hypostasis

American  

[hahy-pos-tuh-sis, hi-] / haɪˈpɒs tə sɪs, hɪ- /

noun

• hypostases
  plural

1. Metaphysics.

   1. something that stands under and supports; foundation.

   2. the underlying or essential part of anything as distinguished from attributes; substance, essence, or essential principle.

2. Theology.

   1. one of the three real and distinct substances in the one undivided substance or essence of God.

   2. a person of the Trinity.

   3. the one personality of Christ in which His two natures, human and divine, are united.

3. Medicine/Medical.

   1. the accumulation of blood or its solid components in parts of an organ or body due to poor circulation.

   2. such sedimentation, as in a test tube.

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hypostasis British  

/ haɪˈpɒstəsɪs /

noun

1. metaphysics the essential nature of a substance as opposed to its attributes

2. Christianity

   1. any of the three persons of the Godhead, together constituting the Trinity

   2. the one person of Christ in which the divine and human natures are united

3. the accumulation of blood in an organ or part, under the influence of gravity as the result of poor circulation

4. another name for epistasis

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hypostatic
  adjective
• hypostatically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hypostases
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hypostasis

1580–90; < Late Latin < Greek hypóstasis that which settles at the bottom; substance, nature, essence, equivalent to hypo- hypo- + stásis standing, stasis

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hypostasis hypostases

Hence the human will of Christ had a determinate mode from the fact of being in a Divine hypostasis, i.e. it was always moved in accordance with the bidding of the Divine will.

From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas

And the reason of this is that, since there is one hypostasis of both natures, the same hypostasis is signified by the name of either nature.

From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas

But if Christ's flesh had been conceived before being assumed by the Word, it would have had at some time an hypostasis other than that of the Word of God.

From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas

The Logos of Philo has become an hypostasis, and walks upon the earth.

From The Christ Of Paul Or, The Enigmas of Christianity by George Reber

Now in Christ there is no other than the uncreated person or hypostasis, to Whom it belongs by nature to be the Son.

From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas

At the Council of Constantinople, 56 years later, church fathers responded to heresy by defining the divinity of the Holy Spirit and proclaiming that the three "persons," or hypostases, were coequal manifestations of one God.

From Time Magazine Archive

So as by reason of the plurality of supposita the Greeks said "three hypostases," so also in Hebrew "Elohim" is in the plural.

From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas

But according to those who suppose two persons or two hypostases or two supposita in Christ, no reason prevents Christ being called the adopted Son of God.

From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas

A distinction, however, is needed if we suppose that the relations distinguish and constitute the divine hypostases.

From Summa Theologica, Part I (Prima Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Saint Thomas Aquinas

This contemplation has several degrees, so to speak, of intensity, degrees which Plotinus termed hypostases.

From Initiation into Philosophy by Émile Faguet