{"id":10223,"date":"2021-07-13T05:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T09:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/?p=10223"},"modified":"2021-07-13T05:00:33","modified_gmt":"2021-07-13T09:00:33","slug":"st-peter-newsletter-july-13-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stpeterorthodoxchurch.com\/st-peter-newsletter-july-13-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Peter News July 13, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council<\/h2>\n

Venerable Macrina, sister of Basil the Great; Venerable Dios of Antioch; Theodore, archbishop of Edessa; Uncovering of the relics of Venerable Seraphim of Sarov; Holy Stephen Lazarevic, Serbian Prince and Holy Militsa his mother<\/h4>\n
\n\"Fathers<\/p>\n

Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Held in Chalcedon, near Constantinople, 451. Under Emperor Marcian. 630 Bishops were present.<\/p>\n

Monophysite Controversy <\/h4>\n

The Council was concerned, once again, with the nature of Jesus Christ. The teaching arose that Christ’s human nature (less perfect) dissolved itself in His divine nature (more perfect): like a cube of sugar in a post of water. Thus, in reality, Christ had only one nature, the Divine. Hence, the term: Monophysites (“mono”, one and “physis”, “nature”.) Monophysitism overemphasized the divine nature of Christ, at the expense of the human.<\/p>\n

Proclamation<\/h4>\n

The Council condemned Monophysitism and proclaimed that Christ has two complete natures: the divine and the human, as defined by previous Councils. These two natures function without confusion, are not divided nor separate (against Nestorius), and at no time did they undergo any change (against Eutyches: Monophysites).<\/p>\n

History of the Ecumenical Councils<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. The First Council, of the 318 Fathers who assembled in Nicaea in 325 to condemn Arius, who denied that the Son of God is consubstantial with the Father; the Fathers of the First Council also ordained that the whole Church should celebrate Pascha according to the same reckoning; <\/li>\n
  2. The Second Council, of the 150 Fathers who assembled in Constantinople in 381 to condemn Macedonius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who denied the Divinity of the Holy Spirit; <\/li>\n
  3. The Third Council, of the 200 Fathers who assembled in Ephesus in 431, to condemn Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who called Christ a mere man and not God incarnate; <\/li>\n
  4. The Fourth Council, of the 630 who assembled in Chalcedon in 451, to condemn Eutyches, who taught that there was only one nature, the divine, in Christ after the Incarnation, and Dioscorus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who illegally received Eutyches back into communion and deposed Saint Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople, who had excommunicated Eutyches; <\/li>\n
  5. The Fifth Council in 553, of the 165 who assembled in Constantinople for the second time to condemn Origen and Theodore of Mopsuestia, the teacher of Nestorius; <\/li>\n
  6. The Sixth Council in 680, of the 170 who assembled in Constantinople for the third time, to condemn the Monothelite heresy, which taught that there is in Christ but one will, the divine; <\/li>\n
  7. The Seventh Council in 787, of the 350 who assembled in Nicaea for the second time to condemn Iconoclasm.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Read the entire history on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese<\/a> website.<\/em><\/p>\n

     <\/div>\n

    Services This Week<\/h2>\n