9
The last Antiochene thinker was a student of Paul and a teacher of Arius.
28
Lucian followed
the teachings of Paul, but saw Christ on a higher plane. One of his main teachings, and one that
became a central theme with Arius, was that Jesus was soma apsychon--a body without a soul.
Ephiphanius, and so is able to attach human experiences to the Logos.
29
The leading thinkers in Antioch drifted from an understanding of the divinity of Christ to a
monarchian-Origenist theology. Ignatius established a biblical understanding of the Trinity, but
Theophilus began denying certain aspects of a trinitarian model, and Paul, with his student Lucian,
called into question the divinity of Christ. In order to see the reactions to the heretical doctrines
building in Antioch, we will head South to Alexandria.
Alexandria
Alexandria, our last city before Nicea, continued its reputation for scholarship within the
Christian community. Two groups of thinkers had an impact on the trinitarian doctrine. The
controversy that began here provided the impetus for the First Ecumenical Council.
The first group of Alexandrians we link up with is made up of Clement, Origen and
Dionysius. In the late second century the founder of the catechetical school in Alexandria,
Pantaenus, turned to philosophy as a way to connect with the lost in his city. The lead was picked up
by his successor, Clement, then Origen, and finally by Dionysius. These three Church fathers used
philosophy to battle against Gnosticism, and were the main figures responsible for developing
28
Kelly, 230-31; Frend, The Early Church, 122; New Advent, Lucian of Antioch, on-line
encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09409a.htm; accessed March 22, 2005; Woolley,
72-3; Rowan Williams, Arius: Heresy and Tradition (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 2001), 162.
29
Hanson, 26-7, 80-3; Woolley, 72-3; Kelly, 230-31.