Communicatio idiomatum

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Communicatio idiomatum ("exchange of properties") is an aspect of the doctrine of the two natures of Christ in one person in Christian theology .

The doctrine of two natures was formulated at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and states that Jesus Christ is both true man and true God - "unmixed" (ἀσυγχύτως, asynchytos) and "unchanged" (ἀτρέπτως, atreptos), but also "unseparated “(Ἀδιαιρέτως, adiairetos) and“ not divided ”(ἀχωρίστως, achoristos).

According to the teaching of Communicatio idiomatum , both natures share in the properties of the other. The doctrine was first formulated by Leo the Great in his teaching letter to the Council of Ephesus in 449 , later developed mainly by John of Damascus and used in the Middle Ages a. a. represented by Thomas Aquinas .

However, it reached its greatest importance in the sacrament disputes of the Reformation. In contrast to the Swiss reformer Zwingli , Martin Luther held fast to the view that Jesus Christ is physically present in Holy Communion ( real presence ). But this is only possible if the human nature of Christ also has the divine quality of omnipresence (see ubiquity theory ). That is why Martin Luther was a committed advocate of Communicatio idiomatum .

The philosopher Johann Georg Hamann (1730–1780) used the term Communicatio idiomatum not only for Christ, but also for an interaction between the divine and the human that he discovered elsewhere.

To describe the communication of idioms, Martin Chemnitz ( e.g. in the concord formula ) and the Orthodox Lutheran theologians have developed three genera :

  1. Genus idiomaticum : The characteristics of human nature as well as the characteristics of divine nature are attached to the whole person of Jesus Christ.
  2. Genus maiestaticum : The human nature of Jesus Christ has a real share in the properties of the divine nature.
  3. Genus apotelesmaticum : Each of the two natures participates in the special works of the other nature.

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