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49-476: In the words of Severus, in his letter approving of the synodical letter of Theodosios I of Alexandria , the Julianists taught "the flesh of our Saviour, from its very establishment through the womb and the union, was impassible and immortal, and who assign to it the incorruptibility which is recognized in impassibility and immortality (and not simply in holiness and sinlessness)." Due to Christ being impassible,

98-614: A magisterial leader like the Catholic Church , nor does the communion have a leader who can convene ecumenical synods like the Eastern Orthodox Church. Meanwhile its ecumenical dialogues and internal church relations are led by the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches, which acts as the permanent representative council of its member churches. The schism between Oriental Orthodoxy and

147-671: A possible repudiation of the Trinity or a concession to Nestorianism . The break in communion between the imperial Roman and Oriental Orthodox Churches did not occur suddenly, but rather gradually over two to three centuries following the Council of Chalcedon. Eventually the two communions developed separate institutions, and the Oriental Orthodox did not participate in any of the later ecumenical councils. The Oriental Orthodox Churches maintain ancient apostolic succession and

196-499: A response to "impassibility" making it otherwise impossible, Severus and Theodosios assert that Christ's corruptibility is voluntary as a response to "sinlessness," which otherwise would not permit corruption as it is a punishment for sin. In 564, Emperor Justinian I adopted the tenets of the Aphthartodocetae, issued an "edict compelling assent to the notion that the body of Christ was 'incorruptible and not susceptible to

245-447: Is a list of the six autocephalous Oriental Orthodox churches forming the main body of Oriental Orthodox Christianity. Based on the definitions, the list is in the alphabetical order, with some of their constituent autonomous churches and exarchates listed as well. There are a number of churches considered non-canonical, but whose members and clergy may or may not be in communion with the greater Oriental Orthodox communion. Examples include

294-572: Is a prevailing religion in Ethiopia (43.1%), while Protestants account for 19.4% and Islam – 34.1%. It is most widespread in two regions in Ethiopia : Amhara (82%) and Tigray (96%), as well as the capital city of Addis Ababa (75%). It is also one of two major religions in Eritrea (40%). It is a minority in Egypt (<20%), Syria (2–3% out of the 10% of total Christians), Lebanon (10% of

343-693: Is also underway between Oriental Orthodoxy and the Catholic Church and others. In 2017, the mutual recognition of baptism was restored between the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and the Catholic Church. Also baptism is mutually recognized between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Catholic Church. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are generally considered to be more conservative with regard to social issues . All Oriental Orthodox Churches are members of

392-485: Is impassible, and even if He is incorruptible, yet He is of our nature in respect of nature.' In synopsis, Christ's body was passible and thereby had the capacity to actually corrupt according to Severus and Theodosios. In contrast, Julian allegedly taught Christ's body to be impassible, which would (according to Severus) make corruption impossible and thereby necessitate any corruption and suffering to be illusory. While Julian asserts Christ's corruptibility to be voluntary as

441-709: Is offering prayer before a holy God. In this Christian tradition, it is customary for women to wear a Christian headcovering when praying. Some Oriental Orthodox Churches such as the Coptic Orthodox , Ethiopian Orthodox , and Eritrean Orthodox , also place a heavier emphasis on Old Testament teachings than one might find in other Christian denominations, and its followers adhere to certain practices: following dietary rules that are similar to Jewish Kashrut , require that their male members undergo circumcision , and observes ritual purification . The Oriental Orthodox Churches also maintain differing compilations of

490-900: The Catholicosate of Cilicia in the Levant and of diaspora; the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church , and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church . The Malabar Independent Syrian Church —based in India—and the British Orthodox Church in the UK are independent Oriental Orthodox churches, having formerly been part of one of the mainstream Oriental Orthodox churches. Oriental Orthodox Christians consider themselves to be

539-636: The Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia . The division between the two sees intensified during the Soviet period. The Holy See of Etchmiadzin was seen as a captive communist puppet by some Western bishops and clergy. Sympathizers of this established congregations independent of Etchmiadzin, declaring loyalty instead to the see based in Antelias in Lebanon . The division was formalized in 1956 when

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588-741: The Encyclopedia of Religion , Oriental Orthodoxy is the Christian tradition "most important in terms of the number of faithful living in the Middle East", which, along with other Eastern Christian communions , represent an autochthonous Christian presence whose origins date further back than the birth and spread of Islam in the Middle East. As of 2011 , it was the dominant religion in Armenia (94%) and ethnically Armenian unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (95%). Oriental Orthodoxy

