The Council of Chalcedon was the fourth ecumenical council held by the early Christian Church, held in Chalcedon, Bithynia (now part of Istanbul, Turkey) in 451 CE. The Council dealt with matters which were discussed at previous councils, mostly related to the divine and human natures of Jesus Christ.
What Happened Before the Council of Chalcedon?
The three councils preceding Chalcedon dealt with various heresies regarding theologies surrounding the nature of Jesus Christ. The Council of Nicea in 325 CE dealt with the Arian heresy, which taught that Jesus was a created being, rather than eternal with God. The First Council of Constantinople in 381 dealt with an almost opposite view called Apollinarianism that held that Jesus was more divine than human, lacking a human soul. The Council of Ephesus in 431 fought against Nestorianism, the idea that there was a great difference between God the Father and God the Son, so much that Mary, the mother of Jesus, could not be described as theotokos, or “God-bearer.”
While these theological issues found little controversy in the western church, both political and theological problems with the councils arose with some of the eastern churches over both the content of the council’s decisions as well as how some of those decisions were made. Also, several of the beliefs condemned within the councils held some influence with the Eastern churches, particularly Nestorianism.
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Sign up to our Free Weekly NewsletterThe particular problem to which the Council of Chalcedon addressed was an issue raised at the Second Council of Ephesus in 449 CE. At Ephesus, a miaphysite position of Christ was upheld, which holds that Jesus has a single incarnate nature which is a union of God and man. This position, which was promoted by the monk Eutyches, is different from the position which many western Christians held, which was that Jesus has two natures, God and Man, within Himself. Eutyches as attempting to push back against Nestorianism, and, in the view of Pope Leo I, had gone too far in the other direction and had problems with communication. The Second Ephesus council, not accepted by Western Christianity, was named the “Robber Synod” by Pope Leo I who explicitly condemned it.
What Were the Problems with Eutyches?
Two main problems arose with Eutyches’ arguments. The first was a significant difference in terminology between Greek and Latin. The Latin word persona and the Greek word physis have similar meanings, but they are distinct enough that, while the Latin translates to “person,” the Greek translates to “nature.” Eutyches seemed to get too stuck on the usage of physis as “person” and believed Jesus Christ had one physis and those who spoke Latin saw him as saying that Jesus had one “nature” – which would put his position outside that of orthodoxy. Eutyches also had a problem with communicating his ideas, which would result in later troubles for him.
What Happened at the Council of Chalcedon?
In 451, Roman Emperor Marcian I called for a new council, hoping to resolve the religious problems in the Empire, particularly with Attila the Hun causing problems within the Western Empire. At least 520 bishops attended, resulting in Chalcedon being the largest of the seven ecumenical councils of the early church. The council included some political wrangling, but it resulted in some long-lasting theological decisions.
The decisions made at the first Council of Ephesus were upheld, as was the authority of the Nicene Creed. The Tome of Leo and some of Cyril of Alexandria’s letters were recognized as properly defining and communicating the Christological issues at hand. Probably the greatest result was the formulation of the “Chalcedonian definition” of the nature of Jesus Christ, which addresses all of the heretical positions of Arianism, Apollinarianism, and Nestorianism, and defines physis as “nature,” of which Christ has two – human and divine.
Who Accepts the Council of Chalcedon?
The Council of Chalcedon is generally accepted by most of Christianity, including Protestant denominations. Some Eastern churches (though not Eastern Orthodox) reject the Council of Chalcedon either through a political difference in how it was handled, or a disagreement with some of the definitions or terminology usage. The Council of Chalcedon is also the last of the seven ecumenical councils held as authoritative by Protestant churches as a whole, as later councils may have issues which conflict with the concept of sola scriptura.
