Spiritual and Theological Sayings by Some Patriarchs, Bishops and Theologians on the Dialogue between the Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian Christians (in the Middle Ages and in the Middle East)
Raymond Rizk
After the schism of Chalcedon (451) and until the seventh century, the Byzantine emperors and
patriarchs, wanting to ensure the unity of the Empire, invited several times the non-Chalcedonians or miaphysites (Armenians, Copts and Syrian Orthodox also named/called ‘Jacobites’ in the past) to meet with the Chalcedonians (the Byzantines who were categorized in Syria as Melkites', i.e. ‘having the same faith as the King’ of Byzantium) in order to discrimination against the non-Chalcedonians was often resuming, which can explain their refusal of the ‘others’. When the Christians were confronted with the Muslim invasion (since the 7th century), these two Christian communities were considered by the Arab authorities as ‘second-class citizens’, who had to pay heavy taxes (jizia). In spite of their common oppression, there was no dialogue any longer between them, but hostility. However, we know of some exceptions thru sayings of some Church leaders belonging to both sides – Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian - quoted below. With these authors, we hear voices that advocate rapprochement, as well as/and even desire of unity, between the two families of Churches as they considered that their differences do not affect their common faith, but that only its formulation created problems.
Eustathius the Monk (ninth century)
Not much is known much about him except that he was a non-Chalcedonian Syrian Orthodox monk, active in present Iraq in the early or mid-ninth century. He wrote in Arabic, including on Christology, and left a book[1] where he compares ‘the doctrines of the diophysite ‘Melkites’ and ‘Nestorians’ with those of the ‘Orthodox’ – his word – i.e. the ‘Jacobites’ who insist upon the unity of Christ[2]. He is the supporter of the one-nature (miaphysite) christology. He ends by saying: “Despite the apparent differences between these sects of Christianity, they are much closer than one might think... since the basis of faith lies in the fact that the God of the Christians is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, (in) one God... And that the humanity and divinity of Christ are united, whatever is the method used to describe this union... And that there is no significant difference between Melkites and Jacobites regarding this union.”
Patriarch Nicholas I (Mysticus) of Constantinople (d.925)
Nicholas I Mysticus was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from March 901 to February 907 and from May 912 to his death in 925. He is known to have been an advocate of peace and harmony, and when the Armenians, Georgians and Albanians were persecuted by the Arabs, he sent a letter to the Armenian Catholicos John VI (Draskhanakerttsi)[3] (d.925), expressing his own sorrow and saying: “Although we are physically far from you and our eyes have not seen the calamity of your people, we have heard of the terrible calamities that have befallen you, and we share your bitter weeping, and our soul and spirit have sunk in great sorrow... Your Holiness must first and every day pray, asking for divine help. You must call out from the depths of your heart to the all-powerful God to pour His compassion and mercy upon your people... We have sent also letters to the leaders of Georgia, asking them to listen to your requests, forget your quarrels, and enter into a treaty of friendship and lasting peace between them and the princes of your peoples, so that they will unite and become one side in fighting their common enemy… Your Holiness must contribute to this unity through words, letters, missionaries, bishops, priests, and holy men, and to remove from among your flock the flame of evil hostility. May the peace of Jesus Christ be with you, and may your prayers filled with holiness obtain forgiveness for our shortcomings”[4].
Ali ibn Dawud Al-Arfadi (tenth/eleventh century)
Gerard Troupeau[5] indicates that Al-Arfadi is “completely unknown in the history of Christian Arabi literature”.and surmises that he was a Syrian from the village of Arfad located near ‘Azaz north of Aleppo[6]. He further indicated that he was a Jacobite Christian because his description of the views of Jacobites is more detailed that the ones for the Nestorians and the Melkites, and he puts the emphasis on the “oneness of Christ”[7].
