This council was the fourth of seven ecumenical councils. It was held from October 8th to November 1st, 451 at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor),which rejected the Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism (Christ having only one nature). It ended up setting forth the Chalcedonian Creed, which describes the full humanity and full divinity […]

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[kris-taw’-luh-jee]
The discipline within Christian theology that deals with the nature of Jesus Christ, particularly focusing on how the human and divine co-exist in one person. Christology also seeks to explain the saving work of Christ, though is generally less concerned with the details of Jesus’ life. In systematic theology it logically precedes soteriology (the doctrine […]

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[kal‘-vih-niz’-um]
Also, “Reformed theology,” “the Reformed faith,” or “the Reformed tradition.”
A theological framework based on the teachings of 16th century French Protestant reformer John Calvin. The emphasis of this system is on the sovereignty of God over all things, with specific reference to soteriology (the doctrine of salvation). Though the distinctives of Calvinist theology may be […]

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[kray-aw’-tsee-o eks nee’-uh-lo]
(Latin, “creation out of nothing”)
Describes the shared theistic worldview which believes all of creation was created by God out of non-existent matter. This belief is extremely important and foundational to the Christian belief in a transcendent God. God’s nature transcends time, space, and matter. Therefore, all that exists outside of God is dependent […]

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or, Saint Anselm (1033–1109)
He was a Roman Catholic philosopher and clergyman best known for his work Cur Deus Homo [Why the God-man?], 1098. Called the founder of scholasticism, he is considered the father of the ontological argument for the existence of God. He also openly opposed the Crusades.
Read more on Anselm here.
…and here.

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[cat-uh-fat’-ik thee-aw’-luh-jee]
(Greek kata- <as an affirmative> + Greek phanai, “speak” = kataphasis, “affirmation”)
Often called “positive theology,” cataphatic theology describes the theological methodology of those who focus on God’s self-revelation as a coherent avenue of God’s communication. While finite men cannot understand an infinite God completely, they can understand him truly.

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A collective term used to refer to three Eastern Christians who significantly influenced the development of theology in the late fourth century: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzen, and Gregory of Nyssa. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa were brothers while Gregory of Nazianzen was a close friend of the two. These three are well-respected by […]

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(Latin, “communion of the saints”)
The Christian belief, often emphasized in the Catholic and Orthodox church, that the church is comprised of a spiritual communion or fellowship of all saints, including those living (ecclesia militans “the church militant,” cf. 1 Cor. 12:1ff) and those dead (ecclesia triumphans “the church triumphant,” cf. Heb. 12:1). In such a […]

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(Gk. katholikos, “universal”)
The word Catholic can refer to the Roman Catholic church or, in general, to the universal Christian church. Protestants believe that from the earliest times, the word “catholic” referred to the church made up of all believers of the “invisible” and “visible” church in all places of all times. Roman Catholics believe that […]

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(Also, “Marks of the Church”)
The Four Marks describe a belief in Christendom that the body of Christ—the church—is characterized by four “marks” or distinctives. These marks are found in the early church and found their way into the Creed of Constantinople in 381, “‘[We believe] In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.’” 1) One: this […]

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