Union according to composition and according to person

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John of Damascus is listing the modes of union and now gives the mode according to composition, then the mode according to person, which he says applies only to Christ's divinity and humanity.

Union according to composition is seen in soul and body. Union according to person is spoken of only in the case of the divinity and humanity in Christ. For the two natures had one person, not two, contrary to the nonsense of Nestorius.

Greek

Κατὰ

σύνθεσιν, ὡς ἐπὶ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος. Καθ' ὑπόστασιν δὲ ἐπὶ μόνης λέγεται τῆς ἐν Χρι

στῷ θεότητος καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος. Ἓν γὰρ πρόσωπον ἔσχον αἱ δύο φύσεις, καὶ οὐ δύο,

κατὰ τὸν λῆρον Νεστόριον.

About this text

John of Damascus lists twelve kinds of union, from wine mixed with water to union in one person, to show how Christ's two natures are joined.

John of Damascus, an Eastern Christian monk and theologian, wrote this treatise in Greek. He had served as a financial official under the Syrian caliph before entering the monastery of Mar Saba. The work is a doctrinal explanation of the concept of union, written to clarify how the divine and human natures come together in Christ.

The treatise responds to errors about Christ's person. John argues against Nestorius, who divided Christ into two persons, and also against Eutyches and Dioscorus, who confused or mixed the natures. The reader will meet Peter and Paul as examples of individuals who share one substance, and will hear the teaching of Nestorius quoted only as the 'nonsense' that John rejects.

A reader should know that 'person' here translates the Greek term hypostasis, meaning an individual concrete reality, while 'nature' means the essential character of a thing and 'substance' means what a thing is. 'Union according to substance' means that individuals such as Peter and Paul share the same humanity but remain separate persons. 'Union according to person' applies only to Christ, in whom the divine and human natures are united in one person without confusion or change, each nature keeping its own natural property.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 94-96; De unione (Greek)

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.