Communicatio idiomatum
In Christian theology communicatio idiomatum ("sharing of attributes") is a term from the theology of the Incarnation, attempting to explain the relationship between two natures (divine and human) in one person (Jesus Christ). The theory is that both the properties of God the Son and the properties of the human nature can be ascribed to the person Jesus- a "Communication of Idioms" or attributes.
The assumption behind the theory, based on Scripture and the Church Fathers, is that God the Father and the Holy Spirithave the same rights and interest in all things created except in the human nature of Jesus Christ. His person is a result of the personal union between God the Son and (a) human nature; in other words the person of Jesus Christ has divine attributes and the divine being of God the Son is the subject of human properties. It is this theory which makes it possible for Christians to say "Christ is God" or "God is man" — two otherwise mutually exclusive concepts have been united through the communication of the properties of the two natures to the one person Jesus Christ. {1}
The guidelines for incarnational orthodoxy were set forth most authoritatively at the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451). Its definition affirmed that Jesus Christ's two natures - divine and human - could not be confused or mixed on one hand, separated or divided on the other.
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Communicatio+idiomatum
The assumption behind the theory, based on Scripture and the Church Fathers, is that God the Father and the Holy Spirithave the same rights and interest in all things created except in the human nature of Jesus Christ. His person is a result of the personal union between God the Son and (a) human nature; in other words the person of Jesus Christ has divine attributes and the divine being of God the Son is the subject of human properties. It is this theory which makes it possible for Christians to say "Christ is God" or "God is man" — two otherwise mutually exclusive concepts have been united through the communication of the properties of the two natures to the one person Jesus Christ. {1}
The guidelines for incarnational orthodoxy were set forth most authoritatively at the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451). Its definition affirmed that Jesus Christ's two natures - divine and human - could not be confused or mixed on one hand, separated or divided on the other.
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Communicatio+idiomatum
