# On the Union of the Body with the Godhead in Christ

- Author: [Apollinaris of Laodicea](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/apollinaris-of-laodicea/)
- Latin title: *De unione*
- Date: ca. 360–390 (approximate)
- Source: Hans Lietzmann, Apollinaris von Laodicea und seine Schule: Texte und Untersuchungen (Tübingen: Mohr, 1904), 185–192 (Scan: Internet Archive (Google Books copy); OCR for this site)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: Hans Lietzmann, ed., Apollinaris von Laodicea und seine Schule (Tübingen: Mohr, 1904) (cited only)
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/
- Passages: 17

## On the Union 1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-1
- Source: Lietzmann, 185
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Christ's body was holy from conception because it was united to the Godhead; his birth was also a descent from heaven.

### Greek text

Ἅγιον ἐξ ἀρχῆς γέννημα καλῶς ὁμολογεῖται καὶ κατὰ τὸ ΓΝ Ὁ κύριος, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο διαλλάττει παντὸς σώματος οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅλως ἐν μήτρᾳ συνελήφθη χωρὶς θεότητος, ἀλλ᾽ ἡνωμένος πρὸς ταύτην, ὡς ὁ ἄγγελός φησιν “πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ δύναμις ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι᾽ διὸ καὶ τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον κληθήσεται υἱὸς θεοῦ”, καὶ ἦν οὐρανία κάθοδος, οὐ μόνον γέννησις ἣ ἐκ γυναικός. εἴρηται γὰρ οὐ μόνον τὸ “γενόμενον ἐκ γυναικός, γενόμενον ὑπὸ νόμον”, ἀλλὰ καὶ “οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, εἰ μὴ ὃ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου”.

### English translation (Claude)

It is rightly confessed that the Lord was a holy offspring from the beginning, even according to the [body], and in this he differs from every body; for he was not conceived in the womb without the Godhead at all, but united to it, as the angel says, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the holy one who is born will be called Son of God”; and there was a descent from heaven, not only a birth from a woman. For it is said not only “born of a woman, born under the law,” but also “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”

### Scripture references

- Luke 1:35: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 4:4: quotation, high confidence
- John 3:13: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “Body” is supplied by sense for an unreadable word in the OCR (ΓΝ). Quotations: Luke 1:35; Gal 4:4; John 3:13.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 1 (Lietzmann, 185; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1).

## On the Union 2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-2
- Source: Lietzmann, 186
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Christ's body is not to be called a creature by itself, since it shares the name of the uncreated God to whom it is united.

### Greek text

καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἰδίως κτίσμα τὸ σῶμα εἰπεῖν, ἀχώριστον ὃν ἐκείνου πάντως οὗ σῶμά ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ ἀκτίστου κεκοινώνηκεν ἐπωνυμίας καὶ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ κλήσεως, ὅτι πρὸς ἑνότητα θεῷ συνῆπται, καθὰ λέγεται ὅτι “ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο” καὶ παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ “ὁ ἔσχατος ᾿Αδὰμ εἰς πνεῦμα ζωοποιοῦν”.

### English translation (Claude)

And one cannot call the body a creature in its own right, since it is wholly inseparable from him whose body it is; rather it has come to share in the name of the uncreated and in the title of God, because it was joined to God into unity, as it is said that “the Word became flesh,” and in the apostle, “the last Adam [became] a life-giving spirit.”

### Scripture references

- John 1:14: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 15:45: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Quotations: John 1:14; 1 Cor 15:45.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 2 (Lietzmann, 186; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/2).

## On the Union 3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-3
- Source: Lietzmann, 186
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The lowly things of the body, such as birth, servanthood, and descent from Abraham, must also be confessed of Christ.

