Patripassianism

Patripassianism is an early Christian theological heresy that posits the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross as the suffering of God the Father himself, denying the distinct persons of the Trinity and viewing Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as successive modes or manifestations of a single divine person.^[1] This doctrine, also known as a form of modalistic monarchianism, emerged as an attempt to preserve the unity (monarchy) of God against perceived polytheistic implications of Trinitarianism, but it was condemned for conflating the divine persons and undermining the Incarnation as unique to the Son.^[2] Historically, Patripassianism developed in the second and third centuries within the broader context of debates over the nature of God and Christ in the early church.^[3] Key proponents included Noetus, a presbyter from Smyrna active in Rome around 200 CE, who taught that the Father became the Son in the Incarnation and thus suffered visibly; Praxeas, a confessor from Asia Minor who spread similar views in Rome and Carthage in the late second century; and Sabellius, a Libyan theologian excommunicated by Pope Callistus I in 220 CE for asserting that God operates in temporal modes—Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Spirit in sanctification.^[2] These figures represented dynamic or modalistic monarchianism, contrasting with adoptionist variants, and their teachings persisted into the fourth century despite opposition.^[2] The heresy faced sharp criticism from church fathers who defended the emerging orthodox Trinitarian framework. Tertullian, in his treatise Adversus Praxean (c. 213 CE), derided Patripassianism as absurd, arguing that it implied the Father crucified himself, which contradicted scriptural distinctions between Father and Son (e.g., John 14:28) and introduced logical inconsistencies in divine impassibility.^[1] Hippolytus of Rome likewise condemned Noetus for blurring the persons, while later writers like Epiphanius of Salamis documented ongoing Sabellian influences in the late fourth century.^[2] Patripassianism was formally rejected at councils such as Nicaea (325 CE) and Constantinople (381 CE), which affirmed the coeternal and consubstantial Trinity.^[3] Theologically, Patripassianism raises enduring questions about divine suffering and impassibility, influencing later debates like theopaschitism—the orthodox affirmation that one person of the Trinity (the Son) suffered in the Incarnation, as endorsed by the Second Council of Constantinople (553 CE) with the formula "one of the Trinity suffered."^[1] While ancient patripassians often upheld God's overall impassibility by attributing suffering to the assumed human flesh, modern theologians such as Jürgen Moltmann have revisited related ideas in "patricompassianism," exploring voluntary divine vulnerability without reviving modalism.^[3] The doctrine's legacy underscores the church's commitment to balancing God's unity and threeness.^[1]

Definition and Core Beliefs

Etymology and Terminology

The term "Patripassianism" derives from the Latin words pater, meaning "father," and passio, meaning "suffering," reflecting the core implication that God the Father endured suffering, particularly on the cross.^[2] This nomenclature was coined by the early Christian writer Tertullian around AD 213 in his treatise Adversus Praxean, where he used it polemically to critique the views of the modalist teacher Praxeas, emphasizing the perceived absurdity of the Father undergoing passion.^[4]^[5] In theological discourse, Patripassianism is distinguished from the Eastern term "Sabellianism," which refers more broadly to the modalistic teachings associated with Sabellius, while Patripassianism highlights the specific aspect of the Father's suffering and is more commonly employed in Western Latin contexts.^[6]^[7] Both terms fall under the wider category of modalistic monarchianism, an approach that stresses God's unitary nature manifesting in different modes rather than distinct persons.^[2] Synonymous with Patripassianism is the term "Patripassionism," which similarly underscores the passion of the Father and appears interchangeably in patristic and later Western theological literature, whereas Eastern traditions predominantly favor "Sabellianism" for the encompassing modalist framework.^[2]^[8]

