Athanasius of Alexandria on the person of Christ
Word united to flesh, with the human soul underemphasized
On the Incarnation 8.3
THE POSITION
Classic Alexandrian Word-flesh: the Word prepares a body in the Virgin as a temple and instrument, makes it His own, and wields it — "He became man, and did not come into man," aimed against the idea that the incarnation was an intensified prophetic indwelling. He does distinguish what Christ does as man from what He does as God, which is the substance of what Chalcedon later formalized, but there is no two-natures formula and little emphasis on a human soul.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Defender of Nicene orthodoxy against Arianism through repeated exiles. On the Incarnation is his central work on why God became man.
Cite this page
"Athanasius of Alexandria on the person of Christ", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/athanasius/christology (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/athanasius/christology).