### Greek text

δεῖ δὲ ἡμᾶς, ὥσπερ τὰ ἔνδοξα τῷ σώματι προσάπτομεν ἐκ τῆς θείας συλλήψεως καὶ τῆς πρὸς θεὸν ἑνότητος, οὕτω καὶ τὰ ἄδοξα τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος μὴ ἀρνεῖσθαι, ἅπερ ἐστὶ τὸ “γενέσθαι ἐκ γυναικὸς” κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον καὶ τὸ “πλασθῆναι ἐκ κοιλίας δοῦλον θεῷ” κατὰ τὸν προφήτην, τὸ ὅλως ἄνθρωπον ὀνομάζεσθαι καὶ υἱὸν ἀνθρώπου, τὸ ἀριθμεῖσθαι μετὰ ᾿Αβραὰμ πολλὰς γενεὰς μεθ᾽ ἃς γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος.

### English translation (Claude)

But just as we attach the glorious things to the body by reason of the divine conception and the unity with God, so also we must not deny the inglorious things that come from the body: being “born of a woman,” according to the apostle, and being “formed from the womb a servant to God,” according to the prophet; being called simply man and Son of Man; being counted many generations after Abraham, after which he became man.

### Scripture references

- Gal 4:4: quotation, high confidence
- Isa 49:5: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 1:1–17: allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Quotations: Gal 4:4; Isa 49:5.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 3 (Lietzmann, 186; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/3).

## On the Union 4

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-4
- Source: Lietzmann, 186
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Names drawn from either side of Christ are said of the whole, which is not divided in fact or name.

### Greek text

ἀνθρωπίνως μέντοι καὶ λέγειν καὶ ἀκούειν χρή, ὥσπερ, ὅτε ὅλον ἄνθρωπος καλεῖται, μή τις ἀρνήσηται τὴν θείαν οὐσίαν, τὴν τῷ ὀνόματι μετὰ τοῦ σώματος δηλουμένην, καὶ ὅτε δοῦλος κατὰ τὸ σῶμα ὀνομάζεται, μή τις ἀρνήσηται τὴν κυριευτικὴν φύσιν, δουλείας ὀνόματι μετὰ τοῦ σώματος δηλουμένην, καὶ πάλιν, ὅτε καταβεβηκὼς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ κηρύσσεται ἄνθρωπος ἐπουράνιος, μή τις ἀρνήσηται τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἀπὸ γῆς πρὸς θεότητα συμπλοκήν. οὐ διατέμνεται μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲ πράγματι οὐδὲ ὀνόματι, ὅτε δοῦλος ὁ κύριος καλεῖται καὶ ὅτε πλαστὸς ὃ ἄκτιστος ὀνομάζεται τῇ συναφείᾳ τῇ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ δούλου μορφὴν καὶ πρὸς τὸ πλασσόμενον σῶμα.

### English translation (Claude)

Yet one must speak and listen in a human way: so that, when the whole is called man, no one denies the divine substance, which is shown together with the body by the name; and when he is called servant according to the body, no one denies the lordly nature, which is shown together with the body by the name of servitude; and again, when a heavenly man is proclaimed as having come down from heaven, no one denies the union of the body from the earth with the Godhead. For he is not cut apart, either in fact or in name, when the Lord is called servant and when the uncreated is named as formed, by his conjunction with the form of the servant and with the body that is formed.

### Scripture references

- Phil 2:7: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 15:47: allusion, low confidence

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 4 (Lietzmann, 186; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/4).

## On the Union 5

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-5
- Source: Lietzmann, 187
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: In Christ created and uncreated form one nature, as body and soul form one human nature.

### Greek text

ὁμολογεῖται δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ μὲν εἶναι κτιστὸν ἐν ἑνότητι τοῦ ἀκτίστου, τὸ δὲ ἄκτιστον ἐν συγκράσει τοῦ κτιστοῦ, φύσεως μιᾶς ἐξ ἑκατέρου μέρους συνισταμένης, μερικὴν ἐνέργειαν καὶ τοῦ λόγου συντελέσαντος εἰς τὸ ὅλον μετὰ τῆς θεϊκῆς τελειότητος, ὅπερ ⟨καὶ⟩ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοινοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ δύο μερῶν ἀτελῶν γίνεται, φύσιν μίαν πληρούντων καὶ ἑνὶ ὀνόματι δηλουμένων, ἐπεὶ καὶ σὰρξ τὸ ὅλον καλεῖται, μὴ περιαιρουμένης ἐν τούτῳ τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ ψυχὴ τὸ ὅλον προσαγορεύεται, οὗ περιαιρουμένου τοῦ σώματος, εἰ καὶ ἕτερόν τι ἐστὶ παρὰ τὴν ψυχήν.

