Monophysitism

Monophysitism ( from the Greek: monos " only " and physis "nature" ) is the christological position that Christ was fully divine and had only one nature, namely a divine - in contrast to the position of Chalcedon ( 451), the two natures a represents Christ, according to the divine and human nature of Christ unmixed and unseparated are fully adjacent.

The anti-Chalcedonians even contact has always been against the designation as " Monophysites ", which already appears in the sources only in the 7th century ( and mostly in derogatory intent), and prefer to call Miaphysites. The Greek root mia means one. This word emphasizes rather the unit as the singular and better reflects the position that in Christ the divine and the human form a natural, united " without confusion, without separation, without confusion, without change ," as a usual since late antiquity theological formula reads. In their own perception of the mono- or Miaphysites reject the two natures therefore not in principle and walk quite believe Jesus Christ was God and man - they take it to, however, that the two natures of Christ were mixed, with the divine dominated have.

In research, one often avoids today the misleading and biased term " Monophysites ". Especially outside the specialized literature but this is still in use.

History

Monophysitism was formed in late antique Egypt in response to the Nestorians and against the background of rivalry between the Patriarchate of Alexandria and Antioch. The Alexandrian position 449 had initially enforced, but was then 451 condemned by the Catholic and Orthodox Church at the Council of Chalcedon, which caused a schism between the Monophysite national churches and the Eastern Roman Empire church. Except in Egypt won the Monophysites in Syria increasingly gaining ground. Pope Leo the Great, however, agreed to the confession of Chalcedon, which had incorporated key positions of the Western Church, in almost all points strongly to ( only the equality of the churches of Rome and Constantinople Opel, which had decided the council rejects the Catholic Church from today ).

In the 480s years tried the eastern emperor to enforce a formulated in Henotikon compromise solution which simply faded out all the points of contention between "orthodox " and " Monophysite " Christians and the decisions of Chalcedon simply ignored; but this attempt failed and led instead to an agreement with the Monophysites only to a 30 -year schism (see Schism Akakianisches ) with the Roman Church ( to 519 ). Even the Fifth Ecumenical Council of 553 dealt again with this problem to be able to achieve without an agreement. The same was true for the short-lived promotion of the Monophysite special flow of Aphthartodoketismus by Emperor Justinian I.

In the early 7th century, was then developed as an attempt to compromise the Monothelitism. After Jesus has a divine and a human nature. Divine and human nature have in it but only a single, common will. This attempt to bridge the gap between Monophysitism and the position of Chalcedon failed. The Monothelitism was, despite some support from some popes and the Byzantine emperors, after the opposition rejected by Maximus the Confessor in the imperial church. The Lebanese Maronites were, however, until the 13th century Monothelites.

The position of the Eastern Roman Empire was weakened in conflict with the Persian Sassanid Empire and especially during the expansion of the Arabs (at least the older research opinion ) By the schism. A balance between Constantine Opel and the economically and militarily important Syrian and Egyptian provinces succeeded not just in this important doctrinal question. The reason is to be sought not only in theological opposites, but perhaps also in separatist movements Syria and Coptic Egypt. Internally divided and weakened by the bitter war against the Sassanian Khosrow II, Ostrom and Byzantium lost eastern territories of the Reich and soon Egypt and North Africa to Islam.

In the 20th century, the Monophysite churches approached both with each other and the East Orthodox churches again stronger. Theologians of both confessions have now come to the realization that caused by language differences, different views on the meaning of the word "nature" (physis ) had contributed significantly to the dispute, and that in many ways, both sides wanted to express in different words in each case the same. In the basic issues while there is now a broad consensus.

Today's churches Miaphysitische

Today's Eastern Churches which are in mutual communion (ie mutually recognize and allow for the Eucharist ), are

  • The Coptic Church, mainly in Egypt,
  • The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch with autonomous " Catholicos of India"
  • The Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church, an autonomous " Catholicos of India," the above Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch
  • The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India,
  • The Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church,
  • The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church and
  • The Armenian Apostolic Church.
Christology Anathema Copts Khosrau II Integrated Authority File
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