Miaphysitism

Miaphysitism is the Christology of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. It has often been considered by Chalcedonian Christians to be a form of Monophysitism, but the Oriental Orthodox Churches themselves reject this characterization, a position which the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches have begun to take more seriously. (See external links below.) Miaphysitism holds that in Jesus Christ, Divinity and humanity are united in one "nature" ("physis"), the two being united without separation, without confusion, and without change.

The Oriental Orthodox Churches which hold this position find it grounded in the Christology of Saint Cyril of Alexandria. Cyril spoke of "the one nature ("physis") of the Incarnate Word." For these Christians, "physis" is best used as a synonym for "hypostasis," not "ousia," (which refers to "essence," "substance," "nature," or "being") as it was apparently so used at Chalcedon. Thus, miaphysite is understood by the Oriental Orthodox as essentially being equivalent to the concept of hypostatic union.

These Churches explicitly reject the definite monophysitism of Eutyches, which emerged in Egypt in reaction to Nestorianism. It was rejected at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and is rejected also by the Oriental Orthodox Churches, as is Nestorianism.

As stated, the Churches of the Oriental Orthodox Communion, while sometimes called monophysite, vehemently reject that label. These include the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Syrian Orthodox Church, sometimes referred to as "Jacobite", the Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (tewahido being a Ge'ez word meaning "being made one"), and the newly autocephalous Eritrean Orthodox Church.

One or more of the Independent Catholic Churches, while not being in full communion with the above Churches for various reasons, also embrace this Christology. These include the Antiochian Catholic Church in America.

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