### English translation (Claude)

In him it is confessed that the created is in unity with the uncreated, and the uncreated in blending with the created, one nature being constituted from each part, the Word also contributing a partial activity to the whole together with the divine perfection. This ⟨also⟩ happens in the case of the ordinary human being, from two incomplete parts which make up one nature and are signified by one name: for the whole is called flesh without the soul being taken away thereby, and the whole is called soul without the body being taken away, even though it is something other than the soul.

### Translation notes

- “Also” (καί) is a supplement by the editor. οὗ περιαιρουμένου in the OCR is read as οὐ περιαιρουμένου (“without … being taken away”). The “one nature” compounded like body and soul is Apollinaris's own teaching; it is translated as written.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 5 (Lietzmann, 187; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/5).

## On the Union 6

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-6
- Source: Lietzmann, 187
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: God made man remains Lord, Spirit, and uncreated, emptying himself in the servant's form without change in his divine substance.

### Greek text

ὃ θεὸς οὖν ὁ ἐνανθρωπήσας, ὁ κύριος καὶ προὔχων τῆς γεννήσεως, εἰ καὶ γεγέννηται ἀπὸ γυναικός, κύριος ὦν, εἰ καὶ μεμόρφωται κατὰ τοὺς δούλους, πνεῦμα ὦν, εἰ καὶ σὰρξ κατὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀποδέδεικται, οὐκ ἄνθρωπος ὧν κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον, εἰ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ὑπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ κηρύσσεται, καὶ (τὸ ὅλον εἰπεῖν) ἀόρατος θεὸς ὁρατῷ σώματι μεταμορφούμενος, ἄκτιστος θεὸς κτιστῇ περιβολῇ φανερούμενος, κενώσας μὲν ἑαυτὸν κατὰ τὴν μόρφωσιν (δούλου), ἀκένωτος δὲ καὶ ἀναλλοίωτος καὶ ἀνελάττωτος κατὰ τὴν θείαν οὐσίαν (οὐδεμία γὰρ ἀλλοίωσις περὶ τὴν θείαν φύσιν) οὐδὲ ἐλαττοῦται οὐδὲ αὐξάνεται.

### English translation (Claude)

God, then, who became man, is Lord and prior to his birth, even if he was born from a woman; he is Lord, even if he took form like the servants; he is Spirit, even if he has been shown to be flesh by the union with the flesh; he is not a man, according to the apostle, even if he is proclaimed a man by the same apostle; and, to say it all, he is invisible God transformed by a visible body, uncreated God made manifest in a created covering, who emptied himself in taking the form (of a servant), but who is not emptied, unaltered, and undiminished in the divine substance (for there is no alteration in the divine nature), neither diminished nor increased.

### Scripture references

- Gal 1:1: allusion, low confidence
- 1 Tim 2:5: allusion, low confidence
- Phil 2:7: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “Not a man”: cf. Gal 1:1 and 1:12; “proclaimed a man”: cf. 1 Tim 2:5. “Of a servant” is in round brackets in the text (an editorial addition); Phil 2:7.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 6 (Lietzmann, 187; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/6).

## On the Union 7

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-7
- Source: Lietzmann, 188
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: In John 17:5 the whole Christ asks for glory, which properly concerns the body and the eternal glory of the Godhead.

### Greek text

καὶ ὅτε λέγει ὅτι “δόξασόν με”, ἀπὸ σώματος ἣ φωνὴ καὶ περὶ σῶμα ὁ δοξασμός, ἐπὶ τοῦ ὅλου λεγόμενος, διότι τὸ ὅλον ἐστὶν ἕν. καὶ πάλιν ἐπάγων “τῇ δόξῃ ἧ εἶχον πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι παρὰ σοί”, τὴν ἔνδοξον ἀεὶ θεότητα δηλοῖ, εἰ καὶ ἰδίως θεότητι προσήκει τοῦτο, καίτοι κοινῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ ὅλου ῥηθέν.

