly those who have been chosen are adopted children, not the One who chose.
Felix of Urgel
In the midst of his dialogue with Beatus on the issue of adoption, Elipandus wrote to Felix of Urgel (d. 818), bishop of UrgellUrgell
The County of Urgell is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya.The county was carved by the Franks out of a former section of the Mark of Toulouse when the Alt Urgell area became part of the Carolingian Empire between 785 and 790.The original...
in Carolingian-occupied territory in the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, for another opinion on the matter. It was Felix’s teaching that first caught the attention of Frankish scholars and churchmen. None of Felix’s works survive, and his teachings only survive as they were portrayed by the Carolingian scholars who opposed him.
Felix appears to have relied heavily on the language of adoption, tying the adoption of Christ’s humanity by the divine to Christ’s mediation of adoptive son-ship for all believing Christians. Cavadini sees in this position a moderating stance between Elipandus and Beatus. Ultimately, Felix’s Christology became the prime target for Carolingian interlocutors. Facing ecclesiastical and political pressure, he recanted before the pope. In 799, Felix composed his Confessio, in which he renounced “Nestorian” teachings and agreed to no longer use the term adoptivus.
The Carolingian Response
In 785, Pope Hadrian I appears to have been the first to attack Elipandus’ Adoptionist Christology as a form of NestorianismNestorianism
Nestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
, although the pope does not seem to have been fully informed on the content of the teaching. The pope’s initial negative response – describing Adoptionism as Nestorian in separating the Son of God from the human son of Mary – shaped the perception of the theology for later Carolingians.
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
as well grew concerned by reports of heresy in his new Pyrenees territories, and commissioned his own response to the Adoptionist teaching, spearheaded by his erudite court scholar Alcuin of York. This Carolingian response developed in three regional councils called by the king in 792 (Regensburg), 795 (Frankfurt), and 799 (Aachen).
The Council of Frankfurt
Council of Frankfurt
The Council of Frankfurt in 794 was called by Charlemagne. This church council condemned the Adoptionist heresy and revoked decrees regarding the holy icons which were established in 787 at the Second Council of Nicaea...
in 795 was particularly significant, commissioning three documents to address the Adoptionist position: “The Letter of the Bishops of Frankland to the Bishops of Spain (written by Alcuin), the Liber sacrosyllabus of Paulinus of Aquileia, and the “Letter of Charlemagne to Elipandus.” All three works followed Pope Hadrian’s early characterization of the Adoptionist position as Nestorian. Alcuin in particular developed his critique around the classical orthodox Christological dichotomy which emerged from the eastern Christological controversies of the fifth and sixth centuries: Nestorianism
Nestorianism
Nestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
on one extreme and Monophysitism
Monophysitism
Monophysitism , or Monophysiticism, is the Christological position that Jesus Christ has only one nature, his humanity being absorbed by his Deity...
on the other. Alcuin refined this view in his writings against Felix of Urgel: “Letter 23 to Felix,” Adversus Felicem Urgellitanum Episcopum Libri VII, and Liber Adversus Haeresin Felicis. Other Carolingian attacks on Adoptionism were composed by Benedict of Aniane
Benedict of Aniane
Saint Benedict of Aniane , born Witiza and called the Second Benedict, was a Benedictine monk and monastic reformer, who left a large imprint on the religious practice of the Carolingian Empire...
, Paulinus of Aquileia (Three Books Against Felix), and later, by Agobard
Agobard
Agobard of Lyon was a Spanish-born priest and archbishop of Lyon, during the Carolingian Renaissance. The author of multiple treatises, ranging in subject matter from the iconoclast controversy to Spanish Adoptionism to critiques of the Carolingian royal family, Agobard is best known for his...
. An official condemnation by Pope Leo III in 798 ended with Felix's final recantation in 799.
Modern Assessment
Modern scholars have often followed the critiques of Hadrian, Alcuin, or Agobard in constructing an interpretation of Spanish Adoptionism. Both Ansprenger and Harnack, noting similarities between Theodore of Mopsuestia’s Christology and that of the Spanish Adoptionists, concluded that the Spanish must have had access to Theodore’s biblical commentaries. However, John C. Cavadini has argued that the Carolingian attack on Spanish Adoptionism as “Nestorian” was based on a misunderstanding of the Spanish debate. Cavadini stresses that for all that Beatus and Elipandus might disagree, they drew inspiration from a common Christological tradition different from that of the theologians on the other side of the Pyrenees. Neither Spaniard referred to the eastern Christological debates, nor did they cite the teaching of the Council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
(451). Rather, Cavadini claims, they drew on the unique theological heritage of Iberian Christianity, with a heavy reliance upon Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, Hilary of Poitiers
Hilary of Poitiers
Hilary of Poitiers was Bishop of Poitiers and is a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" and the "Athanasius of the West." His name comes from the Latin word for happy or cheerful. His optional memorial in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints is 13...
, and Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
.
Further reading
- Ansprenger, F. “Untersuchungen zum adoptianistischen Streit des 8’ Jahrhundert,” PhD dissertation. Frei Universität Berlin, 1952.
- Cavadini, John C. The Last Christology of the West: Adoptionism in Spain and Gaul, 785-820. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993.
- Firey, Abigail. "Carolingian ecclesiology and heresy: a southern Gallic juridical tract against adoptionism." Sacris Erudiri 39 (2000): 253-316.
- Ginther, James R. Westminster Handbook to Medieval Theology. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.
- Gumerlock, Francis X. "Predestination in the century before Gottschalk Part 2." Evangelical QuarterlyEvangelical QuarterlyEvangelical Quarterly is an academic journal covering theology and biblical studies. It was establlished in 1929 by Donald Maclean and J. R. Mackay. The current editors are I. Howard Marshall, John-Paul Lotz, and John Wilks....
81, no. 4 (2009): 319-337.
- Harnack,Adolf. History of Dogma. Vol. 5. Trans. Neil Buchanan. New York: Dover, 1961.
- McWilliam, Joanne. "The context of Spanish adoptionism : a review." In Conversion and continuity (Papers in Medieval Studies). Ed. Michael Gervers. pp. 75–88. Toronto: Pontifical Inst of Medieval Studies, 1990.