He is one of the first Arab Christians to have an “ecumenical” spirit, as in his book, The Book of unanimity of Faith, he emphasizes common matters between the Christian sects, and reduces the importance of differences, assuring that the Christians he knew in the middle East “disagree in words and agree in meaning.” He constantly reminds people that the basis of Christianity lies in love and humility. We read in his book:
“When I have considered the splendor of the Christian religion,… I found that Christians had separated into numerous sects:… Nestorians,… Melkites and… Jacobites... I found that each of these three sects have ignorant people and people of dissension and obstinacy, and that each community accuses those who contradict it of infidelity and denounces them as being excluded from the faith... When I looked into this, with real consideration and with due diligence, I did not find any difference between them that would necessitate a conflict in religion or faith, nor did I see among them a faith which destroys that of one, nor a belief which abolishes that of the other”.[8]
“Then I found them equally unanimous on faith in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God…, on the fact that Christ Our Lord, the Word of God, became man of blessed Mary, taking from her pure flesh and holy blood a perfect humanity, a complete humanity which was united with the Word of God,… Then I saw them unanimous on the celebration of the feasts of Christ; agree about the Eucharist which is the body of Christ and his blood; admitting the Symbol of Faith which was prescribed by the 318 Fathers who met in the city of Nicaea… They are also unanimous on the authenticity of the priesthood,… and on baptism… When I noted the agreement of these three communities, I knew that there is no difference between them nor contradiction, that they emanate from the same source and that they go tend to the same faith.”[9]
“They claim that the main difference between them… refers to the union of Christ’s divinity with his humanity… They agree on the divinity of Christ our Lord and his humanity, and they acknowledge their unity, thus there is no difference or separation between them… The one who claims two natures acknowledges the one-natured person by his recognition of the union without separation between divinity and humanity. And the one who believes in one nature acknowledges the two natures through his acknowledgment of the existence in Christ of full divinity and full humanity.”[10]
“They are disagreeing about wording and are agreeing in meaning. What they contradict each other about apparently, they are unanimous about it inwardly. All are guided towards the same faith, believe in the same religion and worship the same Lord. Between them, there is no difference and division only because of passion, partisanship and supremacy. We therefore ask God for help against the darkness of passion and the exaggeration of partisanship”.[11]
‘’The fact that the Jacobites and Melkites say that Mary is the Mother of God (Theotokos) is not a refusal to recognize the humanity of Christ,… but the proclamation and admission of the divinity of Christ Our Lord. from the time of His conception. In any case, there is in this when formulating the faith neither difference nor distance from the truth”.[12]
“There is an analogy between them and a group of people going to one city…Each of them chooses one road leading to the city… When they arrive, they all gather in the city... Likewise, the difference between the Christians is only in words, not in meaning and faith, since their faith is one, and it is based on love and humility. Whoever lacks love and humility has departed from the Christian religion and lost his faith…Praise be to God who… exalted the glory of the Cross among all nations, and made them respond to His call…”[13]
“After the demonstration of their unanimity… I found that their disagreement is because of passion and partisanship, to the exclusion of truth and faith”.[14]
“I have sought in this book… to repel enmity among the followers of the Christian religion and for the rapprochement of their hearts… It warns those who examine it against harshness and hatred towards the followers of their religion, calls them to the charity and friendship wanted by God, and brings them together. Since the basis of the Christian religion is charity and humility, anyone who lacks charity and humility excludes himself from it and loses his faith. Praise be to God who has exalted his religion in all tribes and peoples,… has lifted up the power of his Cross in all nations and all families,… and incited them to concord, forgiveness, charity and humility.”[15]
Sawirus, Bishop of Ashmunein (d. 987) also known as Ibn al- Muqaffa’
First a civil servant (kātib), he became a monk, then was consecrated bishop of El-Achmounein (the ancient Hermopolis Magna, today Mallawi, Minya Governorate, Egypt ) around the middle of the 10th century. He is the first Copt who wrote theological and apologetic treatises in Arabic[16]. He has debated with Christians of both Melkite and Nestorian Churches and responded to thei theological arguments. He wrote about the dogmatical differences between the various Christian communities, stating that “the Jacobites, Nestorians, Melkites, and Maronites say that the Incarnation was achieved by means of a hypostatic union, but they only disagree about the manner of this union.”[17]
Catholicos Nerses Chnoharli (the Gracious) (d.1173)
He was the Catholicos of Armenia from 1166 to 1173. While in office, he moved the see of the catholicos from Sis (the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia) to Hromkla (situated 50 km west of Sanurfa/Urfa or ancient Edessa, today in south eastern Turkey). He is known as a theologian, poet, writer, and hymn composer. He worked to bring about reconciliation with the Eastern Orthodox Church and convened a first council in Hromkla, in 1171, with emissaries selected by the Byzantine emperor himself. The meeting ultimately concluded with an agreement which basically accepted the position of the Greek Church. For the reconciliation, Nerses wrote a Profession of Faith which was sent to Constantinople, where it was well received by the Patriarch Michael and the Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. He sent with it a confidential message to the emperor in which he promised to make every effort to reconcile the Armenian and Orthodox churches.[18] In this letter, Nersès showed himself full of hope for the union of the Churches and set out the principles of ecumenical dialogue which have lost today none of their relevance. Among his many insights, he insisted that the search for unity is a task of the whole community, and it cannot be allowed to create internal divisions within the Churches; he also teaches that there is a need for the healing of memories in order to overcome past resentments and prejudices; that mutual respect and a sense of equality between the spokesmen of the various Churches are indispensable; and finally he says that Christians must have a profound interior conviction that unity is essential, not for strategic advantage or political gain but for the sake of preaching the Gospel as Christ commands[19].