Fundamental Doctrines

Patripassianism asserts that God exists as one indivisible person who manifests in three successive modes: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without any eternal or distinct hypostases within the Godhead.^[5] This view rejects the notion of three coeternal persons, instead positing that the divine essence operates through temporal roles or dispensations to accomplish creation, revelation, and redemption.^[9] Central to this doctrine is the belief that the Father Himself became incarnate as the Son, taking on human flesh in Jesus Christ, who then suffered and died on the cross.^[5] Proponents interpreted passages such as John 10:30—"I and the Father are one"—as evidence that the Father and Son are identical in personhood, not merely in substance or will.^[5] Similarly, Isaiah 9:6, which describes the Messiah as "Everlasting Father" and "Mighty God," was seen to confirm the Father's direct embodiment in the Son, underscoring the unity where the divine person experiences human suffering without division.^[5] The rejection of eternal distinctions within the Godhead frames the Son as a temporary mode of the Father, activated in the economy of salvation rather than as a preexistent, distinct entity.^[9] This modal manifestation ensures the absolute monarchy of God, with the Holy Spirit as another role of the same undivided person, active in sanctification and inspiration.^[5] The term "Patripassianism" specifically highlights the implication that the Father ("pater") suffered ("passus") in the incarnation.^[5]

Historical Development

Origins and Early Proponents

Patripassianism emerged in the late second century in Asia Minor, particularly through the teachings of Noetus of Smyrna around AD 190. Noetus, a presbyter, emphasized the absolute unity of God in response to what he perceived as emerging polytheistic tendencies in Christian doctrine, asserting that the Father Himself had become incarnate as the Son and thus suffered on the cross. This view, which identified the divine persons so closely that the suffering of the Son was attributed to the Father, was influenced by broader monarchian efforts to safeguard monotheism. Noetus was examined and excommunicated by a council of presbyters in Smyrna for these teachings, as recorded by Hippolytus of Rome, who described Noetus as drawing from philosophical ideas akin to Heraclitus to support his claim that Christ was the Father incarnate. Noetus' disciples, Epigonus and Cleomenes, subsequently brought his teachings to Rome.^[10] The doctrine was introduced to Rome shortly thereafter in the late second century, around 190–200 CE, by Praxeas, a figure from Asia Minor who sought to promote monarchian unity while opposing the Montanist movement. Praxeas argued that the Father and Son were not distinct persons but modes of the same God, with the Father assuming flesh in Christ and thereby experiencing compassion—though he nuanced it to avoid implying true passion or suffering for the divine essence. His arrival led to initial support from Bishop Victor of Rome but soon sparked conflicts with local church leaders, as Praxeas's views challenged emerging distinctions in the Godhead. Tertullian, writing against him circa AD 213, coined the term "Patripassians" to critique this identification of the Father's suffering with the Son's, highlighting Praxeas's use of scriptures like John 10:30 and 14:9 to defend the unity.^[11] By around AD 220, Patripassianism gained further association in North Africa, particularly in Libya and the Pentapolis region, through Sabellius, a Libyan theologian whose teachings built on Noetus and Praxeas by emphasizing successive modal manifestations of the one God—Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Spirit in sanctification. Sabellius's formulation reinforced the monarchian stress on divine unity, portraying the persons as temporary roles rather than eternal distinctions, which resonated in these areas amid debates over Trinitarian language. This development was noted by early witnesses like Dionysius of Alexandria, who reported Sabellius's success in the region before his condemnation in Rome, influencing later modalistic expressions.^[12]

