Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8 to November 1, 451, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor). Chalcedon is today part of the city of Istanbul on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.
Confession of Chalcedon
[change | change source]The most comprehensive confession of the Person of Christ was made at the Council of Chalcedon in 451:
| “ | Following the holy Fathers, we unanimously teach and confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, composed of rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father as to his divinity and consubstantial with us as to his humanity; "like us in all things but sin." He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God.
We confess that one and the same Christ, Lord, and only-begotten Son, is to be acknowledged in two natures without confusion, change, division, or separation. The distinction between natures was never abolished by their union, but rather the character proper to each of the two natures was preserved as they came together in one person (prosopon) and one hypostasis. |
” |
Result
[change | change source]For many people, these definitions were too dogmatic; The Oriental Orthodox Churches split from the main church (that would later become the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church).