Christology (from Greek ???st?? Khrists and -????

a, -logia) is the field of study

within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and pers
on of Jesus as recorded in the canonical Gospels and the epistles of the New Tes
tament.[2] Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and
person with the nature and person of God the Father. As such, Christology is con
cerned with the details of Jesus' ministry, his acts and teachings, to arrive at
a clearer understanding of who he is in his person, and his role in salvation.[
3] A major component of the Christology of the Apostolic Age was that of Paul th
e Apostle. His central themes were the notion of the pre-existence of Christ and
the worship of Christ as Kyrios (Greek: Lord).[4]
The pre-existence of Christ is considered a central theme of Christology. Propon
ents of Christ's deity argue the Old Testament has many cases of Christophany: "
The pre-existence of Christ is further substantiated by the many recorded Christ
ophanies in the Bible."[5] Christophany is often considered a more accurate term
than the term Theophany due to the belief that all the visible manifestations o
f God (or Yahweh) are in fact the preincarnate Christ. Many argue that the appea
rances of "the Angel of the Lord" in the Old Testament were the preincarnate Chr
ist. "Many understand the angel of the Lord as a true theophany. From the time o
f Justin on, the figure has been regarded as the preincarnate Logos."[6]
Following the Apostolic Age, there was fierce and often politicized debate in th
e early church on many interrelated issues. Christology was a major focus of the
se debates, and was addressed at every one of the first seven ecumenical council
s. The second through fourth of these councils are generally entitled "Christolo
gical councils," with the latter three mainly elucidating what was taught in the
m and condemning incorrect interpretations.[7] The Council of Chalcedon in 451 i
ssued a formulation of the being of Christ
that of two natures, one human and on
e divine, "united with neither confusion nor division."[7] This is called the do
ctrine of the hypostatic union,[7] which is still held today among Eastern Ortho
dox, Roman Catholic, and many Protestant Christians, referred to collectively as
Chalcedonian Christianity. Due to politically charged differences in the 4th ce
ntury, schisms developed, and the first denominations (from the Latin, "to take
a new name") formed.[7]
In the 13th century, Saint Thomas Aquinas provided the first systematic Christol
ogy that consistently resolved a number of the existing issues.[8] In his Christ
ology from above, Aquinas also championed the principle of perfection of Christ'
s human attributes.[9][10][11] The Middle Ages also witnessed the emergence of t
he "tender image of Jesus" as a friend and a living source of love and comfort,
rather than just the Kyrios image.[12] According to Catholic theologian Karl Rah
ner, the purpose of modern Christology is to formulate the Christian belief that
"God became man and that God-made-man is the individual Jesus Christ" in a mann
er that this statement can be understood consistently, without the confusions of
past debates and mythologies.[13]