Spirit Christology in the Christian Tradition: From the Patristic Period to the Rise of Pentecostalism in the Twentieth Century

Since the emergence of Spirit Christology in the latter part of the twentieth-century, \nits proponents have reached back to the ancient church to identify Christologies \nwhich bear similarities with their christological proposals. Normally, these scholars \ndo not extend the recognition of Christologies bearing these characteristics past the \nCouncil of Chalcedon, leaving a considerable historical gap until the rise of the \nmodern discussion of Spirit Christology. Whereas Spirit Christology is a modern \ntheological concept which places its terms and symbols onto ancient Christologies \ndemonstrating specific pneumatic characteristics, it is reasonable to assume that \nother christological forms may exist, in various epochs, which exhibit these \ndistinctives. This thesis, therefore, seeks to fill this lacuna in the fields of historical \ntheology and Spirit Christology by discovering proponents and their writings \ndemonstrating these Spirit christological traits. Moreover, Pentecostals have actively \nparticipated in the contemporary discussion of Spirit Christology; thus, this study \nexamines Pentecostalism’s early periodical literature to identify the presence of \nSpirit Christology in these writings and determine how well Spirit Christology \ncorrelates with early Pentecostal theology. Furthermore, the thesis’ conclusions are \nassessed for their possible implications for Pentecostal theology. \nConsisting of two sections, this inquiry endeavors to delineate Spirit \nChristology in the Christian tradition by tracing the presence of Spirit Christology, \nor lack thereof, from the earliest patristic sources via selected writers to the rise of \nPentecostalism in the twentieth-century. Methodologically, these sections focus on \nidentifying selected theologians or groups whose writings bear Spirit christological \ncharacteristics, citing their primary texts, offering an interpretation, and classifying \nthem paradigmatically according to their distinct pneumatic traits.