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Bible Dictionaries
Apollinarians
Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
or or Apollinarists, or, as they are called by Epiphanius, Dimaritae, a sect who derive their principal name from Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea, in the fourth century. Apollinaris strenuously defended the divinity of Christ against the Arians; but by indulging too freely in philosophical distinctions and subtleties, he denied in some measure his humanity. He maintained that the body which Christ assumed was endowed with a sensitive, and not a rational, soul; and that the divine nature performed the functions of reason, and supplied the place of the intellectual principle in man. Hence it seemed to follow, that the divine nature in Christ was blended with the human, and suffered with it the pains of crucifixion and death. Apollinaris and his followers have been charged with other errors by certain ancient writers; but it is not easy to determine how far their charge is worthy of credit. The doctrine of Apollinaris was first condemned by a council at Alexandria in 362, and afterward in a more formal manner by a council at Rome in 375, and by another council in 338, which deposed Apollinaris from his bishopric. In short, it was attacked at the same time by the laws of the emperors, the decrees of councils, and the writings of the learned; and sunk by degrees under their united force.
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Watson, Richard. Entry for 'Apollinarians'. Richard Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/wtd/a/apollinarians.html. 1831-2.
