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Revision as of 18:18, 30 December 2006 by JASpencer (talk | contribs) ({{Catholic-expand}})(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)In Christian theology communicatio idiomatum 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 Spirit have 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.