Eutychianism, also known as Real Monophysitism, refers to a set of Christian theological doctrines derived from the ideas of Eutyches of Constantinople (c. 380 – c. 456). Eutychianism is a monophysite understanding of how the human and divine relate within the person of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, with Christ being ''in'' one nature and ''of'' two, with the humanity of Christ subsumed by the divinity. Eutychians were often labelled Phantasiasts by their adversaries, who accused their

Christology In Christianity, Christology is a branch of Christian theology, theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would b ...

of reducing Jesus'

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

to a phantasm.Sergey Minov
"Date and Provenance of the Syriac Cave of Treasures: A Reappraisal"
''Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies'' 20,1 (2017): 129–229, esp. at 141–145.

Overview

At various times, Eutyches taught that the human nature of Christ was overcome by the divine or that Christ had a human nature but it was unlike the rest of humanity. One formulation is that Eutychianism stressed the unity of Christ's nature to such an extent that Christ's divinity consumed his humanity as the ocean consumes a drop of vinegar. Eutyches maintained that Christ was ''of'' two natures but not ''in'' two natures: separate divine and human natures had united and blended in such a manner that although Jesus was '' homoousion'' with the Father, he was not ''homoousion'' with the man. Eutychianism was rejected at the Fourth Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon in 451 and the statement of faith known as the Chalcedonian Creed. The reaction against Eutychianism also led to the schism with Oriental Orthodoxy.

Historical background

As the Christian Church grew and developed, the complexity of its understanding of the Triune God and the person of Christ also grew and developed. It's important to understand the controversies of

regarding its parallel with the organisation of the church, as they are ideally united as one, the latter seen as the body of

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

. In 325, the issue of how to reconcile the claims of

monotheism Monotheism is the belief that one God is the only, or at least the dominant deity.F. L. Cross, Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. A ...

with the assertion of the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth was largely settled at the First Ecumenical Council held at

Nicaea Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

.Alister McGrath, ''Christian Theology: An Introduction'' (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1994) 281-282. Especially among the Greek-speaking Christians, attention turned to how to understand how the second person of the Trinity became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ. The Nicene Creed said that Jesus was "of one Being ('' ousia'') with (God) the Father" and that he "was incarnate of the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

and the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and became truly human." However, neither the Nicene Creed nor the canons of the Council provided a detailed explanation of how God became human in the person of Jesus, leaving the door open for speculation. One such theory of how the human and divine interact in the person of Jesus was put forward by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius (c. 386–451). Nestorius, a student of the Antiochene school of theology, taught that in the incarnation two distinct '' hypostases'' ("substances" or, as Nestorius' critics such as John Cassian and

Cyril of Alexandria Cyril of Alexandria (; or ⲡⲓ̀ⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲕⲓⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ; 376–444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire ...

employed the term, "persons") were conjoined in Jesus Christ: one human (the man) and one divine (the Word). Thus, Mary should not be considered the God-bearer ('' Theotokos'') since she only contributed to and bore the human nature of Christ, making her the '' Christotokos''.For more info, see Nestorius and Nestorianism. In 431, Nestorius and his teachings were condemned by the Third Ecumenical Council, held in

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

, which defined the Church of the East. The Council of Ephesus did not answer the question of how the human and divine interrelated in the person of Christ. It seemingly rejected any attempted answer that stressed the duality of Christ's natures to the expense of his unity as a single ''hypostasis'' (understood to mean "person").

Eutyches and Chalcedon

In response to Eutychianism, the Council adopted dyophysitism, which clearly distinguished between person and nature, by stating that Christ is one person in two natures but emphasized that the natures are "without confusion, without change, without division, without separation". Miaphysites rejected that definition as verging on Nestorianism and instead adhered to the wording of

, the chief opponent of Nestorianism, who had spoken of the "one (''mia'') nature of the Word of God incarnate" ( ''mia physis tou theou logou sesarkōmenē'').John McGuckin (2004), ''Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy'', p140 et al The distinction of the stance was that the incarnate Christ has one nature, but it is still of both a divine character and a human character and retains all the characteristics of both, with no mingling, confusion or change of either nature. Miaphysites condemned Eutychianism.

References

{{Authority control Christology Oriental Orthodox theology Heresy in ancient Christianity Nature of Jesus Christ