Spread and Key Opponents

Patripassianism, emerging from Asia Minor, spread to Rome and North Africa through the travels and teachings of Praxeas, a priest from that region who arrived in Rome in the late second century, around 190–200 CE, and later influenced Carthage.^[11] In these centers, the doctrine gained traction among Christians concerned with maintaining strict monotheism in response to emerging Trinitarian formulations that risked dividing the Godhead into multiple entities.^[10] Praxeas' emphasis on God's unitary nature, where the Father manifested as the Son, appealed to those wary of perceived polytheistic implications in early Trinitarian thought, allowing the heresy to persist into the early third century despite opposition.^[13] Early opposition arose prominently from Tertullian, who in his treatise Adversus Praxean (c. 213 CE) vehemently critiqued Praxeas for conflating the Father and Son, arguing that such views implied the Father Himself suffered on the cross—a blasphemous confusion of divine persons. Tertullian, writing from Carthage, accused Praxeas not only of doctrinal error but also of undermining church unity by his anti-Montanist activities, which had initially garnered support from Roman bishops like Victor.^[10] This work marked a pivotal defense of distinct yet unified divine persons, influencing subsequent anti-modalist polemics. Further resistance came from Hippolytus of Rome, whose Refutation of All Heresies (c. 222 CE) targeted Noetus, an earlier Anatolian proponent in Rome who taught that Christ was the visible Father, and extended criticism to Pope Callistus I for similar leanings. Hippolytus condemned Noetus' modalism as a distortion of apostolic teaching and viewed Callistus' positions as a hybrid heresy blending Sabellian unity with adoptionist elements, leading Hippolytus to establish a rival schismatic group.^[10] Pope Callistus I (r. 217–222 CE) played a complex role, initially tolerating modalist views under his predecessor Zephyrinus to unify the Roman church amid diverse theological currents, but later suppressing them through excommunications, such as that of Sabellius in 220 CE.^[10] This shift provoked schisms, including Hippolytus' antipapacy, as Callistus' policies alienated rigorists while failing to fully eradicate the doctrine, which lingered in pockets of the church.^[13] His actions highlighted the tensions between monotheistic preservation and emerging Trinitarian orthodoxy in early Roman Christianity.^[10]

Theological Implications

Relation to Modalism and Monarchianism

Patripassianism is classified as a form of modalistic monarchianism, a theological position that maintains the absolute unity of God by positing that the divine essence operates through successive modes or manifestations rather than distinct eternal persons, in contrast to dynamic monarchianism, which separates the human Jesus from the divine Father through adoption (e.g., Adoptionism).^[14]^[15] This doctrine overlaps significantly with Sabellianism, another variant of modalism, in its conception of the Trinity as temporal manifestations of a single divine reality—such as the Father in the Old Testament, the Son during the incarnation, and the Holy Spirit following the resurrection—thereby emphasizing God's unchanging oneness over personal distinctions.^[15]^[14] However, Patripassianism is distinguished from broader modalistic views by its explicit implication of patripassio, the suffering of the Father himself in the passion of Christ, which extends the modalistic unity to the realm of divine impassibility and directly influenced later theopaschite controversies regarding whether God could experience suffering.^[14]^[15] Such interpretations often draw briefly on scriptural passages like John 14:9, where Jesus declares, "He who has seen me has seen the Father," to support the inseparability of divine modes.^[15]

Trinitarian Critiques

Trinitarian theology critiques Patripassianism for effectively collapsing the distinct persons of the Trinity into a single modalistic entity, thereby undermining the biblical distinctions among Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This view violates the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19, which commands baptism "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," implying three coequal persons rather than sequential modes of one person.^[16] Similarly, Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17:21, where he intercedes for unity among believers as a reflection of the divine unity, presupposes real relational distinctions between the Father and Son, not a self-referential monologue.^[1] A core objection centers on the doctrine of divine impassibility, which holds that God, being unchanging and perfect, cannot suffer or be affected by external forces in his divine nature. Patripassianism's assertion that the Father suffered on the cross contradicts passages like Malachi 3:6, which declares, "For I the Lord do not change," emphasizing God's immutable essence.^[1] Orthodox Trinitarianism maintains that only the Son, in his incarnate human nature, experienced suffering and death, thereby preserving the unity of the Godhead without conflating the persons or compromising the Father's impassible divinity.^[17] This distinction upholds the integrity of redemption, where the Son's voluntary submission to suffering fulfills the Father's redemptive plan without implying divine vulnerability or division.^[16] Logically, Patripassianism leads to absurdities that erode the relational dynamics essential to Trinitarian redemption. If the Father and Son are identical, then instances like the Son praying to the Father—evident throughout the Gospels—reduce to the Father addressing himself, nullifying the interpersonal love and obedience that characterize the divine economy.^[1] Such a framework not only confuses the persons but also diminishes the Son's mediatorial role, portraying salvation as an internal divine soliloquy rather than a triune act of covenantal relationship.^[17]

