The term Oriental Orthodox Churches was not used by the faithful themselves until the Conference of Addis Ababa in 1965, a decision made by five participating churches that excluded the Eritrean Church before it gained autocephaly. Before this formal adoption, these communities were known by a variety of names that often carried theological baggage, including Old Oriental, Ancient Oriental, Lesser Eastern, Anti-Chalcedonian, Non-Chalcedonian, Pre-Chalcedonian, Miaphysite, or Monophysite. The label Monophysite, which implies that Christ had only a divine nature and no human nature, was a pejorative term applied by their imperial Roman counterparts to discredit their beliefs, yet the churches themselves have consistently rejected this description as inaccurate. They prefer the term Miaphysite, which asserts that Christ has one united nature that is both fully divine and fully human, a distinction that has defined their identity for over fifteen centuries. This naming struggle reflects a deeper historical reality where these churches, now comprising approximately 71.8 million members, have maintained a distinct theological and cultural existence separate from the majority of Christendom since the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451.
The Schism That Shaped History
The division between the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the imperial Roman church did not happen overnight but unfolded gradually over two to three centuries following the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451. The root of the conflict lay in the interpretation of Christ's nature, a debate that began with the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and the Council of Ephesus in 431. While the Council of Ephesus declared that Jesus Christ was one person, the Council of Chalcedon twenty years later declared that this one person existed in two complete natures, one human and one divine. To the hierarchs who would lead Oriental Orthodoxy, the Chalcedonian definition of two natures was tantamount to accepting Nestorianism, a doctrine they viewed as separating Christ into two distinct persons. This theological disagreement led to the formation of separate institutions, with the majority of the early Church of Alexandria, Antioch, and Armenia rejecting the council's terms. The schism resulted in the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, separate from the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, and caused further divisions in Antioch, leading to the creation of the Syriac Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, and Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. Despite the break, the Oriental Orthodox Churches maintained an ancient apostolic succession and the historic episcopacy, preserving their identity through centuries of political and religious upheaval.Faith Under the Crescent