Erdő Péter (szerk.): Bűn és isteni irgalom mint a mai ember problémája - Studia Theologica Budapestinensia 30. (2002)

László Vanyó: The Patristic interpretation of 'Redemptio'

fixion of Christ, and this sacrifice was made for us by God Himself. It is the love of God which absolves man from the sentence and creates a new relation between mankind and Himself, which relation is entirely different from any justification and legal righteousness. The whole oikonomia is a work of grace and love.47

6. The liberal historians of the dogma regarded Athanasios as the main exponent of the so-called “doctrine of physical redemption". Yet is was exactly Athanasios who never forgot to depict the significance of sin, however he had no doubt that the Redeemer had to heal, besides sin, also the consequences of sin, i.e. the loss of likeness to God, the corruption and death.48 The father formulated clearly that if by the redemption God had had to consider only the sin, then He could have sanctioned alone repentence and satisfaction and God could have realize he redemption in another way, not necessarily by the incarnation and crucifixion. However Athanasios cannot assert that Christ did not get in immediate touch with sin, he even maintains it, because, although sin did not concern His divine nature, in his human nature He experienced the consequence of sin, the death, as He entered into the world of sin and corruption, because corruption and death are themselves sin.49

Saint Gregory of Nazianzus defines the reason of incarnation that the humanity needed redemption because the pedagogic means used by God up till then were not sufficient, men needed a greater help.50 Christ assumed body, soul and spirit (intellect) because they were also domained by sin.51 But the reason of salvation is the crucufixion and resurrection of Christ the condition of which is the incarnation.52 What was touched by the divinity, that was sanctified.53 As regards the ransom Gregory asks whom did God pay it?54 The supposition that God would have entered negotiations whith

47 AH V,21,3

48 Athanasius, De incarnatione Verbi 7. (Ed. and transi, by R.W.Thomson, Oxford, 1971, p.148-150)

49 Or. C. Ar. 11,68-69 PG 26; 292 A - 296 A

50 Or 38,13 PG 37; 325 AB, Ep 101 PG 37; 177 C.

51 Or 30,21 PG 36; 132 B

52 Or 12,4 PG 35; 848 B, Or 30,6 PG 36;109 C.

53 Or 12,4 PG 35;848 ABC

54 Or 45,22 PG 36;653 AB, Or 39,2 and 13 PG 36; 336 B, 349 AB

44