The Council of Chalcedon
The council of Chalcedon, also referred to as the Fourth ecumenical Council comprised of a group of Christian leaders of the greater Roman Empire. The leaders’ meeting led to the construction of the Chalcedonian Orthodoxy which built the belief that Christ had two distinct natures. This standing was contrary to the common consideration of Christ as having a single nature. The stance of the council led to heated Christological debates for a long period based on the Church’s prevalence in the Western Roman Empire. The council supposedly posed a serious theological challenge as it created differences in the Roman Church at the time. The key philosophical conflict regarded the nature of Christ since the Roman church was of the opinion that Christ had a single nature, the combination of manhood and Godhead. On the other hand, the Chalcedonians hold the belief that Christ has two distinct natures. The council continued to issue disciplinary rules and actions which were aimed at governing the church in authority and administration. The theological decrees, 28 canons and disciplinary rules all gave the same authority as Rome.
Because authority was the key element in the Chalcedonian Council, it gave the perception of a political power. The Council was denounced by the then Pope, Leo I. He then refuted the claim that Christ had two natures. Emperor Marcian was responsible for convening the Council. A major problem that rose from the council’s convention concerned division among the Bishops in the council. In this aspect, the disagreeing Bishop’s were split out and it subsequently took decades to reach a point of reconciliation leading to the birth of oriental orthodox. However, the conflict between churches was never resolved.
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