Archbishop Nerses of Lambron (1153-1198)
Nerses of Lambron, who became the Armenian Archbishop of Tarsus in 1176, at the early age of twenty-three, was one of the passionate and zealous advocate of/for restoring unity between the Byzantine Church and the Armenian Church. In the year 1179, he participated in the second Council of Hromkla. He left his famous oration (Atenabanutyun), read at the Council of Hromkla[20], in order to encourage unity between the (two) Churches, urging them to set aside their differences and come together in harmony. He is known as ‘the second Paul of Tarsus’ because of his burning zeal for Christian unity. Nerses saw unity principally as unity in love for Christ. He believed that the obstacle between Christians to achieve unity was not in theology or canon law, but in lack of brotherly love. Nerses addressed a group of Armenian bishops saying: “Let us pray in order that our Lord give us tenderness, sweetness in greater abundance still, and that He develop on earth, by the dew of the Holy Spirit, this seed; perhaps, thanks to His power may we also produce fruits; so that we may restore the peace of the Church of Christ today in intention, tomorrow in fact”.
What mattered most to Nerses was simply to be a Christian: “We Christians adore in diverse tongues one Jesus Christ and we Christians are the one (united) Church of Jesus Christ… I am united by tradition to whoever bears the name of Christ as a crown of glory. All are in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is in all. Every Christian tradition is a fruit of people’s love for Christ...”.
In the Epistle IX addressed to the Byzantine emperor, Nerses wrote that he would accept, as far as possible, the doctrine of the Greeks, but he would do so “for the sake of divine love and not as if we were to return to the truth from error.”[21]
Patriarch Michael the Great (1166-1199)
Michael the Great (also known as Michael the Syrian) was born in Melitene (today Malatya in eastern Turkey), near the monastery of Bar Sauma, (then) the seat of his Syrian Orthodox patriarchate since the 11th century. Michael the Great was the patriarch of the non-Chalcedonian Syrian Orthodox Church from 1166 to 1199. The Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus (1143-1180) approached him, seeking to restore communion between the two Churches, but Michael replied with a simple statement of the miaphysite creed of the Jacobites and sent to Constantinople his representative the bishop John of Kaishoum and then his disciple Theodore bar Wahbun.
In his Chronicle[22] (written in Syriac in 1198), he recorded events related to one of the meetings between Chalcedonians and Miaphysites. He said: “The Armenian Catholicos wrote to me, saying: “The Emperor of the Greeks asks us to do ten things, five of which are related to doctrine, and five to customs. As for the five related to doctrine, they are: that we recognize two natures, two wills and two actions in Christ; that we recognize, in addition to the first three Councils, the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh Councils; to refrain from adding ‘He who was crucified for us’, at the end of the Cherubim’s praise. As for the matters related to customs, they are: we should celebrate Christmas with the other Christians [that is on the same date]; we shall put water in the Holy Cup and use olive oil to make the Chrism. It seems to me, for the sake of peace, that we can modify customs and speak of two natures, as Gregory bishop of Nazianzus[23] teaches. But we cannot cancel the phrase “He who was crucified for us,” nor can we put anathemas on our saints”.
