The Council of Chalcedon and the Armenian Church
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THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON AND THE ARMENIAN CHURCH KAREKIN SARKISSIAN Prelate, Armenian Apostolic Church of America A PUBLICATION OF The Armenian Church Prelacy NEW YORK Copyright© 1965 by Archbishop Karekin Sarkissian Preface to the Second Edition Copyright © 1975 by The Armenian Apostolic Church of America Ail rights reserved Printed in U.S.A. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Sarkissian, Karekin, Bp. The Council of Chalccdon and the Armenian Church. Bibliography: p. Includes indexes. i. Armenian Church. 2. Chalccdon, Council of, 451. I. Title. S25 1975 28i'.62 75-28381 To the beloved memory of His Holiness ZAREHI Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia (1915-1963) In. humble recognition of his sacrifice for the Armenian Church and Nation CONTENTS page FOREWORD xi MAPS I Armenia in the fourth and fifth centuries xiv il Christianity in Syria and Mesopotamia in the fifth and sixth centuries xv EXPLANATORY NOTES xvii INTRODUCTION i The Problem and its Significance i n The Traditional View 6 in Recent Critical Approach 14 1. CHALCEDON AFTER CHALCEDON i Some Significant Aspects of the Council of Chalcedon 25 n Some Aspects of Post-Chalcedonian History 47 2. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (i): The Political Situation 61 3. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (2): The Ecclesiastical Situation Before the Council of Ephesus 75 i The First Four Centuries 76 n The First Three Decades of the Fourth Century 85 4. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (3): The Ecclesiastical Situation between the Council of Ephesus and the Council of Chalcedon 111 5. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (4) The Ecclesiastical Situation after the Council of Chalcedon 148 6. THE DOCTRINAL BACKGROUND 174 7- THE REJECTION OF THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON 196 Vlli CONTENTS EPILOGUE 214 ADDITIONAL NOTES 219 TRANSLITERATION SYSTEM 237 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ABBREVIATIONS 238 INDEX OF PROPER NAMES 255 INDEX OF SUBJECTS 261 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION The Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, East- ern Diocese, considers it important to publish a second edition of the scholarly work The Council of Chakedon and the Armenian Church, by Archbishop Karekin Sarkissian, Prelate of our Church. The book, originally published in London in 1965 by the So- ciety for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), has been out of print for the last four years. We arc very grateful to the SPCK for assigning the publication rights to us. The Council of Chakedon and the Armenian Church is widely- known in British theological circles and in Europe. It has been reviewed in many scholarly periodicals in more than eight lan- guages and is included in bibliographies of reference works on Armenia, on the Council of Chalccdon, and on Christology. Here in the United States, it deserves to be more widely circu- lated, for it has much to contribute, not only in Armenological circles but also in theological seminaries and universities, to a bet- ter understanding of the historical and doctrinal place of the Ar- menian Church in Christendom. For a variety of reasons, theo- logical and historical, the Armenian Church took the position of rejecting the Council of Chakedon. What were the significant stages in the process of that rejection? Where can one find accu- rate documentation of the issues? Archbishop Sarkissian deals with these questions ably and with scholarly thoroughness. His Grace also states very clearly the present-day relevance of the theme of his study, both in his own Foreword and in the Epilogue, "Looking Forward: Some Conclusions and Considerations." We would like to draw the reader's attention to two other ar- ticles which His Grace has published on the same issue: "The Ecumenical Problem in Eastern Christendom" (Ecumenical Review, the official quarterly of the World Council of Churches, ix X PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION Geneva, Switzerland, Vol. XII, No. 4, July 1960, pp. 436-454); and "The Doctrine of the Person of Christ in the Armenian Church" (Greek Orthodox Theological Review, published by the Holy Cross Theological Seminary, Brookline, Massachusetts, Vol. X, No. 2, Winter 1964-65, pp. 108-121). We recommend this volume and the articles just mentioned to everyone concerned with ecumenism, with Christianity, with the Armenian Church, and Armenian studies in general, in the sincere hope that this publication will serve the ecumenical cause and provide a better understanding of the Armenian Church. Executive Council Armenian Apostolic Church of