Christos · Rex GloriaeThe faith of the Church
Dogmas of Jesus
This is a thematic guide, not an exhaustive list or an official numbered set of five Christological dogmas. Nicaea and Chalcedon clarify who Jesus is; the Cross, Resurrection and kingship belong to the apostolic faith. The feast of Christ the King was instituted in 1925, not the doctrine itself.
01Nicaea · 325
The Divinity of Christ →
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of the Father: begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.
Chalcedon · 451
The Incarnation →
The eternal Word became truly human in the womb of the Virgin Mary without ceasing to be truly God.
The saving Cross
The Redemption →
By his freely offered death and glorious Resurrection, Jesus reconciles humanity with the Father and opens the way to eternal life.
On the third day
The Resurrection →
The crucified Jesus rose bodily from the dead in a transformed, glorious life. His victory is the foundation of Christian hope.
An apostolic confession · feast instituted in 1925
Christ the King →
The risen and ascended Jesus is Lord of all creation and history. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
With the saints · East & West
“For He was made man that we might be made God.”
The Eastern language of divinization means sharing in God’s life by grace, not becoming another god by nature. Only the truly divine Son can give this participation in divine life.
“Christian, acknowledge your dignity”
Leo grounds Christian dignity in the Incarnation: the Son truly took our nature and calls us to a life worthy of the grace we have received, rather than a return to slavery to sin.