Apollinarianism

Related Category: Christianity: General

(əpŏlĭnâr´ēənĭzəm), heretical doctrine taught by Apollinaris or Apollinarius (c.315–c.390), bishop of Laodicea, near Antioch. A celebrated scholar and teacher, author of scriptural commentary, philosophy, and controversial treatises, he propounded the theory that Jesus possessed the Logos in place of a human mind, and hence, while perfectly divine, he was not fully human. Apollinarianism was popular in spite of its repeated condemnation, particularly by the First Council of Constantinople. It anticipated Monophysitism.