The Monophysites derived their primary teachings from Eutyches. Ironically, the primary difference between their beliefs and that of the Catholic Church was that they did not believe that Christ had two natures – divine and human.
They believed that Christ had one nature which expanded beyond human understanding and allowed Christ to live and act as human being, but when He performed miracles, because of this monadic nature was able to transcend the laws of mortal beings and reach into the divine to affect healing and other miraculous events.
"Monophysite" is actually a Greek word meaning "one nature."
Eastern and Western Christianity
Monophysitism occurred primarily in the branches of Christianity which had branched off the mission and teachings of St. James the apostle – the Eastern Church. Some of the beliefs of Monophysitism still exist today in Coptic Christian Churches in Egypt, Ethiopia and the Middle East.
The Roman Catholic Church condemned Monophysitism at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. But this did not end the schism. In fact, the schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic branches of the Church continued to grow after the Council.
But although Monophysitism had a pretty popular run in the fifth century and continued on for about one hundred years, it was not the church that eventually eradicated the belief. But rather, it was the Muslim armies of the seventh century whose conquest finally ended the controversy in the church.
Heresy According to the Early Church Fathers
Tertullian, one of the Early Church Fathers, often spoke openly about those who embraced heresies and their own personal responsibility for their choice to be involved in a schism. “The practical effects are false doctrines . . . This word is used in the sense of the choice that a man makes when he either teaches [false doctrines] or takes up with them. It is for this reason that he calls the heretic self-condemned, for the heretic has himself chosen that for which he is condemned,” according to (Tertullian) A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers.
Other heresies of note in the history of the Catholic Church include the Men of Intelligence and Montanism.
Sources:
- Encyclopedia of Heresies and Heretics, by Charles S. Clifton.
- A Catholic Dictionary, by William E. Addis and Thomas Arnold, M.A.
- Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, by Dr. Ludwig Ott.
- A Short History of Christian Doctrine: From the First Century to the Present - By Bernhard Lohse.
- The Church in Crisis: A History of the General Councils, 325 - 1870, by Philip Hughes.
- A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers, edited by David W. Bercot.
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