### English translation (Claude)

And when he says, “Glorify me,” the voice comes from the body and the glorification concerns the body, though it is said of the whole, because the whole is one. And again, when he adds, “with the glory that I had with you before the world was,” he shows the Godhead that is always glorious, even though this belongs properly to the Godhead, while it is said in common of the whole.

### Scripture references

- John 17:5: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Quotation: John 17:5.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 7 (Lietzmann, 188; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/7).

## On the Union 8

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-8
- Source: Lietzmann, 188
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Christ is of one substance with God and with humans, each name including the other side, without change to either nature.

### Greek text

οὕτως καὶ θεῷ ὁμοούσιος κατὰ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀόρατον, συμπεριλαμβανομένης τῷ ὀνόματι καὶ τῆς σαρκός, ὅτι πρὸς τὸν θεῷ ὁμοούσιον ἥνωται, καὶ πάλιν ἀνθρώποις ὁμοούσιος, συμπεριλαμβανομένης καὶ τῆς θεότητος τῷ σώματι, ὅτι πρὸς τὸ ἡμῖν ὁμοούσιον ἡνώθη, οὐκ ἀλλαττομένης τῆς τοῦ σώματος φύσεως ἐν τῇ πρὸς τὸν θεῷ ὁμοούσιον ἑνώσει καὶ τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τοῦ ὁμοουσίου ὀνόματος, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἣ τῆς θεότητος ἤλλακται φύσις ἐν τῇ κοινωνίᾳ τοῦ ἀνθρωπείου σώματος καὶ τῇ ὀνομασίᾳ τῆς ἡμῖν ὁμοουσίου σαρκός.

### English translation (Claude)

So too he is of one substance with God according to the invisible Spirit, the flesh also being included in the name, because it has been united to the one who is of one substance with God; and again he is of one substance with human beings, the Godhead also being included with the body, because it was united to what is of one substance with us. The nature of the body is not changed in the union with the one who is of one substance with God and in sharing the name “of one substance,” just as the nature of the Godhead has not been changed in sharing the human body and in being named flesh of one substance with us.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 8 (Lietzmann, 188; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/8).

## On the Union 9

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-9
- Source: Lietzmann, 188
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Paul speaks of the one Son, not of the flesh or the Godhead separately, as born of David and as being in the form of God.

### Greek text

Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Παῦλος λέγων “τοῦ γενομένου ἐκ σπέρματος Δαβὶδ κατὰ σάρκα”, τὸν υἱὸν εἶπεν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν γέννησιν ταύτην ἀναδεδέχθαι καὶ οὐχὶ τὴν σάρκα χωρὶς ὀνομάσας εἴρηκεν Ἡ σὰρξ ἐγένετο ἐκ σπέρματος Δαβίδ. καὶ ὅτε λέγει “τοῦτο φρονείσθω ἐν ὑμῖν ὃ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ὃς ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ”, οὐ χωρίσας εἶπεν Οὗ ἣ θεότης ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ + λέγει οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ, καίτοι ἣ θεότης οὔτε Ἰησοῦς ὠνόμασται πρὸ τῆς ἐκ παρθένου γεννήσεως οὔτε τὴν ἐν ἁγίῳ πνεύματι χρίσιν ἔσχηκεν, ὅτι δοτὴρ τοῦ πνεύματος ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, οὐχ ἁγιαζόμενος ἐν πνεύματι

### English translation (Claude)

For Paul too, when he says, “who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,” said that the Son of God had taken on this birth, and did not name the flesh separately and say, “The flesh was born of the seed of David.” And when he says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,” he did not separate and say, “whose Godhead, in the form of God, …”; he says, “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,” although the Godhead was neither named Jesus before the birth from the Virgin nor had the anointing in the Holy Spirit, since the Word of God is the giver of the Spirit, not one sanctified in the Spirit.

