5th century – 5th century
Alexandria and the eastern Mediterranean
Dioscorus of Alexandria was the successor of Cyril who attempted to impose an uncompromising form of Alexandrian Christology across eastern Christendom. Initially supported by the imperial court and monastic constituencies, he presided over the violent council of Ephesus in 449 before losing imperial and Roman backing and being deposed at Chalcedon in 451.
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The Story
Dioscorus succeeded Cyril in 444 and sought to preserve, and extend, the full range of his predecessor’s theology. His objectives included establishing Alexandrian Christology as the orthodoxy of Christendom and humiliating the rival see of Constantinople. He benefited from the popularity of Cyril’s theology in the East, the support of Emperor Theodosius II, and backing from influential monks in Syria and Constantinople.
The most important monastic ally named in the account was Eutyches, an archimandrite who presided over a monastery of 300 monks. When Flavian of Constantinople had Eutyches deposed in November 448, Eutyches appealed to the major sees. The emperor then summoned a judicial assembly at Ephesus in August 449 under Dioscorus’s presidency.
The assembly became a scene of violence and disorder. Flavian, Domnus, and their supporters were deposed, while Eutyches was restored. The theology expressed in Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas was treated as the creed of Christendom, and Christ was declared to possess One Incarnate Nature. The papal Tome of Leo, which affirmed two natures, was ignored.
Dioscorus’s authority depended heavily on the favour of the Byzantine court. The death of Theodosius II on 28 July 450 and his replacement by the pro-western Marcian transformed the political balance. Marcian married Pulcheria, who had consistently opposed Dioscorus, while Dioscorus had also alienated Pope Leo and damaged the longstanding alliance between Rome and Alexandria.
At the Council of Chalcedon in October 451, Dioscorus was cornered and deposed from his bishopric. The council did not condemn him formally as a heretic; instead, it cited his defiance of Pope Leo and misconduct toward some clergy. The council simultaneously condemned Eutyches and adopted a definition of Christ as existing in two natures inseparably united.
Dioscorus’s fall ended Alexandria’s brief supremacy over the eastern theological contest and initiated a period of ecclesiastical isolation. The extract presents his defeat as the result of theological rigidity combined with the loss of imperial, Roman, and internal Alexandrian support.
5th century – 5th century
Alexandria and the eastern Mediterranean
Dioscorus of Alexandria was the successor of Cyril who attempted to impose an uncompromising form of Alexandrian Christology across eastern Christendom. Initially supported by the imperial court and monastic constituencies, he presided over the violent council of Ephesus in 449 before losing imperial and Roman backing and being deposed at Chalcedon in 451.
Continue exploring
The Story
Dioscorus succeeded Cyril in 444 and sought to preserve, and extend, the full range of his predecessor’s theology. His objectives included establishing Alexandrian Christology as the orthodoxy of Christendom and humiliating the rival see of Constantinople. He benefited from the popularity of Cyril’s theology in the East, the support of Emperor Theodosius II, and backing from influential monks in Syria and Constantinople.
The most important monastic ally named in the account was Eutyches, an archimandrite who presided over a monastery of 300 monks. When Flavian of Constantinople had Eutyches deposed in November 448, Eutyches appealed to the major sees. The emperor then summoned a judicial assembly at Ephesus in August 449 under Dioscorus’s presidency.
The assembly became a scene of violence and disorder. Flavian, Domnus, and their supporters were deposed, while Eutyches was restored. The theology expressed in Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas was treated as the creed of Christendom, and Christ was declared to possess One Incarnate Nature. The papal Tome of Leo, which affirmed two natures, was ignored.
Dioscorus’s authority depended heavily on the favour of the Byzantine court. The death of Theodosius II on 28 July 450 and his replacement by the pro-western Marcian transformed the political balance. Marcian married Pulcheria, who had consistently opposed Dioscorus, while Dioscorus had also alienated Pope Leo and damaged the longstanding alliance between Rome and Alexandria.
At the Council of Chalcedon in October 451, Dioscorus was cornered and deposed from his bishopric. The council did not condemn him formally as a heretic; instead, it cited his defiance of Pope Leo and misconduct toward some clergy. The council simultaneously condemned Eutyches and adopted a definition of Christ as existing in two natures inseparably united.
Dioscorus’s fall ended Alexandria’s brief supremacy over the eastern theological contest and initiated a period of ecclesiastical isolation. The extract presents his defeat as the result of theological rigidity combined with the loss of imperial, Roman, and internal Alexandrian support.
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