Google
My Creed

 

 

The Creed

نؤمن بإله واحد

  

Truly we believe in one God, God The Father, The Pantocrator, who created heaven and earth, and all things seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of The Father before all ages:  Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not created; of one essence with The Father, by whom all things were made.

Who for us, men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate of The Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary, and became man.  And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried.  And on the third day He rose from the dead according to the Scriptures, ascended into the heavens, and sat at the right hand of His Father.  And He is coming again in His glory to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom has no end.

Yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, The Life-Giver, who proceeds from The Father, who, with The Father and The Son, is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets.  And in one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic church.  We confess one baptism for the remission of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the coming age.  Amen.

Visit: http://www.heresiesandheretics.com

WHY A CREED?!!

By Fr. Anthony Coniaris

The whole Church's faith.

"The Nicene Creed is the whole Church articulating and expressing its faith. This is why in reciting the Nicene Creed the early Christians said not "I believe.." but "We believe..." They were saying, in other words, "This is not only my own personal faith; it is also the expression of faith of the entire Christian community."

It goes without saying that no finite creed can ever say everything there is to say about the infinite God. The Creed is merely a divinely inspired human statement to help us in our understanding of God. St. Paul called Christ God's "inexpressible gift" which underlines the fact that no creed can ever capture and exhaust the full meaning of Christ.

Nevertheless, acknowledging our finitude, we cannot remain silent about what God has done for us. We must communicate our faith however inadequately. This is what the church has attempted to do through the Creed. We need to know what we believe and in whom we believe if we are to live as Christians.

This is why we have the Nicene Creed which has been described as a spellbinding summary of the Christian faith accepted today by most major Christian bodies as a superlative expression of our faith. Through it we hear echoing the voices of the Scriptures and of early martyrs and saints. It is indeed a faith to live by. ... Creeds and deeds go together. A seeker after truth said to Pascal one day, "If I had your creed, I could live your life," only to be greeted with the swift rejoinder, "If you lived my life, you would have my creed." The kind of life we live has a lot to do with the kind of creed we adopt. An immoral person, for example, finds it more convenient to believe in atheism rather than a moral God who punishes sin.

The trouble with most Christians today is that they accept Christianity as a creed but they reject it as a way of life...."

THEOSIS* - DEIFICATION AS THE PURPOSE OF MAN'S LIFE
http://www.greekorthodoxchurch.org/theosis_how.html
 By Archimandrite George
Abbott of the Holy Monastery of St. Gregorios on Mount Athos

DEIFICATION IS POSSIBLE THROUGH THE UNCREATED ENERGIES OF GOD

In the Orthodox Church of Christ man can achieve deification because, according to the teachings of the Holy Bible and the Fathers of the Church, the Grace of God is uncreated. God is not only essence, as the West thinks; He is also energy. If God was only essence, we could not unite with Him, could not commune with Him, because the essence of God is awesome and unapproachable for man, in accordance with: ‘Never will man see My face and live’ (Exod. 33:20).

Let us mention a somewhat relevant example from things human. If we grasp a bare electric wire, we will die. However, if we connect a lamp to that wire, we are illuminated. We see, enjoy, and are assisted by the energy of electric current, but we are not able to grasp its essence. Let us say that something similar happens with the uncreated energy of God.

If we were able to unite with the essence of God, we too would become gods in essence. In other words everything would become a god, and there would be confusion so that, nothing would be essentially a god. In a few words, this is what they believe in the Oriental religions, e.g. in Hinduism, where the god is not a personal existence but an indistinct power dispersed through all the world, in men, in animals, and in objects (Pantheism).

Again, if God had only the divine essence – of which we cannot partake – and did not have His energies, He would remain a self-sufficient god, closed within himself and unable to commune with his creatures.