### Scripture references

- Rom 1:3: quotation, high confidence
- Phil 2:5–6: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Quotations: Rom 1:3; Phil 2:5–6. The text is corrupt (marked with a dagger) after “in the form of God”; the gap is marked “…”.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 9 (Lietzmann, 188; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/9).

## On the Union 10

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-10
- Source: Lietzmann, 189
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: In John 17:19 Christ says he sanctifies himself, keeping the one person, not as one being sanctifying another.

### Greek text

καὶ λέγει “ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐγὼ ἁγιάζω ἐμαυτὸν, ἵνα ὦσιν αὐτοὶ ἡγιασμένοι ἐν ἀληθείᾳ”, οὐ χωρίζων καὶ λέγων ᾿Αγιάζω τὴν σάρκα, ἀλλὰ συνάπτων καὶ λέγων ᾿Αγιάζω ἐμαυτόν, καίτοι τῷ σκοποῦντι μετὰ ἀκριβείας οὐ δυνατὸν αὐτὸν ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ ἁγιάζεσθαι. εἰ γὰρ ὅλος ἁγιάζει, τί τὸ ἁγιαζόμενον; εἰ ὁ σύμπας ἁγιάζεται, τί τὸ ἁγιάζον; ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως φυλάττων τὸ ἕν πρόσωπον καὶ τὴν ἀμέριστον ἑνὸς ζώου δήλωσιν τό τε ἁγιάζειν καὶ τὸ ἁγιάζεσθαι καθ᾽ ὅλου τέθεικεν, ἵν’ ἀκριβὲς ἡμῖν ἧ καὶ σαφές, ὅτι. οὐ κατὰ τὸν προφητικὸν οὐδὲ κατὰ τὸν ἀποστολικὸν τρόπον ἄλλος ἄλλον ἁγιάζει, καθάπερ τὸ πνεῦμα τοὺς προφήτας καὶ τοὺς ἀποστόλους, ὥσπερ ὁ Παῦλός φησι περὶ τῆς πάσης ἐκκλησίας “κλητοῖς ἁγίοις καὶ ἡγιασμένοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ” καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ σωτὴρ περὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων “ἁγίασον αὐτοὺς ἐν ἀληθείᾳ”.

### English translation (Claude)

And he says, “For their sake I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth,” not separating and saying, “I sanctify the flesh,” but joining and saying, “I sanctify myself,” although, for one who examines it precisely, it is not possible for him to be sanctified by himself. For if the whole sanctifies, what is sanctified? If the whole is sanctified, what sanctifies? Yet, preserving the one person and the undivided presentation of one living being, he has applied both sanctifying and being sanctified to the whole, so that it may be precise and clear to us that it is not in the prophetic or apostolic way that one sanctifies another, as the Spirit sanctifies the prophets and the apostles; as Paul says of the whole church, “called saints and sanctified in Christ Jesus,” and the Saviour himself says of the apostles, “Sanctify them in the truth.”

### Scripture references

- John 17:19: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 1:2: quotation, high confidence
- John 17:17: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Quotations: John 17:19; 1 Cor 1:2; John 17:17.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 10 (Lietzmann, 189; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/10).

## On the Union 11

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-11
- Source: Lietzmann, 190
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Creatures are sanctified and the Word sanctifies; in Christ the flesh is sanctified by its union with the Godhead, and the incarnation itself is sanctification.

### Greek text

ὅλη γὰρ ἣ ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις ἐν τῷ ἁγιάζεσθαι καὶ οὐκ ἐν τῷ ἁγιάζειν. καὶ τὸ ἀγγελικὸν τάγμα ὡσαύτως καὶ πᾶσα ἣ κτίσις ἁγιαζομένη ἐστὶ καὶ φωτιζομένη, ἁγιάζον δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ φωτίζον. ἁγιάζων [δὲ] ὁ λόγος διὰ τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ φωτίζων, ἁγιαζόμενος δὲ οὐδαμῶς, κτίστης γὰρ καὶ οὐ κτίσμα. ἀλλὰ ἐνταῦθα τὸ ἁγιάζεσθαι, ἔνθα καὶ τὸ σεσωματῶσθαι, καὶ διήρηται μὲν τὰ πράγματα, ἥνωται δὲ κατὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς πρὸς θεότητα ἕνωσιν, ὥστε μὴ διαστέλλεσθαι ἕτερον τὸν ἁγιάζοντα καὶ ἕτερον τὸν ἁγιαζόμενον, καὶ αὕτη δὲ ὅλως ἢ σάρκωσις ἐστιν ἁγιασμός.

