Dioscorus I of Alexandria

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Pope Saint Dioscorus I of Alexandria

Saint Dioscorus I was the dean of the Catechetical School of Alexandria and personal secretary to Pope Saint Cyril the Great of Alexandria, known as the Pillar of Faith. He accompanied Pope Cyril to the Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus and was quite aware of what had transpired, and of the attitude of some of the bishops against the Church of Alexandria. He was ordained as the 25th Pope of Alexandria in 444 during the reign of Emperor Theodesus II. Dioscorus was a man of great sensibility. He was much loved for his fiery zeal for the faith, his humility, and for his great courage. These virtues helped him cope with the numerous tribulations he was destined to face.

In his struggle against Nestorius St. Cyril explained the union between the two natures of Christ (His Divinity and His Humanity) as "inward and real without any division, change, or confusion." He rejected the Antiochene theory of "indwelling", or "conjunction", or "close participation" as insufficient to reveal the real unification. He charged that their theory permitted the division of the two natures of Christ just as Nestorius taught.

Thus the traditional Orthodox formula adopted by Cyril and Dioscorus was "ONE INCARNATE NATURE" which translated in Greek to "MIA-PHYSIS" and not "Mono Physis". They meant by "MIA": one; not "single one", but "unity one"; "out of two natures"; as St. Dioscorus stated. He insisted on "the one nature" of Christ to assert Christ's oneness, as a tool to defend the Church's faith against Nestorianism. Thus Christ is at once God and man.

On the other hand the Antiochene formula was "Two natures after the union" which is translated to "DYO PHYSIS". This formula explained Christ as two persons; Son of God, and Son of Man, and that God did not suffer nor did He die.

A struggle occurred between Eutyches and Theodoret. Eutyches was an archmandrite of a monastery in Constantinople. He defended the formula "one nature" against that of "two natures", but without sound theological basis. He concluded that the Godhead absorbed the manhood of Christ. Theodoret accused Eutyches and Cyril and published a long attack on them. The council of Constantinople was held in 448, and Eutyches was condemned and exiled.

Leo, Bishop of Rome wrote to Eutyches praising his zeal in opposing the Nestorian dualism. But Leo changed his mind; perhaps when he heard that the emperor wrote to Pope Saint Dioscorus calling him to a council to be held to discuss that matter. Leo, who was not part of the conflict between the Alexandrian and the Antiochian Christology, sent the famous Tome (letter) of Leo to Constantinople not to work for reconciliation of the parties, but to deform the Alexandrian theologians.

Then Emperor Theodosius II convened the Second Council of Ephesus in 449 A.D. and asked Pope Saint Dioscorus to exercise supreme authority over it as president. Eutyches was rehabilitated because he offered to repent and also because Leo, Bishop of Rome wrote to Flavian saying that he should be kind to him, and to accept him if he repented. The council also went on to depose the leading Nestorians such as Theodoret, Domnus, and Flavian of Constantinople.

Then on July 28, 450, Emperor Theodosius died and his sister Pulcheria and her consort Marcian were declared emperors. Pulcheria supported Rome against Alexandria. She gathered signatures for the "Tome" of Leo to be introduced as the basic paper for a new council to be held at Chalcedon. At the same time, she decided not to let Rome hold supreme authority in the church. She refused Leo's demand to hold the council in Italy, but insisted that it would be held in the East. Although the council of Chalcedon is believed to have condemned Eutyches, the man whom it really dealt with was Dioscorus for Eutyches was already in North Syria, where he had been exiled before the council met.

During the council St. Dioscorus explained why the Orthodox faith adopted the formula "One incarnate nature of God the Word". On hearing one nature some bishops in the council shouted, "Eutyches says these things also." Here Pope Saint Dioscorus clarified the Alexandrian point of view saying, "We do not speak of confusion, neither of division, nor of change." St. Dioscorus tried to make his position clear, that he did not accept "two natures after the union" , but he had no objection to "FROM two natures after the union."

When the judges started the order of the acts of the Council, Paschasinus the Roman delegate said, "We have orders from Rome that Dioscorus should not have a place in this council. If this is violated he should be cast out." When the judges asked about what Dioscorus did, the Roman delegate replied, "He has dared to conduct a council without the authorization of the apostolic see in Rome, a thing which has never happened and which ought not to have happened."

It was the emperor's favor that the council had to drawl out Alexandria and declare a new formula to bring the entire Church in the east under the leadership of Constantinople. They used Leo as a tool to accomplish their objective through his enmity to Alexandria looking upon it as an obstacle in realizing his papal authority on the Church over the world.

The verdict of the commissioners was announced: Dioscorus of Alexandria, Juvenal of Jerusalem, Thalassius of Caesarea, Eusebius of Ancyra, Eutathius of Berytus, and Basil of Seleucia - these were the men who had been responsible for the decisions of the second council of Ephesus, and should as such all be deposed. Thus the Pope of Alexandria was exiled to Gangra Island. In fact, Pope Saint Dioscorus was condemned not because of a theological heresy, but due to political circumstances.

Under strong pressure, the bishops of the council accepted a new formula of faith, so that Alexandria would not acquire theological precedence. Yet when the delegates attempted to impose the papal authority upon the universal church, silence turned into revolt. Leo announced, in his repeatedly angry letters, his resistance to the council because it regarded Rome and Constantinople as equal.

After those incidents, a messenger from Constantinople arrived in Alexandria announcing the exile of Pope Dioscorus, and the appointment of an Alexandrian priest named Proterius as a imperial [i.e. alien/foreign/non-Egyptian] patriarch over Alexandria with the approval of the emperor. He threatened whoever dared to show disobedience. The melkete (royal) patriarch who was appointed by the emperor became surrounded by soldiers willing to punish those who might resist the imperial command.

In the year 457 Pope Dioscorus died in exile, and when the Copts heard that, they met with the clergymen and elected Timothy, the disciple of Dioscorus, to be the new Pope. This became a regular practice of the Coptic Church who never surrendered to the alien patriarches throughout the Byzantine era which lasted until the seventh century when the Arabs invaded Egypt.

Sources: Copt-Net, Coptic Orthodox Synaxarium, and the old Website of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Vancouver, BC, Canada www.vcn.bc.ca/stgeorge/welcome.html (no longer online)

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Dioscorus I of Alexandria

Pope Saint Dioscorus I of Alexandria

See also