God, according to the Orthodox theological view, is One in a Trinity and a Trinity in One. As St. Maximus the Confessor, St. Dionysius the Areopagite, and other holy Fathers repeatedly say, God is filled with a divine love, a divine eros for His creatures. Because of this infinite and ecstatic love of His, He comes out of Himself and seeks to unite with them. This is expressed and realized by means of His energy or, better, His energies.

With these, His uncreated energies, God created the world and continues to preserve it. He gives essence and substance to our world through His essence-creating energies. He is present in nature and preserves the universe with His preserving energies; He illuminates man with His illuminating energies; He sanctifies him with His sanctifying energies. Finally, He deifies him with His deifying energies. Thus, through his uncreated energies, holy God enters nature, the world, history, and men's lives.

The energies of God are divine energies. They too are God, but without being His essence. They are God, and therefore they can deify man. If the energies of God were not divine and uncreated, they would not be God and so they would not be able to deify us, to unite us with God. There would be an unbridgeable distance between God and men. But by virtue of God having divine energies, and by uniting with us by these energies, we are able to commune with Him and to unite with His Grace without becoming identical with God, as would happen if we united with His essence.

So, we unite with God through His uncreated energies, and not through His essence. This is the mystery of our Orthodox faith and life.

Western heretics cannot accept this. Being rationalist, they do not discern between the essence and the energy of God, so, they say that God is only essence. And for this reason they cannot speak about man's deification (gr. theosis). Because, according to them, how could man be deified when they do not accept that the divine energies are uncreated, but regard them as created? And how could something created, i.e., something outside God, deify created man?

In order not to fall into pantheism, they do not speak at all about deification (gr. theosis). What then, according to them, remains as the purpose of man's life? Simply moral improvement. In other words, since man cannot be deified by means of divine Grace, the divine energies, what purpose does his life have? Only that he becomes morally better. But moral perfection is not enough for man. It is not enough for us simply to become better than before, to perform moral deeds. We have as our final aim to unite with holy God Himself. This is the purpose of the creation of the universe. This is what we desire. This is our joy, our happiness, and our fulfillment.

The psyche of man, who is created in the image and likeness of God, yearns for God and desires union with Him. No matter how moral, how good man may be, no matter how many good deeds he may perform, if he does not find God, if he does not unite with Him, he finds no rest. Because holy God Himself placed within him this holy thirst, the divine eros, the desire for union with Him, for deification (gr. theosis). He has in himself the erotic power, which he receives from his Creator, in order to love truly, strongly, selflessly, just as his holy Creator falls in love with His world, with His creatures. This is so that with this holy erotic impetus and loving power, he falls in love with God. If man did not have the image of God in himself, he would not be able to seek its prototype. Each of us is an image of God, and God is our prototype. The image seeks the prototype, and only when it finds it does it find rest.

In the fourteenth century, there was a great upheaval in the Church which was provoked by a Western monk, Barlaam. He heard that Athonite monks talked about deification (gr. theosis). He was informed that, after much struggle, cleansing of the passions, and much prayer, they became worthy to unite with God, to have experience of God, to see God. He heard that they saw the uncreated light which the holy Apostles had seen during the Transfiguration of our Savior Christ on Mount Tabor.

But, having the Western, heretical, rationalistic spirit, Barlaam was unable to perceive the authenticity of these divine experiences of the humble monks, and so, he began to accuse the Athonite monks as though it was they who were deluded, heretical, and idolatrous. In other words he was saying that it was impossible for someone to see the Grace of God, because he knew nothing about the distinction between the essence and the uncreated energy of God.

Then, God's Grace brought out a great and enlightened teacher of our Church, the Athonite St. Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki. With much wisdom and enlightenment from God, but also from his personal experience, he said and wrote much which taught, in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Tradition of the Church, that the light of God's Grace is uncreated; that it is a divine energy. That, in fact, deified men see this light as the ultimate, the highest experience of deification (gr. theosis), and that they are seen within this light of God. This is the glory of God, His splendor, the light of Mount Tabor, the light of Christ's Resurrection and of Pentecost, and the bright cloud of the Old Testament. It is the real uncreated light of God, and not symbolic as Barlaam, and others like him, believed in their delusion.

