Common Christological Declaration Between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East

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The Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East was signed in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on 11 November 1994, by Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Dinkha IV. [1] [2] In this document the Assyrian and Catholic churches confessed the same doctrine concerning Christology (the divinity and humanity of Christ):

Contents

The Word of God, second Person of the Holy Trinity, became incarnate by the power of the Holy Spirit in assuming from the holy Virgin Mary a body animated by a rational soul, with which he was indissolubly united from the moment of his conception. Therefore our Lord Jesus Christ is true God and true man, perfect in his divinity and perfect in his humanity, consubstantial with the Father and consubstantial with us in all things but sin. His divinity and his humanity are united in one person, without confusion or change, without division or separation. In him has been preserved the difference of the natures of divinity and humanity, with all their properties, faculties and operations. But far from constituting "one and another", the divinity and humanity are united in the person of the same and unique Son of God and Lord Jesus Christ, who is the object of a single adoration. Christ therefore is not an "ordinary man" whom God adopted in order to reside in him and inspire him, as in the righteous ones and the prophets. But the same God the Word, begotten of his Father before all worlds without beginning according to his divinity, was born of a mother without a father in the last times according to his humanity.

They went on to explain each other's formulations of titles for Mary the mother of Jesus, the key to the dispute at the First Council of Ephesus about Nestorianism and the title Theotokos:

The humanity to which the Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth always was that of the Son of God himself. That is the reason why the Assyrian Church of the East is praying [to] the Virgin Mary as "the Mother of Christ our God and Saviour". In the light of this same faith the Catholic tradition addresses the Virgin Mary as "the Mother of God" and also as "the Mother of Christ".

They then recognised each other's formulations as being valid:

We both recognize the legitimacy and rightness of these expressions of the same faith and we both respect the preference of each Church in her liturgical life and piety.

The declaration went on to create a mixed committee for further theological dialogue between the two (now sister) churches. In 2001 this committee drew up guidelines for mutual admission to the eucharist between the Chaldean Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, overcoming the issue of the lack of words of Institution in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari. [3]

Significance

Both churches consider the meeting when this declaration was signed as "a basic step on the way towards the full communion [being] restored" between them. [4]

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Theotokos is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are Dei Genitrix or Deipara. Familiar English translations are "Mother of God" or "God-bearer" – but these both have different literal equivalents in Greek, Μήτηρ Θεοῦ and Θεοφόρος.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Ephesus</span> Ecumenical council in Ephesus in 431, convened by Emperor Theodosius II

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Assyrian Church of the East</span> Eastern Christian denomination

The Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE), sometimes called the Church of the East and officially known as the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (HACACE), is an Eastern Christian church that follows the traditional Christology and ecclesiology of the historical Church of the East. It belongs to the eastern branch of Syriac Christianity, and employs the Divine Liturgy of Saints Addai and Mari belonging to the East Syriac Rite. Its main liturgical language is Classical Syriac, a dialect of Eastern Aramaic, and the majority of its adherents are ethnic Assyrians.

Miaphysitism is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the "Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' (physis)." It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and differs from the Chalcedonian position that Jesus is one "person" in two "natures", a divine nature and a human nature (dyophysitism).

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Mar Dinkha IV, born Dinkha Khanania was an Eastern Christian prelate who served as the 120th Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. He was born in the village of Darbandokeh (Derbendoki), Iraq and led the Church in exile in Chicago for most of his life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Syriac Rite</span> Christian religious rite

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The Assyrian Evangelical Church is a Presbyterian church in the Middle East that attained a status of ecclesiastical independence from the Presbyterian mission in Iran in 1870.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic devotions</span> Catholic traditions

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acts of reparation</span> Theological actions to expiate sins

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liturgy of Addai and Mari</span> Eucharist liturgy in East Syriac Rite

The Liturgy of Addai and Mari is the Eucharistic liturgy belonging to the East Syriac Rite and was historically used in the Church of the East of the Sasanian (Persian) Empire. This liturgy is traditionally attributed to Saint Addai and Saint Mari. It is currently in regular use in the Assyrian Church of the East, the Ancient Church of the East, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church of India, and the Chaldean Catholic Church. The latter two are Eastern Catholic churches in full communion with the Holy See of Rome.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Church:

References

  1. Gros, Jeffrey; Best, Thomas F.; Fuchs, Lorelei F., eds. (2008). Assyrian Church of the East/Chaldean Church-Roman Catholic Dialogue. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 200. ISBN   9782825415115.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. Johnson, Maxwell E. (2007). The Liturgical Traditions or Rites of the Christian East. Liturgical Press. p. 271. ISBN   9780814662151.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. "Guidelines for admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East". Vatican.va. Archived from the original on 2015-11-03. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  4. Common Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, Preamble, accessed 8 February 2022