Chalcedon Cathedral - the famous Ecumenical Council of the Christian church, which was convened and took place in the middle of the 5th century at the initiative of the East Roman Emperor Marcian, consent was received from Pope Leo I. It received its name from the ancient Greek city of Chalcedon in Central Asia, which is currently time is one of the areas of modern Istanbul, known as Kadikoy. The main theme of the cathedral was the heresy of Archimandrite Eutyches of Constantinople. At first it was called Euthyanism, by its name, and then its meaning began to be reflected in the name - Monophysitism.
According to popular belief, the essence of heresy was that in Jesus Christ only his divine nature began to be professed, because of this he was recognized only by God, but not by man. The cathedral was officially opened on October 8, 451, lasted until November 1, during which time 17 plenary sessions were held.
Causes
It is noteworthy that for the convening of the Council of Chalcedon there were religious and political reasons. Religious was that the Alexandrian patriarch Diskor continued the work of his predecessor Cyril in the fight against Nestorianism. This is the so-called doctrine of the Archbishop of Constantinople Nestorius, which was condemned as heresy at the previous Ephesian Ecumenical Council in 431. In fact, it is an option for the development of the Antioch theological school, to which John Chrysostom belonged. Moreover, the main principle of Nestorianism is the recognition of the complete symmetry of the God-manhood of Christ.
After 431 years on this issue, Dioskor decided to put an end to the so-called Ephesian "robber" cathedral, held in 449. The result was the replacement of the dual Nestorian nature of Christ with the decision of the cathedral on the monolithic monophysite nature.
However, such a formulation radically diverged from the message sent by Pope Leo I the Great Archbishop of Constantinople Flavian, as well as to the Cathedral itself, 449. It is worth noting that Leo I himself did not take part in the work of the cathedral, since Attila's troops were under Rome at that time. The pope sent legates to this council, who were supposed to defend its wording, but they failed to complete their task. As a result, decisions later recognized as heretical were approved by the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire Theodosius II.
After his death, the situation radically changed. His own sister Pulcheria, who had the official title of Augusta, married Senator Marcian and elevated him to the throne. She was a supporter of Pope Leo I. In addition, it is known that Dioskor managed to set up an imperial couple against himself, which led to such an early convocation of the IV Ecumenical Council.
Among the political reasons for the convocation of the Council of Chalcedon in 451, it should be noted that both its convocation and control by the emperor and his administration were provoked by the desire to ensure religious unity in the territory of the Eastern Roman Empire. This should have contributed to its internal political stability.
The rivalry between the Patriarch of Alexandria and Constantinople continued, which began even after, in 381, the Council of Constantinople placed the pulpit of Constantinople in second place after Rome, displacing the Alexandrian pulpit in third place. All this jeopardized the unity of the whole empire.
The idea that the strength and unity of the whole state depends on a single faith in the right Trinity can also be found in letters to the emperor from Pope Leo I. The relevance of this thesis was indirectly confirmed by events that occurred shortly before in North Africa. There began an armed struggle against the Donatist schism, followed by the conquest of Carthage by the vandals in 429, on whose side the circumcillions also crossed.
Place and time
According to the edict adopted by the emperor, initially all bishops gathered in the ancient city of Nicaea, which is located on the territory of modern Turkish Iznik.
But soon after that they were all summoned to Chalcedon, which was located much closer to the capital. Therefore, the emperor had the opportunity to personally attend meetings. Directly led by his officials. In particular, the commander in chief Anatoly, the prefect of Constantinople Tatian and the prefect of the Praetorian East Palladium.
List of participants
At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, Anatoly of Constantinople presided, two years before he had become the patriarch. Before entering the throne of Marcian, he made an important decision for himself and switched to the side of the Orthodox. In total, from 600 to 630 fathers were present at the cathedral, including authorized priests, who could replace one or another bishop.
Of the most famous participants in the Cathedral of Chalcedon of 451, it is worth noting:
- Damian of Antioch, who had previously been deposed by Dioscorus, but then returned from captivity after Markian came to power;
- Maxim, who took the place of the first patriarch of Jerusalem Juvenal;
- Thalassius of Caesarea-Cappadocia;
- Bishop of Cyrus the blessed Theodorite;
- Dioskor of Alexandria;
- Eusebius of Dorilee.
Pope Leo I, who insisted that the cathedral be convened in Italy, again not present at it, but nevertheless sent his legates. In their capacity, the presbyter Boniface, as well as the bishops of Lucenius and Paschazin, came to the Cathedral of Chalcedon.
Also at the cathedral there were a large number of high-ranking officials, among whom were senators and dignitaries who took an active part in its work. The only exceptions were those cases when it was required to consider exclusively church matters, for example, the trial of a bishop.