637-804: The Malabar Independent Syrian Church , the Celtic Orthodox Church , the Orthodox Church of the Gauls , the British Orthodox Church , and the Tigrayan Orthodox Tewahedo Church . These organizations have passed in and out of official recognition, but members rarely face excommunication when recognition is ended. The primates of these churches are typically referred to as episcopi vagantes or vagantes in short. According to

686-735: The Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is one of the oldest branches in Christianity . As some of the oldest religious institutions in the world, the Oriental Orthodox Churches have played a prominent role in the history and culture of Armenia , Egypt , Eritrea , Ethiopia , Sudan , Western Asia and the Malabar region of India . As autocephalous churches, their bishops are equal by virtue of episcopal ordination . Their doctrines recognize

735-639: The Nicene Creed . The primary theological difference between the two communions is the differing Christology. Oriental Orthodoxy rejects the Chalcedonian Definition , and instead adopts the miaphysite formula, believing that the human and divine natures of Christ are united in one Incarnate Nature. Historically, the early prelates of the Oriental Orthodox Churches thought that the Chalcedonian Definition implied

784-522: The World Council of Churches . To the hierarchs who would lead the Oriental Orthodox, the description of Christ as "one person in two natures" was tantamount to accepting Nestorianism, which expressed itself in a terminology incompatible with their understanding of Christology. Nestorianism was understood as seeing Christ in two separate natures, human and divine, each with different actions and experiences; in contrast Cyril of Alexandria advocated

833-546: The canonical hours seven times a day while facing in the eastward direction towards Jerusalem, in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus ; this Christian practice has its roots in Psalm 119:164 , in which the prophet David prays to God seven times a day. Before praying, they wash their hands and face in order to be clean before and to present their best to God; shoes are removed in order to acknowledge that one

882-488: The historic episcopacy . The various churches are governed by holy synods , with a primus inter pares bishop serving as primate . The primates hold titles such as patriarch , catholicos , and pope . The Alexandrian Patriarchate , the Antiochian Patriarchate along with Patriarchate of Rome , was one of the most prominent sees of the early Christian Church . Oriental Orthodoxy does not have

931-841: The imperial Roman church before the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD, and with the Church of the East until the Synod of Beth Lapat in AD 484, separating primarily over differences in Christology. The majority of Oriental Orthodox Christians live in Egypt , Ethiopia , Eritrea , India , Syria , Turkey and Armenia , with smaller Syriac communities in Western Asia decreasing due to persecution . There are also many in other parts of

980-777: The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission , and its bishops as the successors of Christ's apostles . Three rites are practiced by the churches: the western-influenced Armenian Rite , the West Syriac Rite of the Syriac Church and the Malankara Syrian Church of India, and the Alexandrian Rite of the Copts , Ethiopians and Eritreans . Oriental Orthodox Churches shared communion with

1029-802: The 40% of Christians in Lebanon or 200,000 Armenians and members of the Church of the East) and Kerala , India (7% out of the 20% of total Christians in Kerala). In terms of total number of members, the Ethiopian Church is the largest of all Oriental Orthodox churches, and is second among all Orthodox churches among Eastern and Oriental Churches (exceeded in number only by the Russian Orthodox Church ). Also of particular importance are

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1078-674: The Antelias (Cilician) See broke away from the Etchmiadzin See. In 1992, following the abdication of Abune Merkorios and election of Abune Paulos , some Ethiopian Orthodox bishops in the United States maintained that the new election was invalid, and declared their independence from the Addis Ababa administration forming separate synod. On 27 July 2018, representatives from both synods reached an agreement. According to

1127-606: The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople in Turkey and the Armenian Apostolic Church of Iran . These Oriental Orthodox churches represent the largest Christian minority in both of these predominantly Muslim countries, Turkey and Iran . The Oriental Orthodox Churches are distinguished by their recognition of only the first three ecumenical councils during the period of the state church of

1176-548: The Christological doctrine that Christ was two distinct persons, one divine (the Logos ) and one human (Jesus), who happened to inhabit the same body. Twenty years after Ephesus, the Council of Chalcedon reaffirmed the view that Jesus Christ was a single person, but at the same time declared that this one person existed "in two complete natures", one human and one divine. At times, Chalcedonian Christians have referred to

