Produced by Al Haines MONOPHYSITISM PAST AND PRESENT A STUDY IN CHRISTOLOGY BY A. A. LUCE, M.C., D.D. CAPTAIN LATE 12TH ROYAL IRISH RIFLES FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN LONDON SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN CO. 1920 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE METAPHYSICAL BASIS OF MONOPHYSITISM II. THE ORIGINS OF MONOPHYSITISM III. MONOPHYSITE DOCTRINE IV. THE ETHOS OF MONOPHYSITISM V. MONOPHYSITISM AND MODERN PSYCHOLOGY VI. MONOPHYSITISM IN THE PRESENT DAY BOOKS CONSULTED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS ESSAY J. S. ASSEMANI, "Bibliotheca Orientalis," especially the Introductory Dissertation to Vol. II. A. HARNACK, "History of Dogma," translated by Speirs and Millar. J. C. ROBERTSON, "History of the Christian Church." WINDELBAND, "History of Philosophy," translated by Tufts. WRIGHT, "Short History of Syriac Literature." H. BERGSON, "Les donnees immediates de la conscience," "Matiere et Memoire," "L'evolution creatrice." MONOPHYSITISM PAST AND PRESENT CHAPTER I THE METAPHYSICAL BASIS OF MONOPHYSITISM Monophysitism was a Christological heresy of the fifth century. It was condemned by the church in the middle of that century at the council of Chalcedon. Surviving its condemnation it flourished in the East for several centuries. Its adherents formed themselves into a powerful church with orders and succession of their own. Although the monophysite church has long since lost all influence, it is still in being. The Coptic and Jacobite churches of Egypt and Mesopotamia, respectively, preserve to this day the doctrines and traditions of the primitive monophysites. The history of the sect, however, does not concern us here. The writer's purpose is to review its doctrine. Monophysitism is a system of religious thought, and, as such, its importance is out of all proportion to the present or even the past position of the churches that professed it. Its significance lies in its universality. It is grounded in the nature of the human mind. It is found in West as well as East, to-day as well as in the early centuries of our era. Wherever men bring intellect to bear on the problem of Christ's being, the tendency to regard Him as monophysite is present.