America, Eastern Diocese New York, New York August 27, FOREWORD This book was written five years ago as a thesis for the degree of B. Litt. in the University of Oxford. The text has undergone no substantial change since then. The only addition has been the last chapter, in which I have tried to draw up certain conclusions with an ecumenical perspective and I have indicated some general lines for future studies concerning the historical and theological situations subsequent to and closely related to the period and the problems under study in this treatise. I need not emphasize the importance of a study treating the early christological controversies which have had a permanent effect on the Christian Churches, particularly in the East. In fact, the clash between the two main traditions of christological thinking in the early Church, usually described as the " Alexandrian and Antiochene Schools", interwoven as it was with other fac- tors of personal, ecclesiastical, and political nature, finally resulted after the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451) and particularly in the first half of the sixth century in the formation of two distinct, sep- arate groups of Churches within the fold of Eastern Christendom: the Chalcedonian Churches under the protection of the Byzantine Empire, and the anti-Chalcedonian Churches within or outside the Byzantine Empire with a strong tendency towards an independent status of life. The latter group of Churches, mistakenly and mis- leadingly often depicted as "Monophysite Churches"—i.e. the Syrian, Coptic, Ethiopian, and Armenian Churches—have con- tinuously maintained firm their doctrinal position throughout their history. The Churches of Byzantine tradition and origin have recognized them for many centuries as heretical or schis- matic Churches. But thanks to sincere and serious attempts made in mutual understanding and in an atmosphere free from polem- ical heat and historical prejudices many of the misunderstand- FOREWORD ings have fallen away. Owing to the present ecumenical spirit that breathes in the Christian Churches all over the world, these two groups of Churches have come to recognize their unity in faith in the very depth of their christological confession. Fears of heresy or alienation from Christian truth that lay behind the minds of the leading theological figures of these Churches have disappeared in the course of their long experience of Christian faith and life in history. Political and other related factors have disappeared equally. Recently, some positive signs are emerging with regard to the possibility of mutual understanding and re- covery of the lost sense and state of unity or communion. Thus, the study of the Council of Chalcedon has become an item of genuine interest at the present time. My sincere belief is that any objective and deep-searching inquiry into the history and theology of Chalcedon and post-Chalcedon may be a help towards a deeper understanding of the most essential area of our common heritage of Christian faith: christology. It is with this desire in heart and with this view in mind that I present this work to its readers, who will find a fuller presentation of the nature and the scope of this study in the Introduction that follows. Before concluding this brief word of opening, I should like to express my feelings of joy and gratitude in thanking many of my friends who in one way or another have helped towards the pre- paration and publication of this book. First of all, I should say a special word of thankful recognition in memory of my Super- visor, the Reverend C. S. C. Williams, the late Chaplain of Mer- ton College, Oxford, whose constant support and help have meant so much to me and have contributed so greatly to the improvement of my work. My hearty thanks are due also to the Right Rev- erend F. J. Taylor, Principal of Wycliffe Hall (now the Lord Bishop of Sheffield), who provided me with all the facilities for quiet study in Wycliffe Hall where I had the pleasure of sharing in the life of Anglican theological students for two years. I take much pleasure in thanking my examiners, the Reverend Dr H. Chadwick, Regius Professor of Divinity in Oxford University FOREWORD Xlll and Dr C. J. F. Dowsett, Lecturer in Armenian in the School of Oriental and African Studies of London University, who care- fully read the text and made valuable suggestions at the same time encouraging me to publish the work. Finally, it is with deep satisfaction and appreciation that I should like to express my thanks to the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation as well as to the Harold Buxton Trust for their generous financial contribution towards the publication of the book. KAREKIN SABKISSIAN Antelias, Lebanon, 2$ November 1964. 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