Hypopsalma. See Acrostic. Hypostasis (from vTzv,iinder,eind'i(TTt]iAi,to stand; hence suhsistence'), a term used in theology to signify person. Thus the orthodox hold that there is but one nature or essence in God, but three hypostases or persons. This term is of very ancient use in the Chiurch. Cj-ril, in a letter to Nestorius, employs it instead ofirpoaojitov, jKrson. which did not appear to him sufficiently expres- sive. The term occasioned great dissensions, both among the Greeks and Latins. In the Council of Nicrea, hypos- tasis was defined to mean essence or substance, so that it Avas heresy to say that Christ was of a different hypos- tasis from his Father. Custom, however, altered its meaning. In the necessity thej' were under of express- ing themselves strongly against the Sabellians, the Greeks used the word hypostasis, the Latins persotia, •which proved a source of great disagreement. The bar- renness of the Latin language allowed them only one w-ord by which to translate the two Greek ones ovTia and vTTuaraaic, and thus prevented them from distin- guishing essence from hypostasis. An end was put to these disputes bj' a synod held in Alexandria about A.D. 362, at which Athanasius assisted, when it was deter- mined to be synonymous with irpoawTrov. After this time the Latins made no great scruple in saying Ires hypostases, or the Greeks three persons.— Farrar. See Trinity: Homousian.
Hypostatical Union, the s^ihsistence (viroaTaauJ) of two iiaiurcs in imr ))crsiin, in Christ. While the reaU- ty of such a unicui is c^tal)li,^lied by the Scriptiu-es, and is on that account maintained by our Church (see 2d Arti- cle of Religion, " So that two whole and perfect natures," etc.), it is to be lamented that many intricate and fruit- less metaphysical questions have been debated among different sects of Christians as to the divine nature of our Lord, and the manner of the union between the Deity and a man — the parties engaged in these questions being too often hurried into presumptuous as -well as unprofit- able speculations — on points as far beyond the reach of the human intellect as colors to a man l)om blind ; and forgetting that the union of the soul and body of any one among us can neither be explained nor comprehend- ed by himself or any other, and appears the more mys- terious the more we reflect upon it (Eden). See Trin- ity; Christ, Person of; Monopiiysites ; Nestori- .\^-s.
Hypothetical Baptism is a phnise sometimes used to denote, in the Church of England, a baptism ad-
ministered to a child of whom it is uncertam whether it has already been baptized or not. The rubric states that "if they who bring the uifant to the church do make such uncertain ansAvers to the priest's questions as that it cannot appear that the child was baptized with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," then the priest, on performing the baptism, is to use this form of words, viz. : " If thou
art not aheady baptized, N , I baptize thee in the
name," etc. — Hook, Church Dictionary. Hypothetical Uuiveisalism. SeellvpoTiiET-
ICI.
Hypothetici, a name given to the followers (French Protestants) of Amyraut, who, while thej' asserted ar/ra- tia universalis, none the less ought not to be classed witli modern Universalists, as they simply taught that God desires the happiness of all men, provided they icill receive his mercy in faith, and that none can obtain salvation without faith in Christ, See A^iyraut; Cameron; Universalisji.
Hypsistarians (worshippers of the ^toq v\\jiaTOQ, or "Most High God," as such), a sect mentioned by Gregory of Nazianzum, whose father was a member of it before his conversion to Christianity. They are rep- resented as combining in their doctrines the elements of Judaism and paganism. They assigned a place to fire and light in their worship, but rejected circumcision and the v,-orship of images; they kept the Sabbath, and abstained from the eating of certain kinds of meats. Gregory of Nyssa also mentions the Hypsistarii, to whom he gives the surname 'Ti^tanavci. He says that, Uke the Christians, they acknowledge only one God, whom they call v-i\ji(7tov or iravToxpaTopa, but are distinguished from them in not considering him as Father. All that subsequent writers have said of this sect is derived from the above statements. The Hyp- sistarii do not appear to have extended outside of Cap- padocia, and they seem to have existed but a sJiort time there, for no mention is made of them either be- fore or after the 4th centurj'. Contrarj- to the state- ment of the ancient writers, who described them as Monotheists, Bohmer concludes from the remark made by Gregory concerning his father, vtv' tlSioXoig Trapog i)iv ZoHov, that, though the Hypsistarii worshipped but one God, they did not formally deny the existence of more. It is not to be wondered at, in view of the scan- ty information M"e possess concenimg this sect, that very great differences of opinion shoidd exist in regard to them. Mosheim considers them as belonging to the Gnostic school ; J. J. Wetsteiii (in Prolegom. I., A'. T. p. 31, 38) and D. Harenberg consider them as identical with the CcelicolcB (q. v.), regarding them es descend- ants from the worshippers of Thor; others trace a re- semblance between their doctrines and those of Zoroas- ter. That they were not a Christian sect is proved by the fact of Gregory of Nazianziim's father having be- longed to it before his becoming a Christian. UUmann considers them as Eclectics, combining the elements of Judaism with the Persian religion, while Bohmer looks upon them as identical, with the Euphemites, Avhich Neander (Ch. Jlist. ii, 507) also thinks probable. Their morals are represented as having been very good. See Herzog, Real-Enq/Mop. s. v. ; Fuhrmann, Handicorterh, d. Kirchengesch. ii, 380 sq.; Walcli, Hist. d. Ketzereien, ii, 180 sq. ; Schrockh, Kirchengesch. xiii, 278 sq. ; C. UU- mann, De Hypsistariis (Heidelb. 1833) ; G. Bohmer, De Ilypsistariis (Berol. 1834).