### English translation (Claude)

For the whole of human nature is in being sanctified and not in sanctifying. Likewise the order of angels and all creation are sanctified and enlightened, while the Spirit sanctifies and enlightens. The Word sanctifies and enlightens through the Spirit, but is in no way sanctified, for he is Creator and not creature. But here being sanctified is where being embodied is; the realities are distinct, but they are united by the union of the flesh with the Godhead, so that the one who sanctifies is not distinguished as one and the one sanctified as another; and this incarnation itself, as a whole, is sanctification.

### Translation notes

- The editor (Lietzmann) brackets δέ after “sanctifies” as an addition; it is left out.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 11 (Lietzmann, 190; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/11).

## On the Union 12

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-12
- Source: Lietzmann, 190
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: In John 10:36 the sanctification is that of the flesh by the Godhead, by which the body lived instead of by a human soul.

### Greek text

Ὁ γὰρ σωτὴρ πρὸς τοὺς λέγοντας “σὺ ἄνθρωπος ὧν ποιεῖς σεαυτὸν θεὸν” ἀποδέδωκεν τῆς ἰδίας ἀνθρωπότητος τὸν λόγον λέγων “ὃν ὁ πατὴρ ἡγίασεν καὶ ἀπέστειλεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι βλασφημεῖς ὅτι εἶπον Υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ εἰμι; ” τίνα λέγων ἐνταῦθα ἁγιασμὸν ἢ τὸν τῆς σαρκὸς ὑπὸ τῆς θεότητος: οὕτω γὰρ ἔζησεν τὸ σῶμα θεότητος ἁγιασμῷ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνης ψυχῆς κατασκευῇ καὶ ὅλως τὸ ὅλον ἐν συναφείᾳ. καὶ ἐνταῦθα “ὃν ὃ πατήρ, φησιν, ἡγίασεν καὶ ἀπέστειλεν” τὸ ἁγιάζον ἅμα καὶ τὸ ἁγιαζόμενον ἁγιάζεσθαι λέγει, τῷ ἁγιαζομένῳ συνάψας τὸ ἁγιάζον.

### English translation (Claude)

For the Saviour, to those who said, “You, being a man, make yourself God,” gave an account of his own humanity, saying, “Do you say of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” What sanctification does he mean here, if not that of the flesh by the Godhead? For thus the body lived by the sanctification of the Godhead and not by the equipment of a human soul, and the whole was altogether in conjunction. And here, saying “whom the Father sanctified and sent,” he says that the one who sanctifies and the one sanctified are sanctified together, joining the one who sanctifies to the one sanctified.

### Scripture references

- John 10:33: quotation, high confidence
- John 10:36: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Quotations: John 10:33, 36. That Christ's body lived by the Godhead “and not by the equipment of a human soul” is Apollinaris's distinctive teaching; it is translated as written.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 12 (Lietzmann, 190; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/12).

## On the Union 13

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-13
- Source: Lietzmann, 191
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Christ's sanctification was his virgin birth, in which the Spirit's power, not human seed, formed the holy child.

