Letters — Introduction to the Letters against Apollinarius

The circumstances that led to the two letters to Cledonius have already been described in the first section of the General Prolegomena, and there is no need to add much to what was said there. In his letter to Nectarius, his own successor on the throne of Constantinople, written around A.D. 383 and sometimes counted as Oration 46, Saint Gregory provides excerpts from a work by Apollinarius himself, though he does not mention the title of the book. In this treatise, the fundamental errors of the heresy (see Prolegomena chapter 1, page 172) are set forth. According to Saint Gregory, Apollinarius declares that the Son of God was clothed with a human body from all eternity, not just from the time of His conception by the Blessed Virgin. But this humanity of God is without a human mind, whose place was filled by the Godhead of the Only-begotten. And he goes even further and attributes passibility and mortality to the very Godhead of Christ. Therefore Saint Gregory strongly protests against granting any toleration to these heretics, or even permission to hold their assemblies, because, he says, toleration or permission would certainly be seen by them as approval of their doctrinal position and a condemnation of the Church's position. Dr. Ullman, however, thinks that while Saint Gregory was certainly telling the truth when he said he had a pamphlet by Apollinarius in his hands, he may have unconsciously exaggerated the heretical character of its contents, pushing its statements to conclusions that Apollinarius would have rejected. Apollinarius' one purpose, in Dr. Ullman's view, was to safeguard the doctrine of the Unity of Christ. He thought that the orthodox expression of Two Whole and Perfect Natures tended toward a Nestorian division of the Person of Christ, and so he used language that certainly seemed to confuse the natures, or at least to make the Incarnation imperfect, since a Christ in whom the human mind is absent and its place filled by the Godhead of the Son cannot be said to be perfect Man. But while Epiphanius mentions these extravagances of the heresy and does so with a lingering feeling of regret for the lapse of so good a man whose past services had been of such great value to the Church, he would rather, in the spirit common to ecclesiastical authorities of the time, attribute them to an expansion of Apollinarius' teaching by his younger disciples who did not really understand what Apollinarius himself meant.

The circumstances which called forth the two letters to Cledonius have already been described in the first section of the General Prolegomena, and it will not be necessary here to add much to what was there said. In the letter to Nectarius, his own successor on the throne of Constantinople, written about a.d. 383, and sometimes reckoned as Orat. XLVI., S. Gregory gives extracts from a work of Apollinarius himself, but without mentioning the title of the book. In this treatise the fundamental errors of the heresy (see Proleg. c. 1, p. 172) are laid down. Apollinarius, according to S. Gregory, declares that the Son of God was from all eternity clothed with a human body, and not from the time of His conception only by the Blessed Virgin; but that this humanity of God is without human mind, the place of which was supplied by the Godhead of the Only-begotten. And he goes even further and ascribes passibility and mortality to the very Godhead of Christ. Therefore S. Gregory earnestly protests against any toleration being granted to these heretics, or even permission to hold their assemblies; for, he says, toleration or permission would certainly be regarded by them as a condonation of their doctrinal position, and a condemnation of that of the Church. Dr. Ullman, however, thinks that while S. Gregory was certainly speaking the truth in saying that he had in his hands a pamphlet by Apollinarius, yet that he, perhaps unconsciously, exaggerated the heretical character of its contents, pushing its statements to consequences which Apollinarius would have repudiated. The one purpose of the latter was, in Dr. Ullman's view, to safeguard the doctrine of the Unity of Christ; and he thought that the orthodox expression of Two Whole and Perfect Natures tended to a Nestorian division of the Person of Christ; and so he used language which certainly seemed to confound the natures, or at any rate to make the Incarnation imperfect, inasmuch as a Christ in Whom the human mind is absent, and its place filled up by the Godhead of the Son, cannot be said to be perfect Man. But while Epiphanius mentions these extravagances of the heresy, and does so with a lingering feeling of regret for the lapse of so good a man whose services in the past had been of so much value to the Church, yet, in the spirit common to Ecclesiastical authorities of the time, he would rather ascribe them to an expansion of Apollinarius' teaching by his younger disciples who did not really understand what Apollinarius himself meant.

Olympius, to whom the last letter in this series is addressed, was Governor of Cappadocia Secunda in A.D. 382. He was a man whom St. Gregory held in very high regard and with whom he had a close friendship, as can be seen from other letters Gregory wrote to him in another part of this collection. The reason for this particular letter was the need to appeal to the civil government for help in punishing a group of Apollinarians at Nazianzus. They had taken advantage of St. Gregory's absence at the Baths of Xanxaris to arrange for the consecration of a bishop who shared their beliefs. Technically the episcopal see was vacant, but the administration had been entrusted to Gregory by the bishops of the province. Although he had foreseen such an attempt by the heretics and had strongly urged the Metropolitan and his fellow provincial bishops to fill this position through a canonical election, he was by no means prepared to hand over the authority that had been given to him to an irregularly elected and uncanonically consecrated heretic.

Olympius, to whom the last of this series is addressed, was Governor of Cappadocia Secunda in a.d. 382. He was a man for whom S. Gregory had a very high esteem, and with whom he was upon terms of close friendship, as will be seen from other letters of Gregory to him in another division of this Selection. The occasion of the present letter was the necessity to appeal to the secular power for aid to punish a sect of Apollinarians at Nazianzus, who had ventured to take advantage of S. Gregory's absence at the Baths of Xanxaris to procure the consecration of a Bishop of their own way of thinking. Technically the See was vacant, but the administration had been committed to Gregory by the Bishops of the Province, and though he, foreseeing some such attempt on the part of the heretics, had been very earnest in pressing upon the Metropolitan and his Comprovincials the necessity of filling this throne by a canonical election, yet he was by no means prepared to hand over the authority, with which he had been invested, to an irregularly elected and uncanonically consecrated heretic.