1225-466: The Council of Chalcedon. However, despite the progress made in ecumenical dialogue, many Oriental Orthodox authorities like Pope Shenouda III remained skeptical about the Chalcedonian churches, continuing to view their Christology as Nestorian . The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a communion of six autocephalous (that is, administratively completely independent) regional churches. Below

1274-582: The East is sometimes incorrectly described as an Oriental Orthodox church, though its origins lie in disputes that predated the Council of Chalcedon and it follows a different Christology from Oriental Orthodoxy. The historical Church of the East was the church of Greater Iran and declared itself separate from the state church of the Roman Empire in 424–27, years before the Ecumenical Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon. Theologically,

1323-459: The East". Today, Oriental Orthodox Churches are in full communion with each other, but not with the Eastern Orthodox Church or any other churches. Like Catholics or Eastern Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox Churches includes several self-governing churches. Slow dialogue towards restoring communion between the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox groups was renewed in the mid-20th century, and dialogue

1372-674: The Indian Orthodox Church, is an autocephalous church. It is headed by the Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan . The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is an autonomous maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church in India. The Malabar Independent Syrian Church also follows the Oriental Orthodox tradition, but is not in communion with other Oriental Orthodox churches. The Assyrian Church of

1421-418: The Oriental Orthodox as being monophysites —that is to say, accusing them of following the teachings of Eutyches ( c.  380  – c.  456 ), who argued that Jesus Christ was not human at all, but only divine. Monophysitism was condemned as heretical alongside Nestorianism, and to accuse a church of being monophysite is to accuse it of falling into the opposite extreme from Nestorianism. However,

1470-469: The Oriental Orthodox themselves reject this description as inaccurate, having officially condemned the teachings of both Nestorius and Eutyches. They define themselves as miaphysite instead, holding that Christ has one nature, but this nature is both human and divine. Oriental Orthodox Christians, such as Copts, Syrians and Indians, use a breviary such as the Agpeya and Shehimo , respectively, to pray

1519-596: The Roman Empire : the First Council of Nicaea in 325, the First Council of Constantinople in 381 and the Council of Ephesus in 431. Oriental Orthodoxy shares much theology and many ecclesiastical traditions with the Eastern Orthodox Church ; these include a similar doctrine of salvation and a tradition of collegiality between bishops, as well as reverence of the Theotokos and use of

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1568-561: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.151 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 938796359 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:03:02 GMT Oriental Orthodoxy The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology , with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to

1617-460: The Word...there was nothing of the ancient sin which made our race wither: for when he became incarnate in a flesh which was of this sort, it was proper that he should draw near to death [i.e. voluntarily]." Elsewhere, Severus summed up Julian's theology as follows: This foolish man, who confesses the passions with his lips only, hiding his impiety, wrote thus: 'Incorruptibility was always attached to

1666-557: The adherents of Chalcedonian Christianity was based on differences in Christology. The First Council of Nicaea , in 325, declared that Jesus Christ is God , that is to say, " consubstantial " with the Father. Later, the third ecumenical council, the Council of Ephesus , declared that Jesus Christ, though divine as well as human, is only one being, or person ( hypostasis ). Thus, the Council of Ephesus explicitly rejected Nestorianism ,

1715-585: The authorities of the Holy See and the Oriental Orthodox, reconciling declarations emerged in the common statement of Syriac Patriarch Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas and the Roman Pope John Paul II in 1984: The confusions and schisms that occurred between their Churches in the later centuries, they realize today, in no way affect or touch the substance of their faith, since these arose only because of differences in terminology and culture and in

1764-510: The biblical canon including the Peshitta , Coptic and Orthodox Tewahedo canons, and the Armenian canon . There are numerous ongoing internal disputes within the Oriental Orthodox Churches. These disputes result in lesser or greater degrees of impaired communion. The least divisive of these disputes is within the Armenian Apostolic Church , between the Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin and

1813-539: The blood of his cross." This is in contrast to what Severus approves in Theodosios' letter, which taught: "Your Holiness had affirmed well and fittingly that the body of our Lord and Saviour was consubstantial with us and suffered natural and voluntary sufferings like us, but without sin. And by this means you have put away those who have dared to assert that he suffered in an impassible and immortal body." Christ's sufferings are voluntary because "in that flesh united to

