The was an
Ecumenical Council that took place from
October 8 –
November 1 ,
451 at
Chalcedon (a city of
Bithynia in
Asia Minor ) which today is part of the city of
Istanbul on the Asian side of the
Bosphorus and known as the district of
Kadıköy . It is the fourth of the first seven Ecumenical Councils in
Christianity , and is therefore recognized as infallible in its
Dogmatic Definition s by the
Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox churches. It repudiated the
Eutychian doctrine of
Monophysitism , and set forth the
Chalcedonian Creed , which describes the full humanity and full divinity of
Jesus , the second person of the
Holy Trinity .
After the
Council Of Ephesus had condemned
Nestorianism , there remained a conflict between
Patriarch s John of Antioch and
Cyril Of Alexandria . Cyril claimed that John remained Nestorian in outlook, while John claimed that Cyril held to the
Apollinarian heresy. The two settled their differences under the mediation of the bishop of Beroea, Acacius, on
April 12 ,
433 . In the following year,
Theodoret of
Cyrrhus assented to this formula as well, apparently putting a rest to Nestorianism forever.
However, the works of two long dead
Antioch ean theologians,
Diodorus Of Tarsus and
Theodore Of Mopsuestia were at this time translated into
Syriac . By the intervention of
Patriarch Proclus Of Constantinople , the two theologians were condemned throughout the East, but this situation would later provide the material for the
Second Council Of Constantinople some hundred years later.
About two years after
Cyril Of Alexandria 's death in
444 , an aged
Monk from Constantinople named
Eutyches began teaching a subtle variation on the traditional
Christology in an attempt (as he described in a letter to
Pope Leo I in
448 ) to stop a new outbreak of
Nestorianism . He claimed to be a faithful follower of Cyril's teaching, which was declared orthodox in the Union of 432.
Cyril had taught that "There is only one ''physis'', since it is the Incarnation, of God the Word." Cyril had apparently understood the
Greek word ''physis'' to mean approximately what the
Latin word ''persona'' (person) means, while most Greek theologians would have interpreted that word to mean ''natura'' (nature). Thus, many understood Eutyches to be advocating a sort of reversal of
Arianism -- where Arius had denied the divine nature of
Jesus , Eutyches seemed to be denying his human nature. (Cyril's orthodoxy was not called into question, since the Union of 433 had explicitly spoken of two ''physes'' in this context.)
Pope Leo I, from Rome, wrote that Eutyches' error seemed to be more from a lack of skill on the matters than from malice. Further, his side of the controversy tended not to enter into arguments with their opponents, which prevented the misunderstanding from being uncovered. Nonetheless, due to the high regard in which Eutyches was held (second only to the Patriarch of Constantinople in the East), his teaching spread rapidly throughout the east.
In
November 447 , during a local
Synod in Constantinople, Eutyches was denounced as a heretic by the bishop of
Dorylaeum , Eusebius, with the demand that he be removed from his office.
Flavian Of Constantinople did not wish to consider the matter, due to the great prestige that Eutyches enjoyed, but finally relented, and Eutyches was condemned as a heretic by the synod. However, the emperor
Theodosius II and the Pope of
Alexandria ,
Dioscorus , did not accept the decision of the synod because Eutyches had repented and confessed his orthodoxy. Dioscorus held his own synod reinstating Eutyches, and the emperor called a council to be held in
Ephesus in
449 , inviting
Pope Leo I , who agreed to be represented by three legates.
By this time, the pope had received communications from Flavian, and had himself determined that Eutyches was in the wrong and that the deposition in 447 was just. He wrote to the council, telling them that they must accept his judgment on the matter, but he left the punishment of Eutyches open for discussion. It appears Pope Leo I was unaware of the confession made to Pope Dioscorus of Alexandria.
Theodosius' council convened on
August 8 ,
449 , with some 130 bishops in attendance. Dioscorus presided by command of the emperor. The emperor denied the vote to any bishop who had voted in Eutyches' deposition two years earlier. As a result, there was a near-unanimous support for Eutyches, and Flavian was himself deposed and exiled. He died shortly thereafter. The papal legates left with a letter for the pope from Flavian, and in a second session, without papal representation, several more bishops were deposed, including Ibas of Edessa, Irenaeus of Tyre (a close personal friend of Nestorius), Domnus of Antioch, and Theodoret.
The decisions of this council threatened
Schism between the East and the West, since they went plainly against the papal declaration, although it was never read. The pope dubbed this council a "synod of robbers" —
Latrocinium — and refused to accept its pronouncements. His letter was not read at the council and the papal legates left with it as well and it is for this reason that he called it so.
The situation continued to deteriorate, with the pope demanding the convocation of a new council and the emperor refusing to budge, all the while appointing bishops in agreement with Dioscorus. All this changed dramatically with the death of Theodosius II and the elevation of
Marcian to the imperial throne, for Marcian was a defender of the doctrine of Flavian and Leo.