### Greek text

καὶ ἑρμηνεύει γε ἀλλαχοῦ τὸν ἁγιασμὸν τοῦτον ὅτι γέννησις ἦν ἣ ἐκ παρθένου. “ἐγὼ γὰρ εἰς τοῦτο γεγέννημαι καὶ εἰς τοῦτο ἐλήλυθα εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἵνα μαρτυρήσω τῇ ἀληθείᾳ”. ἐκ θελήματος μὲν γὰρ σαρκὸς καὶ ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρὸς ὁ κοινὸς ἄνθρωπος ψυχοῦται καὶ ζῇ, τῆς ἐκπεμπομένης σπερματικῆς ὕλης ἐπιφερούσης τὴν ζωοποιὸν δύναμιν εἰς τὴν ὑποδεχομένην μήτραν: ἐκ δὲ πνεύματος ἐφόδου καὶ δυνάμεως ἐπισκιασμοῦ τὸ ἅγιον ἐκ τῆς παρθένου συνίσταται βρέφος, οὐ σπερματικῆς ὕλης ἐργαζομένης τὴν θείαν ζωήν, ἀλλὰ πνευματικῆς καὶ θεϊκῆς δυνάμεως ἐνδιδούσης τῇ παρθένῳ τὴν θείαν κύησιν καὶ χαριζομένης τὸν θεῖον τοκετόν.

### English translation (Claude)

And elsewhere he explains that this sanctification was the birth from the Virgin: “For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.” For the ordinary human being is ensouled and lives from the will of the flesh and the will of a man, the seminal matter that is emitted carrying the life-giving power into the womb that receives it; but the holy infant from the Virgin is constituted by the coming of the Spirit and the overshadowing of the power, not with seminal matter producing the divine life, but with spiritual and divine power granting the Virgin the divine conception and bestowing the divine childbirth.

### Scripture references

- John 18:37: quotation, high confidence
- John 1:13: allusion, medium confidence
- Luke 1:35: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Quotation: John 18:37; cf. John 1:13; Luke 1:35.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 13 (Lietzmann, 191; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/13).

## On the Union 14

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-14
- Source: Lietzmann, 191
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Exaltation and the name above every name properly concern the flesh but are said of the whole Christ.

### Greek text

Οὕτω δὴ κατὰ τὸν τῆς ἑνότητος τρόπον καὶ τὸ ὑψοῦσθαι Χριστὸν καὶ τὸ χαρισθῆναι αὐτῷ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα, καίτοι τῆς ὑψώσεως ἰδίως οὔσης ἐπὶ τῆς κάτωθεν ἀναβαινούσης σαρκός᾽ ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι οὐκ ἰδιαζόντως ἀναβαίνει, διὰ τοῦτο κοινῶς ὀνομάζεται τὸ ὅλον ὑψούμενον, καὶ τὸ κεχαρίσθαι δὲ αὐτῷ περὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀδοξίας δοξαζομένην σάρκα συνίσταται. οὐ γὰρ τῷ ἀεὶ τὴν δόξαν ἔχοντι λόγῳ προστίθεται δόξα διὰ χάριτος. ὅπερ γὰρ ὑπῆρχεν καὶ μεμένηκεν, ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπῆρχεν καὶ ἦν ἴσος θεῷ.

### English translation (Claude)

Thus, then, in keeping with the mode of the unity, Christ is said both to be exalted and to be granted the name that is above every name, although the exaltation belongs properly to the flesh, which ascends from below; but because it does not ascend on its own, the whole is therefore named in common as exalted, and the granting, too, concerns the flesh that is glorified out of its lowliness. For glory is not added through grace to the Word, who always has the glory. For what he was, he also remained: he was in the form of God and was equal to God.

### Scripture references

- Phil 2:9: allusion, high confidence
- Phil 2:6: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Cf. Phil 2:6, 9.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 14 (Lietzmann, 191; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/14).

## On the Union 15

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-15
- Source: Lietzmann, 191
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The Word kept his equality with God; the flesh received what it lacked, and so the name above every name is said to be given to the whole.

