Monophysitism (Noun)
Meaning
A Christian heresy of the 5th and 6th centuries that challenged the orthodox definition of the two natures (human and divine) in Jesus and instead believed there was a single divine nature.
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- The Council of Chalcedon was convened in 451 AD to address the growing concern of monophysitism and its threat to orthodox Christianity.
- Monophysitism was a major point of contention between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Coptic Church of Egypt, leading to a significant rift in the Christian world.
- The patriarch of Alexandria, Cyril I, was initially sympathetic to monophysitism but later retreated from his views, helping to pave the way for the Council of Chalcedon.
- The theology of monophysitism was shaped by the writings of Eutyches, a priest from Constantinople who insisted that Jesus' divine nature had fully absorbed his human nature.
- Despite its condemnation as a heresy, monophysitism continued to have a profound impact on the development of Christian theology in the centuries that followed.