A report on Christology, Miaphysitism and Chalcedonian Definition

Paolo Veronese, The Resurrection of Jesus Christ (ca. 1560).

Christological spectrum 5th–7th centuries (Miaphysitism in red)

Christ Pantocrator, Holy Trinity's monastery, Meteora, Greece

Saint Paul delivering the Areopagus sermon in Athens, by Raphael, 1515

The Four Evangelists, by Pieter Soutman, 17th century

Christological spectrum during the 5th–7th centuries showing the views of the Church of the East (light blue), the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches (light purple), and the Miaphysite Churches (pink).

Miaphysitism is the Christological doctrine upheld by the Oriental Orthodox Churches, which include the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Syriac Orthodox Church, and the Armenian Apostolic Church.

- Miaphysitism

Most of the major branches of Western Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy subscribe to this formulation, while many branches of Oriental Orthodox Churches reject it, subscribing to miaphysitism.

- Christology

The Chalcedonian Definition was written amid controversy between the Western and Eastern churches over the meaning of the Incarnation (see Christology).

- Chalcedonian Definition

Dyophysitism (Eastern Orthodox Church, Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and the Reformed Churches) Christ maintained two natures, one divine and one human, after the Incarnation; articulated by the Chalcedonian Definition.

- Christology

This miaphysite position, historically characterised by Chalcedonian followers as "monophysitism" though this is denied by the dissenters, formed the basis for the distinction of the Coptic Church of Egypt and Ethiopia and the "Jacobite" churches of Syria, and the Armenian Apostolic Church (see Oriental Orthodoxy) from other churches.

- Chalcedonian Definition

The council accepted by acclamation Leo's Tome, the letter by Pope Leo I setting out, as he saw it, the church's doctrine on the matter, and issued what has been called the Chalcedonian Definition, of which the part that directly concerns Miaphysitism runs as follows:

- Miaphysitism

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Council of Chalcedon

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The fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church.

Spectrum of Christological views in late antiquity

Council of Chalcedon in the Nuremberg Chronicle

Whilst this judgment marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates, it also generated heated disagreements between the Council and the Oriental Orthodox Church, who did not agree with such conduct or proceedings.

The Council of Chalcedon issued the Chalcedonian Definition, which repudiated the notion of a single nature in Christ, and declared that he has two natures in one person and hypostasis.

Dioscorus of Alexandria advocated miaphysitism and had dominated the Council of Ephesus.

Nestorian priests in a procession on Palm Sunday, in a seventh- or eighth-century wall painting from a Nestorian church in Qocho, China

Nestorianism

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Term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings.

Christological spectrum during the 5th–7th centuries showing the views of the Church of the East (light blue), the Chalcedonian Churches (light purple), and the Miaphysite Churches (pink).

An historical misinterpretation of the Nestorian view was that it taught that the human and divine persons of Christ are separate.

Chinese stone inscription of a Nestorian Cross from a monastery of Fangshan District in Beijing (then called Dadu, or Khanbaliq), dated to the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271–1368) of medieval China.

Epitaph of a Nestorian, unearthed at Chifeng, Inner Mongolia

Saint Mary Church: an ancient Assyrian church located in the city of Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran.

c. undefined 450), who promoted specific doctrines in the fields of Christology and Mariology.

The Armenian Church rejected the Council of Chalcedon (451) because they believed Chalcedonian Definition was too similar to Nestorianism.

They made some advances in Egypt, despite the strong miaphysite presence there.

Oriental Orthodox Churches

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Distribution of Oriental Orthodox Christians in the world by country:
Main religion (more than 75%)
Main religion (50–75%)
Important minority religion (20–50%)
Important minority religion (5–20%)
Minority religion (1–5%)
Tiny minority religion (below 1%), but has local autocephaly

The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a group of Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with a total of approximately 60 million members worldwide.

Oriental Orthodox Churches shared communion with the Imperial Roman Church before the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, as well as with the Church of the East until the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, all separating primarily over differences in Christology.

Monophysitism

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Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism is a Christological term derived from the Greek μόνος (monos, "alone, solitary") and φύσις (physis, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature").

In 451, the Council of Chalcedon, on the basis of Pope Leo the Great's 449 declaration, defined that in Christ there were two natures united in one person.

Those who insisted on the "one physis" formula, Miaphysites, were referred to as Monophysites, while those who accepted the Chalcedonian "two natures" definition were called Dyophysites, a term applied also to followers of Nestorianism.