Primogenitus omnis creaturae: Chrysostom, Christology and Non-dualism

Abstract

Chrysostom’s homilies, particularly the ones directed against Eunomius and other heretics, serve to defend the divinity of Christ. Often the answer as to whether he succeeded in doing so appears unclear to the modern mind. This article delves into a section of Chrysostom’s homily on Colossians 1:15 with the intention of clarifying his defence of the full divinity of the Son through the concepts of “image” (eikōn) and “firstborn” (prototokos). It represents an attempt to reconcile the “ontological” and the “revelatory,” namely “what Christ is in Himself” and “what Christ reveals through Himself” in Chrysostom’s Christology.

Keywords:

• image
• firstborn
• ontological
• revelatory
• aparallaktos (exact likeness)