### Greek text

ἴσον εἶναι θεῷ καὶ ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ λέγει, κατὰ τὸν Ἰωάννην πατέρα ἴδιον αὐτοῦ λέγων εἶναι τὸν θεὸν καὶ ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιῶν τῷ θεῷ. οὐκ ἄρα μετέπεσεν ἣ πρὸς θεὸν ἰσότης, ἀλλ᾽ ἀναλλοίωτος ἣ θεότης ἔμεινεν ἐν ταὐτότητι. ἃ δὲ ἔχει, λαμβάνειν οὐ δυνατόν, ὥσπερ τῆς σαρκὸς ὅπερ οὐκ ἔχει λαμβανούσης (τὸ ἀπαθὲς ἐκ τῶν παθημάτων, τὸ οὐράνιον ἐκ τῆς κατὰ γῆν διατριβῆς, τὸ βασιλικὸν ἐκ τῆς ὑπ’ ἀνθρώποις δουλείας, τὸ προσκυνεῖσθαι ὑπὸ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως ἐκ τοῦ προσκυνεῖν) ἐπὶ τοῦ ὅλου λέγεται τὸ κεχαρίσθαι αὐτῷ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα.

### English translation (Claude)

He says that he is equal to God even in the flesh, according to John, saying that God is his own Father and making himself equal to God. So the equality with God did not lapse, but the Godhead remained unaltered in its identity. What one has, one cannot receive; but since the flesh receives what it does not have (freedom from suffering out of sufferings, the heavenly out of its sojourn on earth, kingship out of servitude under human beings, being worshiped by all creation out of worshiping), it is said of the whole that the name above every name was granted to him.

### Scripture references

- John 5:18: allusion, high confidence
- Phil 2:9: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- Cf. John 5:18; Phil 2:9.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 15 (Lietzmann, 191; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/15).

## On the Union 16

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-16
- Source: Lietzmann, 192
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The gift of the name cannot be referred to the Word alone, who has it by nature and cannot receive it.

### Greek text

καὶ εἴ τις χωρίζειν τολμᾷ τὸ τῆς χάριτος ῥῆμα καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα, οὐδέτερον οἰκείως λεχθήσεται. εἰ γὰρ τῷ λόγῳ κεχάρισται ὡς οὐκ ἔχοντι, οὐδέποτε διὰ χάριτος δίδοται τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα. καὶ εἰ οὐκ ἀπὸ δόσεως ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ φύσεως ἔχει τοῦτο (ὥσπερ ἔχει κατὰ θεότητα), οὐ δυνατόν ἐστι τοῦτο δοθῆναι αὐτῷ.

### English translation (Claude)

And if anyone dares to separate the word of grace from “the name that is above every name,” neither will be said properly. For if it was granted to the Word as one who did not have it, [this cannot be, for] the name above every name is never given [to him] through grace. And if he has it not by gift but by nature (as he has it according to the Godhead), it cannot be given to him.

### Scripture references

- Phil 2:9: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The argument is compressed; the words in brackets give its apparent sense.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 16 (Lietzmann, 192; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/16).

## On the Union 17

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/1/#p-17
- Source: Lietzmann, 192
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Bodily and divine things are both said of the whole Christ, while what is proper to each is recognized.

### Greek text

ὅθεν ἐξ ἀνάγκης καὶ τὸ σωματικὸν καθ᾽ ὅλου καὶ τὸ θεϊκὸν καθ᾽ ὅλου λέγεται καὶ ὁ μὴ δυνάμενος ἐν τοῖς ἡνωμένοις διαφόροις εἰδέναι, τί τὸ ἴδιον ἑκατέρου, ἐναντιώμασιν ἀσυμφώνως περιπεσεῖται, ὁ δὲ καὶ τὰ ἴδια γινώσκων καὶ τὴν ἕνωσιν φυλάσσων οὔτε τὴν φύσιν ψεύσεται οὔτε τὴν ἕνωσιν ἀγνοήσει.

### English translation (Claude)

Hence of necessity both what is bodily is said of the whole and what is divine is said of the whole; and anyone who cannot recognize, among the different things that are united, what is proper to each will fall into discordant contradictions; but whoever both recognizes what is proper to each and preserves the union will neither falsify the nature nor be ignorant of the union.

### Citation (SBL)

Apollinaris of Laodicea (attrib.), Un. 17 (Lietzmann, 192; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/apollinaris-laodicea-de-unione/17).