Condemnation of Monophysitism
One of the main decisions of the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon was the condemnation of the heretical teachings of Eutyches. In fact, the cathedral began with the consideration of decisions taken at the so-called "robbery" cathedral in Ephesus in 449, and also proceeded to the trial of Dioscor.
Eusebius Dorileisky acted as a prosecutor at the trial, who presented a detailed report on all the facts of violence committed by Dioscor at the previous council, which took place two years earlier.
After the announcement of this document by the fathers of the Council of Chalcedon, it was decided to deprive Dioscor of the right to vote, immediately after that he automatically transferred to the number of defendants. In particular, it was testified that the act of that cathedral cannot be trusted, since then about a thousand monks, led by Varsuma, burst into the meeting and threatened reprisals against the bishops if they did not take the appropriate decisions. As a result, many put their signatures under threat of reprisal, some signed blank sheets.
In addition, charges against Dioscore came from several Egyptian bishops who accused him of cruelty, immorality, and other violence. Dioskor was condemned at the cathedral and deposed, just the results and results of the "robber" cathedral were actually canceled. It was decided to forgive the bishops who took part in it on the side of Dioscor, since they repented of their actions, explaining that they acted under pain of threats that regularly came to them.
Dogma of faith
After that, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the official adoption of a new doctrine of the Christological definition took place. It was important to expound the doctrine of two natures in the person of Jesus Christ, which would be alien to the extremes that existed in Monophysitism and Nestorianism. It was required to work out something in between, such a teaching was to become Orthodox.
It was decided to take as an example the account of faith made by John of Antioch, Cyril of Alexandria, as well as the message of Pope Leo I sent to Flavian. Thus, it was possible to develop a dogma on the image of the union in the person of Jesus Christ of two natures.
This creed condemned both Monophysitism and Nestorianism. Theodritus, who was present at the cathedral, whom the Egyptian bishops suspected of Nestorianism, spoke anathema to Nestorius and also signed his condemnation. After that, a decision was made at the cathedral to remove from him the condemnation imposed by Dioscor and restore it to the rank. Also, convictions were lifted from the bishop of Eves of Edes.
As before, only Egyptian bishops continued to behave ambiguously, who did not fully show their attitude to the definition of faith. On the one hand, they signed the condemnation of Eutyches, but did not want to support the message of the pope to Flavian, explaining this by the custom in Egypt, according to which they can not make any significant decisions without the determination and permission of their archbishop. And after the deposition of the previous archbishop Dioskor, they simply did not have a new one. Participants in the cathedral urged them to swear that they would sign the necessary papers as soon as the archbishop was elected.
As a result, the number of signatories of this decision, known as the dogma of the Council of Chalcedon, was approximately 150 less than the number of those gathered at the cathedral. When the emperor Marcian was informed of the official decision, he, along with Pulcheria, came to the sixth meeting, at which he delivered a speech. In it, he expressed his joy that everything was done peacefully and by common desire. If you believe the Aramaic protocols that have reached us, Marcian's speech was enthusiastically received by those present, who accompanied her with bright exclamations.
Canons of the cathedral
After that, the fathers began to draw up the rules of the Council of Chalcedon, 30 of them were adopted. The main subjects that were discussed were issues of church deanery and church administration. Several canons of 4 Chalcedon Cathedral were of particular importance.
Consider the main ones in this article. The first act of the Council of Chalcedon recognized the justice of the rules of the Holy Fathers. It was noted that they will be detailed in the canonical reports.
The procedure for disputes that may arise between clerics was spelled out in detail. 9, the rule of the Council of Chalcedon establishes that in the case of a court case, clergymen should not neglect the decision of their bishop and secular court, but, first of all, go to the bishop for advice. Those who disobeyed were called upon to condemn and punish according to all the rules.
In this rule of the Council of Chalcedon, the whole procedure was spelled out in detail. If a cleric has a court case with a bishop, then he should be considered in the regional Council, and if a cleric or a bishop is dissatisfied with the metropolitan, they should contact Constantinople.
Great importance was also given to the 17th rule of the Council of Chalcedon. It was decided that in each diocese all parishes in cities and villages should certainly be under the authority of the bishop, especially if such a situation persisted over the past 30 years. If this deadline has not yet expired or some dispute arises, then this issue is submitted to the regional council. In the 17th rule of the Cathedral of Chalcedon it was established that if the city was built relatively recently or is only going to be built in the foreseeable future, then the distribution of church parishes should be made in strict accordance with the zemstvo and civil order.
Supremacy of the Bishop of Constantinople
Of great importance was the 28th rule of the Council of Chalcedon. It was it that finally established the supremacy in the East of the department of the bishop of Constantinople.
