History of Oriental Orthodoxy

Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern

Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical
councils the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus. They
reject the dogmatic denitions of the Council of Chalcedon. Hence, these Churches are also called Old Oriental Churches or Non-Chalcedonian Churches.

Foundation

The history of all Oriental Orthodox Churches goes back

to the very beginnings of Christianity. [1] They were
founded by the apostles or by their earliest disciples and
their theology did not undergo any signicant change in
the course of their history.

Missionary role

The Oriental Orthodox Churches had a great missionary

role during the early stages of Christianity and played a
great role in the history of Egypt.[2]
Coptic icon

Schism

has two natures, but because the councils declaration did

not confess the two natures as inseparable and united.
Pope Dioscorus would accept only of or from two natures but not in two natures. To the hierarchs who
would lead the Oriental Orthodox, this was tantamount
to accepting Nestorianism, which expressed itself in a
terminology incompatible with their understanding of
Christology. Founded in the Alexandrine School of Theology it advocated a formula stressing the unity of the
Incarnation over all other considerations.

According to the canons of the Oriental Orthodox

Churches, the four bishops of Rome, Alexandria,
Ephesus (later transferred to Constantinople) and Antioch
were all given status as Patriarchs; in other words, the ancient apostolic centres of Christianity, by the First Council of Nicaea (predating the schism) each of the four
patriarchs was responsible for those bishops and churches
within his own area of the Universal Church, (with the exception of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, who was independent of the rest). Thus, the Bishop of Rome has always
been held by the others to be fully sovereign within his
own area, as well as First-Among-Equals, due to the
traditional belief that the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint
Paul were martyred in Rome.

The Oriental Orthodox churches were therefore often

called Monophysite, although they reject this label, as it
is associated with Eutychian Monophysitism; they prefer
the term non-Chalcedonian or "Miaphysite" churches.
Oriental Orthodox Churches reject what they consider to
The schism between Oriental Orthodoxy and the rest of be the heretical Monophysite teachings of Eutyches and
the Church occurred in the 5th century. The separa- of Nestorius as well as the Dyophysite denition of the
tion resulted in part from the refusal of Pope Dioscorus, Council of Chalcedon.
the Patriarch of Alexandria, to accept the Christological Christology, although important, was not the only readogmas promulgated by the Council of Chalcedon, which son for the Alexandrian Churchs refusal of the Council
held that Jesus has two natures: one divine and one hu- of Chalcedon; political, ecclesiastical and imperial issues
man. This was not because Chalcedon stated that Christ were hotly debated during that period.
1

In the years following Chalcedon the patriarchs of

Constantinople remained in communion with the
non-Chalcedonian patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch,
Jerusalem, while Rome remained out of communion with
them, and in unstable communion with Constantinople.
It was not until 518 that the new Byzantine Emperor,
Justin I (who accepted Chalcedon), demanded that
the Church in the Roman Empire accept the Councils
decisions.[3] Justin ordered the replacement of all
non-Chalcedonian bishops, including the patriarchs of
Antioch and Alexandria. The extent of the inuence of
the Bishop of Rome in this has been a matter of debate.
The reason for the excommunication of the nonChalcedonian bishops by the Bishops of Rome and Constantinople in 451, that formalized the schism, was the
teaching that Jesus Christ has two natures, which the
Council of Chalcedon upheld as a dogma.

Persecution

One of the most salient features of the history of Oriental

Orthodoxy has been the ceaseless persecution and massacres suered under Byzantine, Persian, Muslim and Ottoman powers.

Modern days

The Oriental Orthodox communion comprises six

groups: Coptic Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, Ethiopian
Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (India) and Armenian Apostolic churches.[4]
These six churches, while being in communion with each
other are completely independent hierarchically and have
no equivalent of the Bishop of Rome or Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, [5] with no concepts of supremacy
or precedence respectively.
By the 20th century the Chalcedonian schism was not
seen with the same relevance, and from several meetings
between the authorities of Roman Catholicism and the
Oriental Orthodoxy, reconciling declarations emerged in
the common statement of the Oriental Patriarch (Mar
Ignatius Zakka I Iwas) and the Pope (John Paul II) in
1984.

See also
History of Christianity
Coptic history

REFERENCES

7 References
[1] Find artricle . com
[2] Britannica.com
[3] CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Pope St. Hormisdas
[4] WCC-COE.org
[5] An Introduction to the Oriental Orthodox Churches
[6] From the common declaration of Pope John Paul II and
HH Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, June 23, 1984

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