As for the Emperor’s message to Patriarch Michael, it said: “If you come to the meeting, you will be able to say what you please. You will not encounter anything that humiliates or insults you. Rather, you will be received with dignity and be allowed to return to your throne. If Your Holiness does not accept our faith, she will remain in her faith”. The Patriarch replied: “We do not reject unity, but rather we desire it very much, if it is established with people who do not change the teachings of the Fathers, and who acknowledge with Athanasius and Cyril the nature of the Incarnate Word”. [24]
Gregory Bar Hebraeus (Bar ‘Ebroyo) (d. 1286)
Gregory Bar Hebraeus became bishop of the non-Chalcedonian Syrian Orthodox Church in 1246 when he was only twenty years of age. Then he was nominated Primate of the East (Maphrian) in 1264, the highest position in the Syrian Orthodox Church after the Patriarch. He was one of the leading intellectuals of his time, and one of the greatest scholars of the West Syrian Church throughout its history. At his death, all the Christians of the region mourned him, not only men of his own Church, but also Nestorians, Armenians, as well as Chalcedonians. He has shown concern for unity of Christians in different writings, more particularly in his ‘Book of the Dove’ and his Poem ‘On disputations’ where he speaks of the necessity to ‘eradicate the root of hatred’. [25] In such theological writings, Bar Hebraeus made what has been described today as ‘ecumenical gestures’ towards other Christians. He realized that Christians under Muslim rule gained nothing from their disunity, and he considered all religious debates among Christians as futile. He advised that disputations about the person and natures of Jesus Christ should be set aside, while the doctrines of the Nicene Creed should be accepted by all.
He wrote: “When I had given much thought and pondered on the matter, I became convinced that these quarrels of Christians are not a matter of factual substance, but rather, one of words and terms; for they all confess Christ our Lord to be perfect God and perfect human, without any commingling, mixing or confusion of the natures. This bi-pinnate likeness is termed by one party [i.e. the non-Chalcedonian/Oriental Orthodox Churches] a ‘nature’, by another [i.e. the Chalcedonian Churches] a ‘hypostasis (person)’, and by yet another [the Church of the East] a ‘prosopon (parsopa, person)’. This I saw all the Christian communities, with their different Christological positions, as possessing a single common ground that is without difference. Accordingly, I totally eradicated any hatred from the depths of my heart and I completely renounced disputing with anyone over confessional matters.”[26]
Conclusion
In conclusion we can say that during the Middle Ages, and also later, some authors did call on Christians to love each other and achieve unity. Some Heads of Churches mentioned hereabove, were open-minded and clairvoyant by making positive and spiritual reflections on the dogma and customs of their Church in comparison with those of the other Church/es. They were ecumenists long before this word was used in the 20th century to define Christians in dialogue with other fellow Christians. Whereas all Oriental Churches (Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian) rediscovered only in the twentieth century (through ecumenical dialogue and conferences, etc.) that they had the same faith, but expressed in different words, some of the aforementioned authors had discovered this truth centuries earlier. They did show tolerance and did fear of dividing the Church, and were longing towards the one undivided Church.
[1] Kitab al bayan or Kitab Ustath ar Raheb. Fr. Samir Khalil (In Ridlat al-kanisah 8 (1976), 160- 165; ; 200-6, 255-60; 309-16, 371-78; 41 1-17 and in Sadiq al-kahin 24 (1984). 361-77). Mark Swanson, “Our Brother, ‘The Monk Eusthatius’: A Ninth Century Syrian Orthodox Theologian Known to Medieval Arabophone Copts, Coptica 1 (2002): 119-40. Reem Saeed Burnham, The Book of Ustath Unearthed: An Arabic Christian Apology of the Ninth Century, thesis, Luther Seminary, St Paul, MN 55108, 2001 with some English translation. Translation here from Arabic by Raymond Rizk.
[2] Birmingham, Mingana Christian Arabic 52, ff. 157~-173~. Mark Swanson, “Our Brother,… see in particular p. 131.
[3] Catholicos from 897 to 925. He was a noted chronicler and historian.
