I recently heard a saying that sums up why I love writing about Christian heresies: “Modern-day heresies are nothing new. They are old ones that have resurfaced.” In many cases and many churches, old heresies are still alive today.
Of all the well-known heresies, what is Monophysitism? Where does it come from? Why does it sound funny to say? Today, we will go into the history of Monophysitism and the theology that debunks it.
What Does Monophysitism Say about Jesus’ Nature?
As most of us know (or should know), Christ was fully divine and fully human. If you have questions about this, please see your local church leader. The church has held since its inception that Christ was fully divine and fully human. Yet some heresies claimed otherwise. One of these was Monophysitism, also known as Eutychianism.
Like Nestorianism and Apollinarianism, Monophysitism went too far in placing Christ’s divinity over his humanity. As J. Warner Wallace puts it:
“[Monophysitism] taught Jesus’ humanity was absorbed by His divinity. The heresy . . . [is] derived from the Greek word ‘mono’ (‘one’) and ‘physis’ (‘nature’). In essence, this heresy claimed Jesus only had one nature (something new and different than the Divine or human nature that God and humans have, respectively). Instead, this heresy taught a third unique nature was possessed by Jesus; a blend or mixture of human and the Divine.”
To understand Monophysitism in full, we must understand its origin.
Where Did Monophysitism Come From?
After Emperor Constantine the Great legalized Christianity in 313 AD, Christianity spread across Western Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Northern Africa. While this brought relief to many congregants and believers who had experienced persecution, it soon created new difficulties for the early church fathers. Now that Christianity was a socially accepted religion—in fact, Rome's official religion —it became easier to spread false ideas and to do so for benefits like power and social position.
One of the most notable heresies in these early days was Arianism, the belief that Christ was not begotten of God the Father but more like a demigod. Later, heresies also described Jesus in some strange ways, usually trying to pit his divinity against his humanity. Heresies like Apollinarianism placed Christ’s divinity over his humanity. Monophysitism tried to solve the problem by changing the question: what if Jesus didn’t have a human or divine nature?
A monk named Eutyches developed this view. Like Apollinaris of Laodicea, who developed Apollinarianism, he wasn’t always a heretic. Not only was he a monk, but he was influenced by St. Cyril—a church leader highly regarded by Catholic, Orthodox, and high-church Protestant believers. Eutyches debated the Nestorians, a group of heretics that claimed the Virgin Mary only gave birth to Christ’s humanity, thus separating his divinity. However, Eutyches went too far to the other extreme to fight this heresy. While he opposed the Nestorian heresy that separated Christ’s divinity and humanity, his teaching claimed that Christ had one nature in which his divinity outdid his humanity.
His ideas began causing problems with his peers, including Bishop Eusebius of Dorylaeum in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). The Patriarch of Constantinople, Flavian, summoned Eutyches in 448 AD. At this trial, Eutyches doubled down to claim that his belief in Monophysitism was the faith that the church fathers declared at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. He lost his position and was excommunicated from the church.
Why Is Monophysitism Considered a Heresy?
Eutyches is known for having stated at his trial, “Two natures before, one after the incarnation.” This means Christ had two natures before his coming to earth and one when he came to earth.
By saying that Christ had one nature after he was incarnated, Eutyches implied something else about Jesus’ nature on earth. He said Jesus’ incarnate nature was a mixture of human and divine, but the divine side was greater. As many Monophysites put it, they believed Christ’s human nature was absorbed like a drop of honey into the sea. There was a tiny drop of humanity, and a lot of surrounding divinity.
While Christ was greater than any man due to sinlessness, he was still fully man and fully divine. This was not just true for his body but also for his mind and his natures. To say his human side was dissolved into his divinity goes against this picture. Claiming Christ's divinity in any sense is greater than his humanity is to contradict the Nicene and Athanasius Creed of the Church, let alone Scripture itself. As Hope Bolinger explains:
“If we remove Jesus’ humanity, we cheapen his sacrifice on the cross. If Jesus does not have a real body, or if Jesus did not experience temptation in a human sense, then why should we care about his death and resurrection?”
How does this contradict Scripture, though? Where can we see Scripture and the Creeds claiming Christ has two balanced natures?
Why Is It Important that Jesus Had Two Natures?
Scripture doesn’t say that Christ had one nature after his incarnation. For those who are unfamiliar with the word incarnation in Christianity, G. Connor Salter says it well:
“The incarnation means that Jesus, who was God already as part of the Trinity, became human and stepped into the world we know…we might say that the Incarnation is not just God appearing on earth as a human, it’s when God specifically came to Earth as Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem. When that happened, something strange and wonderful occurred. God, all-knowing and infinite, appeared in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16) as a finite human being.”
Scripture affirms that Christ was fully divine and fully human from the first time it mentions him—Gabriel speaking to Mary in Luke 1:26-45.
If we are tempted to doubt how the Gospels portray Jesus, we need to remember that these are more than mere books. The gospels are historical accounts based on multiple interviews over time. We are not just quoting a book when we quote Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John; we are quoting the witnesses of Christ. So, when Scripture emphasizes that Christ was fully God and fully Man, that includes his body, mind, soul, and nature. The church has taught and upheld this since its inception at Pentecost.
How Can We Avoid Monophysitism Today?
First, we can consider that heresy begins when we try to fit our idea into the church instead of starting by asking what Scripture, tradition, and reason say about Jesus. As Fr. John Crews of St. Matthew’s Church says:
“ . . . the orthodox position is to take what we know, through the Church’s experience with and in Jesus and extrapolates from there to the Trinity. The heretical mistake is to take what we think about God and try to fit in what we know about Jesus (or whatever part of Scripture is in contention) in an effort to make it fit into our thoughts about God.”
Researching early church history and the early church fathers can help us avoid heresies. Knowing the definitions of heresies, though helpful, is not enough. We must also understand what they mean and what the orthodox (i.e., historic and scriptural) Christian view is. The early church fathers settled heresy through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so we must pray for guidance when confronted with heresies.
Another is to investigate a denomination’s beliefs. Read their beliefs slowly and carefully and within the fine print. You may be surprised what your eyes skip over when you’re not careful.
Lastly, remember that when confronting heresies from others (whether they are in the church or offshoot groups like Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses), you should have one foot planted in love and the other planted in truth. Love them and talk with those claiming heresy, but know your limits, and that truth must be stood for.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/angel_nt
This article is part of our Christian Terms catalog, exploring words and phrases of Christian theology and history. Here are some of our most popular articles covering Christian terms to help your journey of knowledge and faith:
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