1862-449: The body of our Lord, which was passible of His own will for the sake of others.' And in brotherly love I wrote and asked him : 'What do you mean by "incorruptible," and "suffered of His own will for the sake of others," and "was attached to the body of our Lord," if without any falsehood you confess it to be by nature passible? For, if by the incorruptibility possessed by it you mean holiness without sin, we all confess this with you, that

1911-445: The doctrine of Julian made "the sufferings...false" and illusory: "For an impassible and immortal body does not admit of sufferings and death, but is considered to have suffered and died only in surmise, and as it were in an illusion of sleep." Severus asserts that such a doctrine where Christ only appears to have suffered places mankind "unavoidably...under the servitude of death...redeemed by nocturnal hallucinations and not in reality by

1960-595: The flesh on our behalf was not one that was capable of suffering with voluntary passions and dying in the flesh, you reduce the saving passions on our behalf to a phantasy; for a thing which does not suffer also does not die, and it is a thing incapable of suffering.' And upon receiving such remarks as these from me he openly refused to call the holy body of Emmanuel passible in respect of voluntary passions; and therefore he did not hesitate to write thus, without shame and openly: 'We do not call Him of our nature in respect of passions, but in respect of essence. Therefore, even if He

2009-488: The formula "One Nature of God the Incarnate Logos" (or as others translate, "One Incarnate Nature of the Word" ). The Oriental Orthodox Churches were therefore often called "monophysite", although they reject this label, as it is associated with Eutychian monophysitism ; they prefer the term "miaphysite". In the years following Chalcedon the patriarchs of Constantinople intermittently remained in communion with

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2058-633: The holy body from the womb which He united to Himself originally by the Holy Spirit of the pure Virgin, the Theotokos, was conceived and born in the flesh without sin and conversed with us men, because "He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth," according to the testimony of the Scriptures. But, if you call impassibility and immortality incorruptibility, and say that the body which suffered in

2107-609: The natural and blameless passions,'” (i.e. suffering) and attempted to elevate their beliefs to the rank of Orthodox dogma. Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople , who had presided over the Fifth General Council , resisted Justinian's efforts by arguing the incompatibility of the Aphthartodocetic beliefs with scripture. Justinian ensured that John Scholasticus replaced Eutychius who was exiled from his see by Justinian. The Patriarch of Antioch , Anastasius ,

2156-435: The non-Chalcedonian patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch (see Henotikon ), while Rome remained out of communion with the latter and in unstable communion with Constantinople. It was not until 518 that the new Byzantine Emperor, Justin I (who accepted Chalcedon), demanded that the church in the Roman Empire accept the council's decisions. Ecumenical dialogue increased in the 20th century, and from several meetings between

2205-564: The terms of the agreement, Abune Merkorios was reinstated as patriarch alongside Abune Mathias (successor of Abune Paulos), who would continue to be responsible for administrative duties, and the two synods were merged into one synod, with any excommunications between them lifted. Indians who follow the Oriental Orthodox faith belong to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church . The two churches were united before 1912 and after 1958, but again separated in 1975. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, also known as

2254-445: The validity of only the first three ecumenical councils . The Oriental Orthodox communion is composed of six autocephalous national churches: the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria ; the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and its constituent autonomous Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church ; the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church ; the Armenian Apostolic Church comprising the autocephalous Catholicosate of Etchmiadzin in Armenia and

2303-410: The various formulae adopted by different theological schools to express the same matter. Accordingly, we find today no real basis for the sad divisions and schisms that subsequently arose between us concerning the doctrine of Incarnation. In words and life we confess the true doctrine concerning Christ our Lord, notwithstanding the differences in interpretation of such a doctrine which arose at the time of

2352-571: The world, formed through diaspora , conversions , and missionary activity. The name "Oriental Orthodox Churches" was formally adopted at the Conference of Addis Ababa in 1965. At the time there were five participating churches, the Eritrean Church not yet being autocephalous. Other names by which the churches have been known include Old Oriental , Ancient Oriental , Lesser Eastern , Anti-Chalcedonian , Non-Chalcedonian , Pre-Chalcedonian , Miaphysite or Monophysite . The Catholic Church has referred to these churches as "the Ancient Churches of

2401-450: Was also threatened with replacement and exile. Justinian prepared an edict to enforce the tenets among the communions throughout the empire, but its issue was prevented when Justinian died on 14 November 565, during the thirty-ninth year of his reign. This Oriental Orthodox Christianity –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Theodosios I of Alexandria Too Many Requests If you report this error to

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