Marcian agreed to hold a new council, but not in
Italy , as the pope had requested, but rather in the East, but he invited the pope to preside in person. He had the exiled bishops returned to their dioceses, and had the body of Flavian brought to the capital to be buried in honor.
The council was called to meet at
Nicaea , but was moved at the last moment to
Chalcedon , where the council opened on
October 8 ,
451 . The papal legate
Paschanius was sent to preside. Leo himself sent a letter to the council, condemning the work of the "latrocinium" and indicating that the correct doctrine about the Incarnation could be found in his previous letter to Flavian.
Attendance at this council was very high, some 500 bishops. Paschanius refused to give Dioscorus (who had carried out an
Excommunication of the pope in the period leading up to the council) a seat at the council, and as a result, he was moved to the nave of the church. Paschanius further ordered the reinstatement of Theodoret and that he be given a seat, but this move caused such an uproar among the council fathers, that Theodoret also sat in the nave, though he was given a vote in the proceedings, which began with a trial of Dioscorus.
Marcian wished to bring proceedings to a more speedy end, and asked the council to make a pronouncement on the doctrine of the Incarnation before continuing the trial. The council fathers, however, felt that no new creed was necessary, and that the doctrine had been laid out clearly in Leo's letter to Flavian, by then called "The Tome"
{Link without Title} . The second day of the council ended with shouts from the bishops, "It is
Peter who says this through Leo. This is what we all of us believe. This is the faith of the Apostles. Leo and Cyril teach the same thing."
The council continued with Dioscorus' trial, but he refused to appear before the assembly. As a result, he was condemned unanimously (though the Egyptian bishops seem to have been intimidated in this), and all of his decrees were declared null. Marcian responded by exiling Dioscorus. All of the bishops were then asked to sign their assent to the Tome, but a group of thirteen Egyptians refused, saying that they would assent to "the traditional faith". As a result, the emperor's commissioners decided that a creed would indeed be necessary and presented a text to the fathers. No consensus was reached, and indeed the text has not survived to the present.
Paschanius threatened to return to Rome to reassemble the council in Italy. Marcian agreed, saying that if a clause were not added to the creed supporting Leo's doctrine, the bishops would have to relocate. The bishops relented and added a clause, saying that, according to the decision of Leo, in Christ there are two natures united, inconvertible
inseparable [natures .
The work of the council was completed by a series of 30
{Link without Title} disciplinary
Canons .
# states all canons of previous councils shall remain in force, specific councils were clarified by
Quinisext Council canon 2,
# states that those who
Buy Their Office are
Anathema ,
# prohibits bishops from engaging in business,
# bishops were given authority over the monks in their dioceses, with the right to permit or forbid the foundation of new monasteries,
# travelling bishops are subject to canon law,
# the clergy were forbidden to change dioceses or
# to serve in the military or
# the poorhouses are under the jurisdiction of the bishop,
# limits the ability to accuse a bishop of wrong doing,
# prevents clergy belonging to multiple churches,
# regards letters of travel for the poor,
# no province shall be divided for the purposes of creating another church,
# no clergy shall be received by others without a letter of recommendation,
# regards wives and children of
Cantors and
Lectors ,
# a
Deaconess must be at least 40,
#
Monks and
Nuns are forbidden to marry on pain of
Excommunication ,
# rural parishes cannot change bishops,
# conspiring forbidden,
# twice a year the bishops shall conduct a
Synod ,
# lists exemptions for those who have been driven to another city,
# says an accuser of a bishop shall be suspect before the bishop,
# makes it illegal to seize the goods of a dead bishop,
# allows the expulsion of outsiders who cause trouble in Constantinople,
#
Monasteries are permanent,
# a new bishop shall be assigned within 3 months,
# churches shall have a steward from among the congregation to monitor church-business,
# forbidden to carry off women under pretense of marriage (eloping),
# grants equal privileges (isa presbeia) to Constantinople as of Rome because Constantinople is the
New Rome as renewed by canon 36 of the
Quinisext Council (the
Papal Legate s were not present for the vote on this canon, and protested it afterwards),
# states a bishop cannot be demoted, only removed,
# grants the
Coptic Orthodox time to consider their rejection of Leo's ''Tome''.
The near-immediate result of the council was a major schism. The bishops that were uneasy with the language of Pope Leo's Tome repudiated the council, saying that the acceptance of two ''physes'' was tantamount to Nestorianism. This is the origin of
Oriental Orthodoxy , which still today rejects the results of this council.
Recent years have brought about a certain amount of dialogue between other Christians and the Oriental Orthodox. Some Oriental Orthodox bishops have indicated that the difference in doctrine was never more than a misunderstanding and have since reintegrated in the
Catholic or
Eastern Orthodox churches. Formerly schismatic
Eastern Rite denominations returning to communion with Rome since Chalcedon include elements of the Alexandrian, Syriac and Armenian churches.