Subsequently, in three great Synods at Constantinople, the whole Church justified St. Gregory Palamas, declaring that life in Christ is not simply the moral edification of man, but deification (gr. theosis), and that this means participation in God’s glory, a vision of God, of His Grace and His uncreated light.

We owe great gratitude to Saint Gregory Palamas, because, with the illumination he received from God, with his experience and his theology, he bequeathed to us the teaching and eternal experience of the Church concerning the deification (gr. theosis) of man. A Christian is not a Christian simply because he is able to talk about God. He is a Christian because he is able to have experience of God. And just as, when you really love someone and converse with him, you feel his presence, and you enjoy his presence, so it happens in man's communion with God: there exists not a simply external relationship, but a mystical union of God and man in the Holy Spirit.

Even now, Westerners consider the divine Grace, or the energy of God, as something created. Unfortunately, this also is one of the many differences which must be seriously taken into consideration in theological dialogue with the Roman Catholics. It is not only the filioque, the primacy of authority, and the ‘infallibility’ of the Pope which are basic differences between the Orthodox Church and the Papists. It is also the above. If the Roman Catholics do not accept that the Grace of God is uncreated, we cannot unite with them even if they accept all the other points. For who is able to effect deification (gr. theosis), if divine Grace is a creation and not an uncreated energy of the All-Holy Spirit?
www.greekorthodoxchurch.org is owned and maintained by Photius Coutsoukis,
© 1995-2005 (all rights reserved).

 

Common Declaration by Pope Benedict XVI and Patriarch Bartholomew I

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" (Ps 117:24)

This fraternal encounter which brings us together, Pope Benedict XVI of Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, is God's work, and in a certain sense his gift. We give thanks to the Author of all that is good, who allows us once again, in prayer and in dialogue, to express the joy we feel as brothers and to renew our commitment to move towards full communion. This commitment comes from the Lord's will and from our responsibility as Pastors in the Church of Christ. May our meeting be a sign and an encouragement to us to share the same sentiments and the same attitudes of fraternity, cooperation and communion in charity and truth. The Holy Spirit will help us to prepare the great day of the re-establishment of full unity, whenever and however God wills it. Then we shall truly be able to rejoice and be glad.

1. We have recalled with thankfulness the meetings of our venerable predecessors, blessed by the Lord, who showed the world the urgent need for unity and traced sure paths for attaining it, through dialogue, prayer and the daily life of the Church. Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I went as pilgrims to Jerusalem, to the very place where Jesus Christ died and rose again for the salvation of the world, and they also met again, here in the Phanar and in Rome. They left us a common declaration which retains all its value; it emphasizes that true dialogue in charity must sustain and inspire all relations between individuals and between Churches, that it "must be rooted in a total fidelity to the one Lord Jesus Christ and in mutual respect for their own traditions" (Tomos Agapis, 195). Nor have we forgotten the reciprocal visits of His Holiness Pope John Paul II and His Holiness Dimitrios I. It was during the visit of Pope John Paul II, his first ecumenical visit, that the creation of the Mixed Commission for theological dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church was announced. This has brought together our Churches in the declared aim of re- establishing full communion.

As far as relations between the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople are concerned, we cannot fail to recall the solemn ecclesial act effacing the memory of the ancient anathemas which for centuries had a negative effect on our Churches. We have not yet drawn from this act all the positive consequences which can flow from it in our progress towards full unity, to which the mixed Commission is called to make an important contribution. We exhort our faithful to take an active part in this process, through prayer and through significant gestures.

