 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Part of a series on |
| Christology |
|---|
 |
Doctrines |
Non-Chalcedonian Christianity comprises the branches ofChristianity that do not accepttheological resolutions of theCouncil of Chalcedon, the FourthEcumenical Council, held in 451.[1] Non-Chalcedoniandenominations reject theChristological Definition of Chalcedon (which assertedDyophysitism), for varying reasons.[2] Non-Chalcedonian Christianity thus stands in contrast toChalcedonian Christianity.
Today, theOriental Orthodox Churches predominantly comprise most of non-Chalcedonian Christianity.
The most substantial non-Chalcedonian tradition is known asOriental Orthodoxy. Within this tradition are a number of ancient Christian churches including theCoptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, theSyriac Orthodox Church of Antioch (sometimes referred to as "Jacobite"), theArmenian Apostolic Church, theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, theEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church and theMalankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
TheChristology of theChurch of the East (i.e., "Nestorian" Christianity) may be called "non-Ephesine" for not accepting theCouncil of Ephesus, but did finally gather to ratify the Council of Chalcedon at the Synod of MarAba I in 544.[3]
Within thePatriarchates ofAlexandria andAntioch, the rejection of the Chalcedonian definition became a cause of schism. While the common people of Egypt and Syria mostly objected to the Council, the Byzantine-Greek minority that formed the ruling class mostly accepted the Council. These two parties vied for possession of the ancient sees ofAlexandria andAntioch that formed, at the time, the third and fourth most prestigious sees inChristendom, respectively. Ultimately, neither group absolutely dominated either church. The end result was the existence of two distinct patriarchates of Alexandria and Antioch for almost 1500 years, continuing in the present time. What is now known as the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the native Egyptian patriarchal faction of Alexandria that reject Chalcedon, whereas theGreek Orthodox Church of Alexandria is composed of those who accept Chalcedon. For Syrians, theSyriac Orthodox Church forms the patriarchal faction of the native Syrian-Semitic population whereas theGreek Orthodox Church of Antioch is composed of those who accept Chalcedon.
In India and to a lesser degree in Persia, the schism that occurred was between the Oriental Orthodox and theAssyrian Church of the East. Even today inKerala, there is a continuing presence of both the Assyrian Church of the East and the Syriac Orthodox Church along with an independent Oriental Orthodox Church which is separated from Syriac Orthodox Church called the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.
In the 18th century and onwards,Nontrinitarian andUnitarian Christians are necessarily non-Chalcedonian having their own separate traditions, different nontrinitarian theologies, and polities. The largest such groups arethe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Latter Day Saint movement),Jehovah's Witnesses and theIglesia ni Cristo.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)