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Atheological term used with reference to theIncarnation to express therevealedtruth that inChrist oneperson subsists in twonatures, the Divine and thehuman.Hypostasis means, literally, that which lies beneath as basis or foundation. Hence it came to be used by the Greekphilosophers to denote reality as distinguished from appearances (Aristotle, "Mund.", IV, 21). It occurs also inSt. Paul'sEpistles (2 Corinthians 9:4;11:17;Hebrews 1:3-3:14), but not in the sense ofperson. Previous to theCouncil of Nicæa (325)hypostasis was synonymous withousia, and evenSt. Augustine (On the Holy Trinity V.8) avers that he sees no difference between them. The distinction in fact was brought about gradually in the course of the controversies to which theChristologicalheresies gave rise, and was definitively established by theCouncil of Chalcedon (451), which declared that in Christ the twonatures, each retaining its own properties, are united in one subsistence and oneperson (eis en prosopon kai mian hypostasin) (Denzinger, ed. Bannwart, 148). They are not joined in a moral oraccidental union (Nestorius), nor commingled (Eutyches), and nevertheless they are substantially united. For further explanation and bibliography see:INCARNATION;JESUS CHRIST;MONOPHYSITISM;NATURE;PERSON.
APA citation.Pace, E.(1910).Hypostatic Union. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07610b.htm
MLA citation.Pace, Edward."Hypostatic Union."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 7.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1910.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07610b.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Thomas J. Bress.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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