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Saturday, May 17, 2025

THIS EASTERN ORTHODOX CHURCH DOES NOT ACCEPT THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON AND ANY COUNCIL OF THE CHURCH AFTER IT


Little old Augusta, Georgia has a Monophysite Eastern Orthodox Church. The logic of their position is exactly the same as the mainline Eastern Orthodox Churches. They don’t like the development or deepening of doctrines. In the case of the Monophysites, who use the same logic as other Johnny-come-lately Eastern Orthodox Churches, their development of doctrine ceased with their rejection of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. They have become ossified in their doctrines since that time, like the majority of Eastern Orthodox have become ossified in their doctrines after the 7th Ecumenical Council:

From AI:

Monophysitism is a Christological doctrine that holds that Jesus Christ has only one nature, a single divine and human nature combinedIt is the opposite of dyophysitism, which asserts that Christ has two distinct natures, human and divine. Monophysitism was condemned by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE. 

Here's a more detailed explanation:

  • Definition:
    Monophysitism comes from the Greek words "mono" (one) and "physis" (nature). It essentially means the belief that in the incarnation, Jesus' divine and human natures were not separate but merged into a single, unified nature. 
  • Key Figures and Doctrine:
    Eutyches, a priest, was a prominent proponent of monophysitism. He argued that Christ's human nature was absorbed by his divine nature, becoming a single "divine-human" nature. 
  • Rejection by Orthodox Christianity:
    The Council of Chalcedon, an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, officially condemned monophysitism in 451 CE. The council affirmed the Chalcedonian Creed,which states that Jesus has two natures, divine and human, united in one person without confusion or division. 
  • Continuing Beliefs:
    While condemned by mainstream Christianity, some groups and churches maintain monophysite beliefs. These groups are often referred to as "Eastern Orthodox" or "Oriental Orthodox" churches. 
  • Distinction from Dyophysitism:
    Dyophysitism, the prevailing orthodox view, holds that Christ has two distinct, yet unified natures, divine and human. Monophysitism, by contrast, argues for a single, fused nature. 
  • Impact on Christian Theology:
    The debate surrounding monophysitism played a crucial role in the development of Christian theology, particularly in understanding the nature of Christ's incarnation and his relationship to the divine and human realms. 

9 comments:

Bob said...

NOT from AI.....

"Monophysitism (/məˈnɒfɪsaɪtɪzəm/ mə-NOF-ih-seye-tih-zəm[1]) or monophysism (/məˈnɒfɪzɪzəm/ mə-NOF-ih-zih-zəm; from Greek μόνος monos, "solitary"[2] and φύσις physis, "nature") is a Christological doctrine that states that there was only one nature—the divine—in the person of Jesus Christ, who was the incarnated Word.[3] It is rejected as heretical by the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Reformed Christianity (Calvinist), and all mainstream Protestant denominations, which hold to the dyophysitism of the 451 Council of Chalcedon—as well by Oriental Orthodoxy, which holds to miaphysitism."

Marc said...

The monophysites walked away from the Church because they placed undo weight on one father, St. Cyril, and they even misunderstood him.

This same thing tends to happen to all these groups who follow one person rather than the consensus of the fathers.

Marc said...

The so-called Oriental Orthodox (a term that didn’t exist until the 20th century) believe in Monophysitism. The attempt to repackage that heresy as miaphysitism is meaningless since the prefixed “mia-” and “mono-” have the exact same meaning in Greek.

As a result of their heresy, they reject the doctrine of theosis, which makes sense because the base of their Christological error runs contrary to the famous statement from St Gregory that “whatever is not assumed is not saved.”

ByzRus said...

100%.

ByzRus said...

Kindly note, monophysitism/mia, whatever those groups choose to call it, exists within the Catholic Communion, the Coptic Catholic Church.

I believe the point that's being missed is Communion - the union itself, not the sacrament - has to do with apostolic succession - validity of priestly and episcopal ordinations, the sacraments and nothing more. This is not conjecture on my part, it is fact.

Marc said...

But there’s no apostolic succession without right Faith… a major point of distinction between Orthodox and Catholic understandings of succession.

Bob said...

Me, I am just wondering what set off Father to suddenly go hammer and tongs on the Eastern Orthodox, including inaccurately by his misapprehension of poorly worded AI text, and his not understanding differences between various Orthodox churches, and I guess someone with an Orthodox bumper sticker must have cut him off and flipped him off, or worse, gotten local media time to trash talk the Roman church....

While I think of old song lyrics from a track called "Not One Of Us", which applies to both East and West...
It's only water
In a stranger's tear
Looks are deceptive
But distinctions are clear
A foreign body
And a foreign mind
Never welcome
In the land of the blind......
There's safety in numbers
When you learn to divide
How can we be in
If there is no outside

ByzRus said...

Marc, I share your view, but powers much higher than myself allowed to to occur, albeit in its softer form.

As for us Byzantines, we're perfectly aligned with you, and are allowed to just be.

Note: Unlike the other unions, the Rusyn/Ruthenian treaty was motivated by the cruel treatment of our then Orthodox presbyters by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 65+ priests petitioned Rome for corporate union which Empress Elizabeth apparently helped to broker. Any opinions aside, we were allowed to join the Catholic Communion and just be. Regardless, none of us were there, it's just how our Union evolved.

ByzRus said...

Bob,

I'm not.

There is nothing wrong with discussion and learning.

I completely understand Fr.'s perspective. If only Christainity were ordered to everyone's liking, the challenges that persist would evaporate.