Condemnation and Legacy

Patristic Responses and Condemnations

One of the earliest and most significant patristic responses to Patripassianism came from Tertullian in his treatise Adversus Praxean, composed around AD 213. In this work, Tertullian systematically refuted the modalist views associated with Patripassianism, which posited that the Father Himself suffered on the cross, and he coined the term "Patripassians" to describe its adherents.^[5] He advocated for an economic understanding of the Trinity, emphasizing distinct roles among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit while maintaining their unity, thereby establishing a foundational critique that influenced subsequent Trinitarian formulations.^[18] Hippolytus of Rome provided another key condemnation in his Refutation of All Heresies, written circa AD 222, where he explicitly targeted modalist teachings, including those linked to Patripassianism. He accused Pope Callistus I of promoting modalism, which contributed to a schism in the Roman church, as Hippolytus positioned himself as antipope in opposition to Callistus's teachings and leadership.^[19] This action underscored the formal disciplinary measures taken against modalists in the early third century. Origen of Alexandria offered indirect critiques of modalism, including Patripassianism, in his De Principiis (circa AD 225), where he stressed the eternal distinctions between the divine persons to counter the idea of a single person assuming successive modes.^[20] Formal ecclesiastical condemnations of Patripassianism, often under the broader label of Sabellianism, occurred through local synods rather than ecumenical councils in the pre-Nicene period. In the 260s, Dionysius of Alexandria excommunicated Sabellius for his modalistic teachings at a synod in Alexandria. This action, along with concerns over Dionysius's own writings, prompted Dionysius of Rome to convene a synod in 262 AD that explicitly denounced Sabellian teachings as heretical.^[21] The First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 did not directly address Patripassianism but indirectly countered it through its anti-Arian creed, which affirmed the distinct personhood of the Son "begotten, not made," thereby rejecting modalist conflations of the divine persons.^[22] The First Council of Constantinople in 381 CE further rejected modalistic heresies by affirming the Holy Spirit's divinity and the distinct persons of the Trinity.^[3]

Influence on Later Heresies and Thought

Patripassianism's emphasis on divine unity exerted influence on fifth-century theopaschitism debates, where theologians grappled with the implications of Christ's suffering for the Godhead. Theopaschitism, emerging as a response to Christological controversies, asserted that "one of the Trinity suffered in the flesh," aiming to affirm the full divinity of the incarnate Logos without implying that the divine nature itself suffered. This formulation was advanced by Scythian monks around 519 and sought to counter Nestorian separations of Christ's natures while avoiding patripassian conflation of the Father and Son. The Second Council of Constantinople in 553 resolved the debate by endorsing the theopaschite phrase in its tenth anathema, clarifying that suffering pertained to the incarnate Second Person, thus distinguishing orthodox theopaschitism from patripassianism's erroneous attribution of suffering to the Father.^[1]^[3]^[23] In the twentieth century, elements of patripassianism resurfaced in Oneness Pentecostalism, a movement that revived modalistic monarchianism without explicitly endorsing the Father's suffering. Originating in 1913 amid Pentecostal revivals, Oneness theology posits a unipersonal God manifesting sequentially as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, rejecting eternal Trinitarian distinctions to emphasize absolute monotheism. This echoes patripassianism's modalistic framework, as seen in early proponents like Praxeas, but focuses on Jesus' full deity rather than direct patripassian claims. Major denominations such as the United Pentecostal Church International represent this resurgence, comprising about one-quarter of American Pentecostals and influencing baptismal and soteriological practices.^[24]^[14] Modern scholars view patripassianism as an overreaction to polytheistic risks in second- and third-century theology, where modalists like Noetus equated Father and Son to safeguard monotheism against perceived ditheism. This approach, however, drew critiques for undermining Christ's mediatorial role by blurring personal distinctions, thereby diminishing the Son's unique incarnation and intercession between God and humanity. Occasional parallels appear in process theology, which posits a suffering God who empathizes with creation, akin to patripassianism's divine passibility but without the incarnation's necessity, risking divine transcendence.^[23]