| First Council of Dvin | |
|---|---|
| Date | 506 |
| Accepted by | Armenian Apostolic Church |
Next council | Second Council of Dvin |
| Convoked by | Babgen I Umtsetsi |
| Location | Dvin |
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TheFirst Council of Dvin (Armenian:Դվինի առաջին ժողով,Dvini ařaĵin žoğov orԴվինի Ա ժողով,Dvini A žoğov) was achurch council held in 506 in the city ofDvin (then inSasanian Armenia).[1] It was convened to discuss theHenotikon, achristological document issued byByzantine emperorZeno in an attempt to resolve theological disputes that had arisen from theCouncil of Chalcedon.
The Council was convoked by theCatholicos of theArmenian Apostolic ChurchBabgen I Umtsetsi.[2] Besides the Armenians, delegates from theGeorgian andAlbanian churches were present.[3] According to theBook of Epistles, 20 bishops, 14 laymen, and manyNakharars (princes) attended the council.[4]
The Armenian Church had not accepted theconclusions of the Council of Chalcedon, which had defined that Christ is 'acknowledgedin two natures', and condemned the exclusive use of the formula "from two natures". The latter insisted on the unification of human and divine natures into one composite nature of Christ, and rejected any severing of the natures in reality after the union. This formula was professed bySts Cyril of Alexandria andDioscorus of Alexandria.[5][6] Miaphysitism was the doctrine of the Armenian Church among others[citation needed]. The Henotikon, Emperor Zeno's attempt at conciliation, was published in 482. It reminded bishops of the condemnation ofNestorian doctrine, which emphasized the human nature of Christ, and did not mention the Chalcedoniandyophysite creed. The First Council of Dvin was thus able to accept the Henotikon and keep open a possibility of conciliation with thePatriarchate of Constantinople while remaining steady in its christological doctrine.[7]
The Council stopped short of formally rejecting theChalcedonian Definition of the dual nature of Christ. Such a step, which formalized the Armenian break from the Roman church, would not take place until theSecond Council of Dvin, in 554/555.[7] According to Karekin Sarkissian, in the first council of Dvin there is "the first official and formal rejection of the Council of Chalcedon by theArmenian Church".[8]
The Acts of the Council were discovered by Karapet Ter Mkrtchian and published by him in 1901.[2]
| Structure |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Traditions | ||
| Personalities | ApostlesSaint Thaddeus andSaint Bartholomew (founders of the Armenian Apostolic Church) | |
| Councils | ||
| Seminaries | ||
