monophysitism

English

Alternative forms

• Monophysitism (esp. historical)

Etymology

From Byzantine Greek μονοφυσιτισμός (monophusitismós), from μόνος (mónos, “only one”) + φύσις (phúsis, “nature”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”), hence “belief in a single nature”.

Noun

monophysitism (uncountable)

1. (Christianity) A Christological doctrine, generally considered heterodox or heretical, holding that Jesus Christ has a single nature, which is either wholly divine or partially human and partially divine.

   Synonym: monophysism

   To claim that Jesus did not have human feelings amounts to monophysitism.

   • 1959, Paul L. Maier, Caspar Schwenckfeld on the Person and Work of Christ: A Study of Schwenckfeldian Theology at Its Core, page 78:

     But of monophysitism, Eutychianism, mixture or fusion of the natures, transformation of the one nature into the other, or the absorption of humanity into divinity Schwenckfeld was accused, as previously observed.

   • 2000, Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 2nd edition, →ISBN, page 555:

     A third inadequate view is called monophysitism […] The primary advocate of this view in the early church was Eutyches […] [who] taught that Jesus was a mixture of divine and human elements in which both were somewhat modified to form one new nature.

   • 2004, Vernon O. Egger, A History of the Muslim World to 1405: The Making of a Civilization, →ISBN, page 9:

     The other major dissenting group, the Monophysites […] rejected the Orthodox doctrine that Christ’s divine and human natures were separate. In practice, they usually even went further and stated that Christ had a single, divine nature. Monophysitism became the doctrine of the Coptic Church in Egypt, which made up the vast majority of Egyptians.

   • 2022, James D. Gifford Jr., The Hexagon of Heresy: A Historical and Theological Study of Definitional Divine Simplicity, →ISBN, page 99:

     Severus of Antioch became the new leader of Monophysitism after Chalcedon […] The Monophysites saw the Logos as he had become incarnate, and possessed his humanity and divinity in one new nature that combined both.

2. (Christianity, sometimes derogatory) The beliefs and practices of the Oriental Orthodox Church.
   • 1994, M. A. Al-Bakhit et al., editors, History of Humanity, volume 4, From the Seventh to the Sixteenth Century, page 318:

     Aramaic was the vernacular language of Syria until it was replaced by Arabic. Syriac remained the ecclesiastical language of Monophysitism.

Hyponyms

• (Christology): Apollinarianism, Eutychianism
• See also Monophysitism § Groups called Monophysite on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Coordinate terms

• (Christology): Dyophysitism, Miaphysitism

Related terms

• monophysite
• monophysitic, monophysitical

Translations

Christian doctrine claiming a single nature of Jesus Christ

• Catalan: monofisisme m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 基督一性論／基督一性论 (Jīdū yīxìnglùn)

• French: monophysisme (fr)
• German: Monophysitismus (de) m
• Greek: μονοφυσιτισμός (el) m (monofysitismós)
• Indonesian: monofisitisme
• Italian: monofisismo (it) m
• Japanese: 単性説 (たんせいせつ, tanseisetsu), 単性論 (たんせいろん, tanseiron)
• Polish: monofizytyzm (pl) m
• Portuguese: monofisismo (pt) m
• Romanian: monofizitism (ro) n, monofizism n
• Swedish: monofysitism c

See also

• Arianism
• Melkitism
• Nestorianism