Ecclesiology from Below. A Critical Theological Assessment of the Reception by the Byzantine Churches of the Conflict of Chalcedon 451
Ecclesiology from Below. A Critical Theological Assessment of the Reception by the Byzantine Churches of the Conflict of Chalcedon 451

Author(s): Michael HJÄLM
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Theology and Religion
Published by: Editura Doxologia
Keywords: Ecclesiology; miaphysite; inter-orthodox dialogue; emancipation; Maximos the Confessor; Council of Chalcedon;
Summary/Abstract: The reception by the byzantine churches of the successful dialogue between the Eastern Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox Churches reveals the inherent problems in Byzantine Ecclesiology that is built on an imperial structure. Byzantine ecclesiology is built on authority rather than on a sincere and honest search for the truth. The authority of the councils is more important than the content of the councils, which neglects the human conditions, and substitutes communication and consensus with external guarantee, regardless of questions of truth. This makes the pleroma of the Church diminished and suppress the plurality of distinctions, which has given rise to totalitarian structures of the Church. In this totalitarian environment, the miapysites has been treated as heretics as a matter of indisputable fact, regardless of what they say themselves. This indicates that Byzantine orthodoxy is in a state of incarceration. Receiving the successful dialogue will not just end a 1500 yearlong division, but also heal the incarcerated Byzantine orthodoxy.

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