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Second Council of Constantinople (553) During the following
period while some Christian theologians sought new formulas to bring the
Monophysite East (Egypt, Syria and Palestine) into the body of the Church,
the quarrels and fights between the Chalcedonians and the Monophysites
continued. Until Justinian came to the throne in 527 most of the Byzantine
emperors were tolerant to the Monophysites and this alienated the Western
Church.
The reign of Justinian (527-65) was marked with conquests both in the east
and west. In the capital he had built the church of St. Sophia which is
still one of the oldest and greatest edifices of the Christian world. Nor
could the teaching of pagan Greek philosophy be tolerated, except in
Christian institutions. In 529 he commanded that the Platonic Academy in
Athens be closed forever. He wanted to recover the West for which the
acceptance of the Chalcedon cause was indispensable. As a Christian Roman
emperor and vice-regent of God on earth he felt duty bound to enforce
uniformity of belief on his subjects and to unite Church and State firmly
under his control.
Heresy, especially that of the Monophysites was to be stamped out. However,
dealing harshly with Egypt would harm the corn traffic to his capital. The
Monophysites were not happy with the previous Council of Chalcedon (451)
because of the fact that although it had reaffirmed the orthodox
definition it had acquitted the three major Nestorians of the time whose
works were most objectionable to the Monophysites. They asked for another
council which, as it would reassert the Chalcedonian definition, would
condemn the propositions or 'chapters' written by these three theologians:
Theodore of Mopsuestia (Misis), Theodoret of Cyrrhus (in Syria) and Ibas
of Edessa (Urfa).
The council summoned in Constantinople met in the church of St. Sophia.
Justinian stayed away from the meeting. The letters he sent to the
participants however (only two dozen of 168 participants were from the
West or Africa) told them what he hoped to hear. The meeting ended with
the expected decision and acknowledged the errors in the writings of these
three theologians and said that it was not proper to anathematize the dead.
The result failed to placate the Monophysites.
This result did not add anything new to the problems between the
Chalcedonians and Monophysites. The latter created an underground
episcopate which has lasted to the present day among the Syrian Jacobites,
Copts and Ethiopians who reject Chalcedon.
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