anhypostasia

Meanings

1. The quality of Jesus Christ's humanity, such that it has its existence entirely from the hypostatic union, rather than from any independent human personhood (or hypostasis). The concept does not deny Jesus's personhood, but denies that Jesus's humanity has any personhood apart from the one hypostasis in which his humanity and divinity are united.

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀνῠποστασία (anŭpostasía), from ἀνῠπόστᾰσῐς (anŭpóstăsĭs, “unsubstantiality”) + -ίᾱ (-íā, suffix forming nouns). ἀνῠπόστᾰσῐς is derived from ἀν- (an-) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *n̥- (“un-”)) + ὑπόστᾰσῐς (hupóstăsĭs, “existence; essence; substance”) (from ῠ̔πο- (hŭpo-, “sub-”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *upo (“below, under”)) + στάσις (stásis, “standing”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂tis (“position, standing”))). By surface analysis, an- + hypostasis + -ia.