Apollinarian and Pneumatomachian disputes
c. 360–381
attested. Attested. The pseudepigraphic survival of Apollinaris' works is established by Lietzmann (1904).
Two spin-off disputes from the Arian crisis. Apollinaris of Laodicea taught that the divine Logos took the place of a human mind in Christ. The Pneumatomachians ('Spirit-fighters', linked with Macedonius and Eustathius of Sebaste) accepted the Son's divinity but denied the Spirit's full equality.
Sides
Apollinarian / Pneumatomachian
Leaders: Apollinaris of Laodicea, Eustathius of Sebaste, Macedonius (attrib.)
Christ has no human rational soul (Apollinaris). The Spirit is not homoousios (Pneumatomachians).
Cappadocian / Nicene
Leaders: Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa, Basil of Caesarea, Damasus I
"What is not assumed is not healed" (Gregory of Nazianzus). The Spirit is worshipped and glorified with Father and Son.
Councils and places
- Laodicea ad Mare (Apollinaris) 4th
- Sebasteia (Eustathius of Sebaste) 4th
- First Council of Constantinople (381) · Constantinople 4th
Outcome
Both were condemned at Rome (377) and Constantinople (381).
What happened to the losers
Apollinarian communities survived briefly. Some of Apollinaris' writings circulated under orthodox names (Athanasius, Julius) and later influenced Cyril's formulas, a point important to the Miaphysite debate.