Posted on 01/29/2010 9:00:06 AM PST by Salvation
Featured Term (selected at random):
A term first defined by the first general council of the Church to identify Christ's relationship to the Father. It was chosen by the council to clarify the Church's infallible teaching that the second Person of the Trinity, who became man, is of one and the same substance, or essence, or nature as God the Father. The Arians, who were condemned at Nicaea, held that Christ was "divine" only in the sense that he was from God, and therefore like God, but not that he was literally "God from God, one in being with the Father." (Etym. Greek homousios, of one essence, consubstantial.)
I didn't!
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Except for the Greeks, who pronounce it in the Creed every Sunday...
...γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο...
...only the Church scholars would know about it.
Since you are on this subject, the addage "one iota" comes from this term. In Arian Christology, Christ was taught to be ὁμοιούσιος (homoiousios), that is to sayof the similar nature, versus of the same nature (homoousios).
“...only the Church scholars would know about it.”
As a convert to the Orthodox Church, I was certainly taught about it. In 40 years as a protestant prior, I had never heard the term used. I think the term is commonly known and understood in Orthodoxy.
I would imagine in one way or another, the Orthodox would me more likely to come across it. Orthodox Churches are also national in character and national languages usually do not borrow foreign words to the same extent as English, so I would imagine that an English-speaking Orthodox Church would very likely mention it.
I was born and raised Serbian Orthodox and we of course use a Slavonic equivalent of homoousios, but not the Greek word itself. I did not know the Greek word until I read it a regular Orthodox article years ago. I would venture to say that an average Russian or Serb or Arab Orthodox would not be familiar with the Greek term, but certainly with the concept.
In my response to Salvation, I was really addressing the western side of the Church to which he belongs, where such a term would really be known only to a select academic crowd.
So are you saying that the word, consubstanial comes from this?
If I am not mistaken, consubstantial is one of the words they want to put back into the Creed for the Roman Catholic Church.
Yes, that is the Latin rendition of homoousios, meaning of equal (homo) nature/essence (ousia). However, I think returning substantial into English liturgy (witout elaborate fotonotees to explain what it means) is a mistake.
In English, consusbstantial is misleading because the adjective substantuial in English has a meaning that differs from its Latin counterpart substantialis.
The wording that would in my opinion express the same unambigious menanig as homoousios does in Greek, or yedinosushtniy in Slavonic, would be "of the same nature" as the Father.
The other alternative, coessential, is equally flawed as consubstantial because the English meaning of essential is soemthing necessary and not pertaining to nature.
I believe you are right.
English just messes things up, doesn’t it.
Thanks for all the info.
Our priest is planning several workshops on all the changes that are coming.
In fact, during last week’s homily — he did one on the Mass — he did the “Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault” and made us practice it. LOL!
Funny that it never disappeared from the Spanish translations!
Not only did I not know what it meant; I have never even heard/seen it. :-)
Now, I need to know how it is pronounced. I am guessing “homo EE shus”.
Pronunciation, please?
Hoh-moh-oo-see-ohs
English has many borrowed Latin words with changed meanings ("false friends" as it is called in linguistic circles). There is a tendency to simply substitute Latin words in translations without considering the current meaning of the same words in English.
Latin translations of Greek are not always exact, which in turn, means that an English translation of the Latin translation of the original Greek can be light years from the original meaning.
Different versions of the same Missal created by translations into local languages, simply compounding the problem.
The reason why Latin should have never been abandoned in practice is precisely the fact that Latin ensured the same Missal and the same worship no matter where the Mass celebrated in the world. It also provided for all Latins a way to participate and understand the Mass no matter where they happened to be and no matter how many divergent nationalities were attending.
Learning the Latin of the Mass requires probably no more than a couple of hundred words. To say that people do not understand the Mass in Latin simply means they didn't make an effort to learn it. The need for Latin outweighs the convenience of using a local language. It also prevents creating divergent Missals, as well as further alienation and separation along ethnic lines.
Could the same be said of Church Slavonic and the Divine Liturgy? If so, it seems ridiculous that I wasn't taught Church Slavonic during all those years of Sunday School. It wouldn't have taken much to teach me 30 words a year over the course of going to Sunday School for 10 years.
I don't know if I'd run out and tell all my friends that I supported it, even though I do.
I don't know if I'd run out and tell all my friends that I supported it, even though I do.
Thanks
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