APOLLINARIANS, APOLLINARISTS, called al-
so by Epiphanius Dinarites, ancient heretics, who de-
nied the proper humanity of Christ, and maintained
that the body which he assumed was endowed with a
sensitive, and not a rational, soul, but that the Divine
Nature supplied the place of the intellectual principle
in man. This sect derived its name from Apollinaris,
bishop of Laodicea, in the fourth century.
The Apollinarians have been charged with other
opinions, such as, the Millenarian and Sabellian, the
pre-existence of the body of Christ, and the passion of
his Deity; but ecclesiastical writers are not agreed with
respect to these and other particulars. Their doctrine
was first condemned by a council of Alexandria in the
year 362, and afterwards in a more formal manner by
a council at Rome in 375; and by another council in
378, which deposed Apollinaris from his bishopric.
Notwithstanding all, his doctrine spread through most
of the churches of the east: and his followers were sub-
divided into various sects. In 388, the emperor The-
odosius enacted a law, forbidding them to hold assem-
blies, to have any ecclesiastics or bishops, or to dwell in
cities. The rigorous execution of this law, in concu-
rence with the decrees of different councils, reduced
them to a very small number, and their doctrine had no
long duration.