ABSTRACT
Although Cyril’s council had declared that nothing should be added to the Nicene Creed, a common statement was needed in order to restore peace – at least formally. The famous Formula of Reunion between the two parties – signed by Cyril and John in 433 – had previously been drawn up by none other than Theodoret in 431. This was the Antiochene Formula, which the Eastern commissioners (including Theodoret) presented to the emperor after the end of both Ephesian councils in September 431.1 This confession, which accepted the term theotokos, and became the basis of the Chalcedonian Definition in 451, could hardly be characterised as a total triumph for Alexandrian Christology, yet it built a good bridge between the two traditions:
In accordance we confess our Lord Jesus Christ, the Onlybegotten Son of God to be perfect God and perfect man [consisting] of rational soul [psyche¯ logike¯ ] and body; on the one hand begotten of the Father before the ages according to [his] Godhead, and on the other hand, the same one [born] in the last days for us and for our salvation of the Virgin Mary according to [his] manhood; the same one coessential2 with his Father according to his Godhead and coessential with us according to his manhood. For a union of two natures [physeis] took place: this is why we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this notion of unmingled union [asynchutos heno¯sis] we confess the holy Virgin [to be] Godbearer [theotokos], because the God-Word was made flesh [sarko¯the¯nai] and became man [enanthro¯pe¯sai] and from her conception he united to himself the temple taken from her. We know that the theologians on one hand treat some of the
evangelic and apostolic words about the Lord as commonly referring to one person [proso¯pon], whilst others they apply separately as to two natures [epi duo physeo¯n], and the Godworthy [words] they apply to the Godhead of Christ, whilst the humble ones to [his] manhood.3
