Ashish Naidu: The Adam-Christ Typology in John Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria

Robert Wilken has drawn attention to the fact that the biblical narrative of the baptism of Jesus posed a theological conundrum to the early church: how can Jesus the Lord “receive” the Spirit at his baptism and why does he need to be baptized? Lawrence Welch has persuasively shown how Cyril of Alexandria resolves this tension by invoking the theme of kenosis and using Adamic typology. However, scholars have largely marginalized John Chrysostom’s perspective on this thorny subject. I will examine Chrysostom’s treatment of this topic in Matthew and in his Baptismal Instructions against the background of Cyril’s perspective. Adding to recent scholarship, I will argue that Chrysostom creatively resolves this theological dialectic with his distinctive use of the hermeneutical principle akribeia and the concept of divine adaptation called sugkatabasis. I hope to show that although Chrysostom employs classical pedagogical methods and rhetorical devices, deeper concerns shape his reading of the texts. Careful examination of the words in the text must in turn be complemented with precision in spiritual and moral application. The goal of Christian paideia in the early church as Frances Young and Margaret Mitchell have demonstrated, was to persuade individuals to follow Christ's example, and be united to his virtuous life. It is therefore not surprising that although both Chrysostom and Cyril belong to two different traditions and interpret the baptism of Jesus differently, their soteriological and sacramental views overlap significantly.