Monophysite

 

(mənŏf'ĭsĭt'ĭzəm) [Gr.,=belief in one nature], a heresy of the 5th and 6th cent., which grew out of a reaction against Nestorianism. It was anticipated by Apollinarianism and was continuous with the principles of Eutyches, whose doctrine had been rejected in 451 at Chalcedon (see Chalcedon, Council of). Monophysitism challenged the orthodox definition of faith of Chalcedon and taught that in Jesus there were not two natures (divine and human) but one (divine). Discussion of this belief was clouded by misunderstandings of terms and by the lack of knowledge of Greek in the West. In the East the Council of Chalcedon was declared (c.476) invalid by Basiliscus, the imperial usurper. Later, Emperor Zeno, restored to his throne, issued the Henoticon (482), based on the doctrines of St. Cyril of Alexandria, in an attempt to settle the dispute. It recommended a formula that, ostensibly orthodox, left a loophole for the Monophysites. Neither side was satisfied; the extreme Monophysites refused to accept the intended compromise, and the pope excommunicated the East for abrogating the Council of Chalcedon. The schism ended in 519 when Emperor Justin I enforced the definition of faith of Chalcedon. Later, Justinian, although strongly Catholic, was tolerant toward the Monophysites, who were becoming more intransigent. The quarrel was further embittered when Justinian in 544 condemned the so-called Three Chapters. These were the person and writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, the writings of Theodoret against St. Cyril of Alexandria, and the letter of Ibas of Edessa to Maris the Persian. The condemnation was based on the assertion that these writings were tainted with Nestorianism. Since parts of the Three Chapters were considered orthodox by the majority of Catholics, the edict was confusing. The Second Council of Constantinople (553; see Constantinople, Second Council of), summoned by Justinian and attended by Pope Vigilius, again condemned the Three Chapters, while maintaining the authority of the canons of Chalcedon. The Monophysites remained aloof, and the West was virtually alienated. Justinian's successors alternately favored and suppressed Monophysitism, but by 600 the lines of schism had hardened; the Coptic Church (see under Copts), the Jacobite Church of Syria, and the Armenian Church, all Monophysite, were established. Monotheletism was a 7th-century attempt to reconcile orthodoxy with Monophysitism.

Bibliography

See W. H. Frend, The Rise of the Monophysite Movement (1972); J. Pelikan, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (1971) and The Spirit of Eastern Christendom (1974).

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Monophysitism (from the Greek monos meaning 'one, alone' and physis meaning 'nature') is the Christological position that Christ has only one nature, as opposed to the Chalcedonian position which holds that Christ has two natures, one divine and one human. Monophysitism and its antithesis, Nestorianism, were both hotly disputed and divisive competing tenets in the maturing Christian traditions during the first half of the fifth century; a tumultuous period being the last decades of the Western Empire, and marked by the political shift in all things to a center of gravity now located in the Eastern Roman empire, and particularly in Syria, the Levant, Egypt, and Anatolia, where Monophysitism was popular among the people.

There are two major doctrines that can indisputably be called Monophysite (IPA: [məˈnɒfəsɪt]):

• Eutychianism holds that the human nature of Christ was essentially obliterated by the Divine, "dissolved like a drop of honey in the sea", and therefore Christ only had the one (mono) nature, that of divinity.
• Apollinarianism holds that Christ had a human body and human "living principle" but that the Divine Logos had taken the place of the nous, or "thinking principle", analogous but not identical to what might be called a mind in the present day.

The Monophysitism of Eutyches, a sometimes radical presbyter and archimandrite at Constantinople, emerged in 431 AD as a response to Nestorianism, espoused by the Archbishop of Constantinople Nestorius at the First Council of Ephesus. That council repudiated the Nestorians' interpretation, but did not accept the position of Eutyches either, leading to a couple of acrimonious decades of infighting and alienation of large numbers of otherwise worshipful Christians.

Eutyches' energy and imprudence with which he asserted his opinions led to his being misunderstood, accused of heresy in 448 AD, leading to a temporary excommunication. In 449 AD, however, at the Second Council of Ephesus, not only was Eutyches reinstated to his office, but Eusebius, Domnus and Flavian, his chief opponents, were deposed, and the Alexandrine doctrine of the "one nature" (monophysitism) received the sanction of the church. In the end, such infighting was settled at the cost of schism when Monophysitism was again rejected at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. Monophysitism is also rejected by the Oriental Orthodox Churches, but was widely accepted in Syria, the Levant, and Egypt leading to many tensions in the early days of the Byzantine empire.

Later, Monothelitism was developed as an attempt to bridge the gap between the Monophysite and the Chalcedonian position, but it too was rejected by the members of the Chalcedonian synod, despite at times having the support of the Byzantine emperors and one of the Popes of Rome, Honorius I. Some are of the opinion that Monothelitism was at one time held by the Maronites, but the Maronite community, for the most part, dispute this, stating that they have never been out of communion with the Roman Catholic Church.

Miaphysitism, the christology of the Oriental Orthodox churches, is sometimes considered a variant of Monophysitism, but these churches view their theology as distinct from Monophysitism and anathematize Eutyches.

See also

• Acephali
• Henotikon
• the Three-Chapter Controversy

References

• Agreed Statements between representative of the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches
• Joint Declaration by the Oriental and the Catholic Church
• Catholic Encyclopedia article

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