Church History · AD 451

The Council of Chalcedon: Fully God and Fully Man

In 451 about 520 bishops met at Chalcedon and declared that Jesus is one person in two natures, fully God and fully human, without mixing or dividing them. The Oriental Orthodox churches, including the Coptic, Ethiopian and Armenian churches, did not accept the wording, and the split remains today.

Read it in the Bible: John 1:14 Hebrews 2:17 Hebrews 4:15 1 Timothy 2:5 Philippians 2:6-7

The Council of Chalcedon met from October 8 to November 1, AD 451, near Constantinople, in what is now Istanbul. About 520 bishops declared that Jesus Christ is one person in two natures: fully God and fully human, with the two natures not mixed together and not pulled apart. Their statement, called the Chalcedonian Definition, is still the standard teaching about Jesus for Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and most Protestant churches. But several ancient churches, including the Coptic, Ethiopian and Armenian churches, did not accept it, and that split has lasted more than 1,500 years.

Why Was the Council of Chalcedon Called?

Nicaea in 325 had settled that Jesus is fully God. The next big question was how God and man come together in one person. If Jesus is God and also a man, is He two persons stuck together? Or did His divine nature swallow up the human one?

Two schools of thought pulled in different directions. Teachers linked with Antioch stressed that Jesus had a complete human nature, and some seemed to split Him into two. Teachers linked with Alexandria stressed that Jesus is one, God the Word made flesh. The Council of Ephesus in 431 had rejected Nestorius, who seemed to divide Christ into two persons.

Then an elderly monk in Constantinople named Eutyches went the other way. He taught that after the incarnation, Christ had only one nature, and his words sounded like Jesus' humanity was absorbed into His divinity like a drop of honey in the ocean. In 449 a council at Ephesus, led by Dioscorus, the bishop of Alexandria, cleared Eutyches. Pope Leo of Rome was so upset he called it the Robber Council. When a new emperor, Marcian, came to power, he called a new council to fix it.

What Was the Tome of Leo?

Before the council, Pope Leo I had written a letter known as the Tome of Leo. It explained that Christ has two complete natures, divine and human, united in one person, and that each nature does what is proper to it. As God, Jesus raised Lazarus. As man, He wept at the tomb. When the letter was read aloud at Chalcedon, the bishops shouted that Peter had spoken through Leo.

What Did the Chalcedonian Definition Say About Jesus?

The heart of the council's statement says that Jesus is perfect in deity and perfect in humanity, truly God and truly man. It says He is acknowledged in two natures:

without confusion, so His natures are not mixed into some third thing
without change, so God did not stop being God and the man did not stop being man
without division, so He is not two persons
without separation, so the natures are never pulled apart

These four phrases work like guardrails on a mountain road. They don't explain every mystery of the incarnation. They just keep you from driving off a cliff on either side.

The council saw this as faithful to what the Bible teaches. John says the eternal Word became real flesh.

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Hebrews says He became like us in every way except sin.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Why Did the Coptic, Ethiopian and Armenian Churches Split From Chalcedon?

Many Christians in Egypt, Syria and Armenia rejected the council. Today these churches are called the Oriental Orthodox churches. They include the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox churches, the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Malankara Orthodox Church of India.

Here is their side, put fairly. They follow the great teacher Cyril of Alexandria, who described Christ as one nature of God the Word made flesh. To them, the phrase in two natures sounded too much like Nestorius, as if Jesus were split in two. They also rejected Eutyches. They believe Jesus is fully God and fully human, united in one nature, without mixing or confusion. Their view is often called miaphysite, meaning one united nature. It is not the same as Eutyches' view, which they also condemn.

Politics made things worse. Alexandria and Constantinople were rivals, and many Egyptians and Syrians resented rule from the capital. Chalcedon also removed Dioscorus, Alexandria's bishop. And the council's canon 28 raised Constantinople to second place after Rome, which Rome itself refused to accept.

Are the Churches Still Divided Over Chalcedon Today?

Yes, formally. But there is good news. Since the 1970s, leaders on both sides have met and talked. In 1973, Pope Paul VI and the Coptic Pope Shenouda III signed a joint statement confessing the same faith in Christ, fully God and fully man. Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox theologians have issued joint statements too. Many scholars now say the two sides largely mean the same thing with different words.

The Ethiopian church, with one of the oldest Christian traditions in the world, is part of this family. The Garima Gospels page on this site tells part of its story.

Why Chalcedon Matters for You Today

It may sound like a debate about words, but it is about whether Jesus can save us. If He is not truly God, He cannot bring us to God. If He is not truly human, He cannot stand in our place. The early church saw that we need both, and in Jesus we have both.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5

The Jesus who weeps with you is the same Jesus who can raise the dead. That is the gift Chalcedon worked so hard to protect.

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Questions People Ask

What did the Council of Chalcedon decide?

The Council of Chalcedon in 451 declared that Jesus Christ is one person in two natures, fully divine and fully human. It said the two natures are united without confusion, change, division or separation. This is the standard teaching about Christ for Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and most Protestant churches.

Which churches rejected the Council of Chalcedon?

The Oriental Orthodox churches rejected it. They include the Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Syriac, Armenian and Malankara Orthodox churches. They affirm that Jesus is fully God and fully man but prefer to speak of one united nature.

What is the difference between miaphysite and Chalcedonian beliefs?

Chalcedonian churches say Christ is one person in two natures. Miaphysite churches say Christ has one united nature, fully divine and fully human, without mixture. Many modern theologians on both sides believe the difference is mostly in wording rather than faith.

What was the Tome of Leo?

The Tome of Leo was a letter by Pope Leo I explaining that Christ has two complete natures in one person. It was read at Chalcedon, where the bishops declared that Peter had spoken through Leo. It became a key text behind the council's definition.

Sources

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