monophysite
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What does the word 'Monophysite' mean in Christianity?
In Christianity, a Monophysite is someone who believes that Jesus Christ's nature is entirely divine, even after taking on a human body. Monophysitism posits that Jesus Christ possesses only one divine nature, contrasting with the belief established at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, which recognized two natures, divine and human.
The churches that had been traditionally classified as monophysite prefer the term miaphysite, holding the view that divinity and humanity are equally present within a single nature in the person of Christ.
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What did Monophysites believe about the nature of Jesus Christ?
Monophysites believed that Jesus Christ's nature is entirely divine, even when He took on an earthly human body. They asserted that Jesus has only one, divine nature, contrasting with the two natures, divine and human, established at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
The term miaphysite (from the Greek mia, “single,” and physis, “nature”) is preferred by the Oriental Orthodox churches, to describe their view that both divinity and humanity are equally present within a single nature in the person of Christ.
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How was Monophysitism different from other Christian beliefs at the time?
Monophysitism, emerging in the 4th–6th centuries, held that Jesus Christ's nature is entirely divine, even in his earthly body. This contrasted with the Council of Chalcedon's declaration in 451, which stated Christ had two distinct natures, divine and human, "without being mixed, transmuted, divided, or separated".
The Monophysite belief differed from Nestorianism, which maintained the separation of Christ's divine and human natures, essentially as two persons. The churches that supported Dioscorus and his teachings, which were labeled as Monophysite, asserted that his teachings aligned with the orthodox doctrine of St. Cyril of Alexandria. These churches preferred the term miaphysite, emphasizing the presence of both divinity and humanity within a single nature of Christ.
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Why did the Monophysite controversy cause division in the early Christian church?
The Monophysite controversy caused division in the early Christian church because it concerned the nature of Jesus Christ. Monophysites believed that Jesus Christ had only one divine nature, even after taking on a human body. This contrasted with the established doctrine from the Council of Chalcedon in 451, which stated that Christ had two natures, both divine and human.
This difference in belief led to significant conflict. The Council of Chalcedon excommunicated those who supported Monophysitism, further deepening the divide. Churches that maintained Monophysitism were labeled as heretical by the Roman and Eastern Orthodox churches. Political and ecclesiastical rivalries also played a role, contributing to the overall division within the Christian church.
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What was decided about Monophysitism at the Council of Chalcedon?
At the Council of Chalcedon, the ideas of Monophysitism were addressed, and the council refuted the belief that Christ’s nature was altogether divine and not human. The council affirmed that Christ was perfect in Godhead and manhood, truly God and truly man, consubstantial with the Father and with humans. The Chalcedon definition stated that Christ had two distinct natures, divine and human, equally present in one person, without being mixed, transmuted, divided, or separated.
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How did Monophysitism influence the development of different Christian churches?
Monophysitism, the belief that Jesus Christ possesses only one divine nature, significantly influenced the development of various Christian churches.
The Council of Chalcedon in 451 declared Christ to have two natures, both divine and human. Churches that rejected this definition were labeled Monophysite. These churches, including the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Syriac Orthodox Partriachate of Antioch and All the East, the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, preferred the term miaphysite, asserting that divinity and humanity are equally present within a single nature in Christ.
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monophysite, in Christianity, one who believed that Jesus Christ’s nature remains altogether divine and not human even though he has taken on an earthly and human body with its cycle of birth, life, and death. Monophysitism asserted that the person of Jesus Christ has only one, divine nature rather than the two natures, divine and human, that were established at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
In the development of the Christological doctrine of the person of Christ during the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries, several divergent traditions arose. Chalcedon adopted a decree declaring that Christ was to be “acknowledged in two natures, without being mixed, transmuted, divided, or separated.” This formulation was directed in part against the Nestorian doctrine—that the two natures in Christ had remained separate and that they were in effect two persons—and in part against the theologically unsophisticated position of the monk Eutyches, who had been condemned in 448 for teaching that, after the Incarnation, Christ had only one nature and that, therefore, the humanity of the incarnate Christ was not of the same substance as that of other human beings. Political and ecclesiastical rivalries as well as theology played a role in the decision of Chalcedon to depose and excommunicate the patriarch of Alexandria, Dioscorus (died 454). Churches that continued to support Dioscorus and insisted that his teaching was consistent with the orthodox doctrine of St. Cyril of Alexandria were labeled monophysite.
The label also was attached to various theologians and groups, although some who were called monophysite, notably Severus of Antioch (died 538), repudiated the terminology of Chalcedon as self-contradictory. Most modern scholars agree that Severus as well as Dioscorus probably diverged from what was defined as orthodoxy more in their emphasis upon the intimacy of the union between God and humanity in Christ than in any denial that the humanity of Christ and that of humankind are consubstantial.
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The churches that until the mid-20th century had been traditionally classified as monophysite, those of the so-called Oriental Orthodox communion, have always disputed the label, preferring the term miaphysite (from the Greek mia, “single,” and physis, “nature”) to identify their shared view that both divinity and humanity are equally present within a single nature in the person of Christ and describing their traditions as “non-Chalcedonian.” These Oriental Orthodox churches—the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Syriac Orthodox Partriachate of Antioch and All the East, the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church—have since resolved almost all of their Christological disputes with the Roman Catholic Church, the major Protestant churches, and Eastern Orthodoxy and have been generally accepted by those traditions as essentially orthodox in their doctrine of the person of Jesus Christ.