His text confirmed the status of Constantinople as a new Rome. The 28th rule of the Fourth Chalcedon Ecumenical Council recognized its equal advantages with the regal decrepit Rome, it was magnified in church affairs so much that Constantinople became second after Rome. On this basis, under rule 28 of the Council of Chalcedon, the metropolitans of the Assy, Pontic and Thracian regions, as well as the bishops of these lands, undertake to supply the diocesan bishops, obeying Constantinople in everything. At the same time, the Metropolitan himself is appointed by the Archbishop of Constantinople after holding elections in a predetermined order and presenting to him all worthy candidates.
This decision has long been brewing, since, compared with the year 381, when the first Ecumenical Council was held, the Patriarch of Constantinople significantly expanded its zone of influence. In fact, the 28th canon of the Council of Chalcedon approved these changes. Local patriarchs already felt quite confident in Asia Minor and Thrace, laid claim to a number of territories that initially belonged to the sphere of influence of Antioch and Rome. The current state of things was to receive an assessment from the whole church, to gain a legal base, which was done as a result of the adoption of the 28th canon of the Council of Chalcedon.
The issue of the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Constantinople was considered at the end of the council meetings. Interestingly, not everyone initially approved the 28th canon of the Council of Chalcedon. The Roman legates, which were also absent during the discussion of this decision, opposed the expected ones. Therefore, they refused to sign these provisions, demanding that their dissenting opinion be included in the protocol. Pope Leo I supported their position. He took a break, not immediately expressing his attitude to the results of the cathedral. Only after a certain time did he approve decisions regarding issues of faith, but at the same time he spoke negatively about the ambitions of the Patriarch of Constantinople Anatoly, which manifested themselves when the 28th rule of the Council of Chalcedon was adopted.
In response to this, Anatoly assured Leo I that he was not guided by his own interests and was ready to submit to any of his decisions. The Pope took this statement as invalidating the rule, but in reality it reflected the real state of affairs and the real power that the patriarchs of Constantinople had by then in Asia Minor and Thrace. Therefore, when the canon was included in collections based on the results of the cathedral, in the East this did not raise any questions.
As a result, the 28 rule of the Council of Chalcedon and its importance were very significant for the development of the whole church. The power between the eastern patriarchates was now divided as follows. The Asian, Thracian and Pontic regions fell under the jurisdiction of Constantinople, Egypt left Alexandria, Antioch - most of the Eastern diocese, and Jerusalem - three provinces of the same Eastern diocese.
Value
After the adoption of these decisions by the emperor on the basis of the oros of the Council of Chalcedon, that is, the dogmatic definitions of Orthodoxy, strict laws were issued regarding the Monophysites. Everyone was ordered to accept only the doctrine defined at the council of 451 years. At the same time, the Monophysites were persecuted and persecuted. They were imprisoned or expelled. The death penalty relied on the distribution of their works, and the books themselves were ordered to be burned. Eutyhius and Discourse were exiled to remote provinces.
At the same time, the cathedral could not put an end to Christological disputes. But it was his faith for many centuries that became the basis for Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
At that time it was already impossible not to notice the beginning decomposition of the Byzantine Empire. On the outskirts, separatist speeches became increasingly stronger, which had a national basis, while at the same time, in accordance with the spirit of the times, they sought to find excuse and expression in the main dogmatic differences.
The authority of the cathedral of 451 was restored in 518 at the cathedral assembled in Constantinople by the patriarch John. It was attended by about 40 bishops who were at that time in the capital, as well as hegumen from the surrounding and metropolitan monasteries. At the council, all who condemned the decisions made in Chalcedon were severely condemned. Among them were the Antiochian Patriarch Sevir, and the memory of the dead champions of Orthodoxy was also justified. The very next year after this cathedral, it was possible to achieve reconciliation of the Eastern Church with Rome, a message was signed by the pope Gormizda, which completed the Akakian schism. Under this name, a 35-year dispute between the Churches of Constantinople and the Roman entered history.
It is interesting that the Coptic historiographer of the North, in the History of the Alexandrian Patriarchs, gives a non-standard assessment of the cathedral in Chalkidonia in a chapter devoted to the fate of Dioscor. In it, he notes that Dioskoros became the patriarch of Alexandria after the death of Cyril, but suffered severe persecution for his faith from the emperor Marcian and his wife. Following the results of the cathedral in Chalcedon, they drove him off the throne.
The reaction of churches in the Caucasus
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According to this formula of dogma, Jesus is a perfect man and God. It combines these two entities in an inseparable manner, which is incomprehensible to man, impossible for mind to realize.
In the traditions of Eastern theology in the essence of Jesus, any duality and division are rejected. It is believed that in it there is a single divine-human nature. From the point of view of Eastern theologians, the decisions made in Chalcedon can be seen as a humiliation of the sacrament of the God-man, a conscious attempt to turn a contemplative understanding of faith into a mechanism perceived by the mind.