[4] Nicholas I, Patriarch of Constantinople, Letters. Greek Text and English Tr. by R. J. H. Jenkins and L. G.
Westerink (Washington, D.C., 1973). Translated from Arabic by Raymond Rizk.
[5] Gerard Troupeau, « Le livre de l’unanimité de la foi de Ali ibn Dawud al-Arfadi », Melto 5 :2 (1969) 197-219 avec traduction française. The exact title of the book in Arabic is “Kitab Ijtima’ al amana wa ‘ounsor ad diyana wa fakhr al ortodocsia al Majida” (The Book of concordance of Christian Faith and the Basis, pride and splendor of Orthodoxy). For French text translated by Troupeau, refer to Le livre de l'unanimité de la foi des chrétiens (Al- Kitâb igtimâ' al-amâna) ‘mis en ligne par’ Albocicade, 2015.
[6] Gerard Troupeau, 1969, 198.
[7] Gerard Troupeau, 1969, 199.
[8] Le livre de l’unanimité de la foi, 1.
[9] Ditto, 4.
[10] Ditto, 5.
[11] Ditto, 6.
[12] Ditto, 9.
[13] Ditto, 10.
[14] Ditto, 10.
[15] Ditto, 11.
[16] Theologian Known to Medieval Arabophone Copts”, Coptica 1, 2002, notes 3-6, 120 and 122-23. Or the Coptic Encyclopaedia as yuhanna Nessim.
[17] Letter to Abi al Youmn ibn Mina, chapter 11. Translated from Arabic by Raymond Rizk.
[18] Frazee, Charles A. (June 1976). "The Christian Church in Cilician Armenia: Its Relations with Rome and Constantinople to 1198". Church History. 45 (2). Cambridge University Press on behalf of the American Society of Church History: 166–184.
[19] NERSĒS ŠNORHALI AND GREGORY IV TŁAY IN DIALOGUE WITH BYZANTIUM Some Historical Remarks GIOACCHINO STRANO Università della Calabria, https://www.academia.edu/
[20] tr. Italian by Aucher, Venice, 1812; tr. German by Neumann, Leipzig, 1834, and by Baumer, Trier, 2013, Nerses von Lambron.Die Ungeduld der Liebe. Trier: Paulinus.
[21] Augé 2011, op. cit., p. 164 (Epist. IX).
[22] Chabot, Jean-Baptiste, Chronique de Michel le Syrien, patriarche jacobite d’Antioche (1166–1199) in French, 5 Vol, Paris, Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, Année 1899, 43-4, pp. 476-484. https://archive.org/details/ChroniqueDeMichelLeSyrienT.1Fasc.1translation/page/n15/mode/2up
Harrak, Amir, ed. (2019). The Chronicle of Michael the Great (The Edessa-Aleppo Syriac Codex): Books XV–XXI, from the Year 1050 to 1195 AD. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 9781463240318.
Moosa, Matti. The Syriac Chronicle of Michael Rabo (the Great): A Universal History from the Creation.
[23] He is also known as Gregory the Theologian, and was Archbishop/Patriarch of Constantinople (380- 381) and one of the greatest theologians amongst the Greek Fathers
[24] Michael the Syrian, The Chronicle, op. cit. 19, chap. 5. Translated from Arabic by Raymond Rizk.
[25] Bar Hebraeus, The Ecclesiastical Chronicle: An English Translation. Translated by David Wilmshurst. Gorgias Eastern Christian Studies 40. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2016.
[26] The Book of the Dove, chapter 4. The book of the Dove together with some chapters from His Ethikon. Translated by A.J. Wensinck. Leyden: E. J. Brill, 1919. English translation revised by Sebastian Brock in C. Chaillot, The Assyrian Church of the East, Oxford, 2021, p. XIII.
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Raymond Rizk (born in 1939) is a Lebanese theologian belonging to the Orthodox Chalcedonian Patriarcate of Antioch. He has been several times General Secretary of the Orthodox Youth Movement (MJO). He has published more than 40 books in Arabic on theological and spiritual matters, among which an Anthology of 31 volumes of Christian texts of all confessions arranged by centuries (Ta’amal wa salli ma’ massihii al karn. Meditate and Pray with Christians of the Century).