2. At the time of the plenary session of the mixed Commission for theological dialogue, which was recently held in Belgrade through the generous hospitality of the Serbian Orthodox Church, we expressed our profound joy at the resumption of the theological dialogue. This had been interrupted for several years because of various difficulties, but now the Commission was able to work afresh in a spirit of friendship and cooperation. In treating the topic "Conciliarity and Authority in the Church" at local, regional and universal levels, the Commission undertook a phase of study on the ecclesiological and canonical consequences of the sacramental nature of the Church. This will permit us to address some of the principal questions that are still unresolved. We are committed to offer unceasing support, as in the past, to the work entrusted to this Commission and we accompany its members with our prayers.

3. As Pastors, we have first of all reflected on the mission to proclaim the Gospel in today's world. This mission, "Go, make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:19), is today more timely and necessary than ever, even in traditionally Christian countries. Moreover, we cannot ignore the increase of secularization, relativism, even nihilism, especially in the Western world. All this calls for a renewed and powerful proclamation of the Gospel, adapted to the cultures of our time. Our traditions represent for us a patrimony which must be continually shared, proposed, and interpreted anew. This is why we must strengthen our cooperation and our common witness before the world.

4. We have viewed positively the process that has led to the formation of the European Union. Those engaged in this great project should not fail to take into consideration all aspects affecting the inalienable rights of the human person, especially religious freedom, a witness and guarantor of respect for all other freedoms. In every step towards unification, minorities must be protected, with their cultural traditions and the distinguishing features of their religion. In Europe, while remaining open to other religions and to their cultural contributions, we must unite our efforts to preserve Christian roots, traditions and values, to ensure respect for history, and thus to contribute to the European culture of the future and to the quality of human relations at every level. In this context, how could we not evoke the very ancient witnesses and the illustrious Christian heritage of the land in which our meeting is taking place, beginning with what the Acts of the Apostles tells us concerning the figure of Saint Paul, Apostle of the Gentiles? In this land, the Gospel message and the ancient cultural tradition met. This link, which has contributed so much to the Christian heritage that we share, remains timely and will bear more fruit in the future for evangelization and for our unity.

5. Our concern extends to those parts of today's world where Christians live and to the difficulties they have to face, particularly poverty, wars and terrorism, but equally to various forms of exploitation of the poor, of migrants, women and children. We are called to work together to promote respect for the rights of every human being, created in the image and likeness of God, and to foster economic, social and cultural development. Our theological and ethical traditions can offer a solid basis for a united approach in preaching and action. Above all, we wish to affirm that killing innocent people in God's name is an offence against him and against human dignity. We must all commit ourselves to the renewed service of humanity and the defence of human life, every human life.

We take profoundly to heart the cause of peace in the Middle East, where our Lord lived, suffered, died and rose again, and where a great multitude of our Christian brethren have lived for centuries. We fervently hope that peace will be re-established in that region, that respectful coexistence will be strengthened between the different peoples that live there, between the Churches and between the different religions found there. To this end, we encourage the establishment of closer relationships between Christians, and of an authentic and honest interreligious dialogue, with a view to combating every form of violence and discrimination.

6. At present, in the face of the great threats to the natural environment, we want to express our concern at the negative consequences for humanity and for the whole of creation which can result from economic and technological progress that does not know its limits. As religious leaders, we consider it one of our duties to encourage and to support all efforts made to protect God's creation, and to bequeath to future generations a world in which they will be able to live.

7. Finally, our thoughts turn towards all of you, the faithful of our two Churches throughout the world, Bishops, priests, deacons, men and women religious, lay men and women engaged in ecclesial service, and all the baptized. In Christ we greet other Christians, assuring them of our prayers and our openness to dialogue and cooperation. In the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles, we greet all of you: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 1:2).

At the Phanar, 30 November 2006

Benedict XVI      Bartholomew I
     

THE APPEARANCE OF THE HOLY CROSS

 The church celebrates the appearance of the glorious Cross of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ twice: The First on the sixteenth day of the month of Tute (Coptic month), 326 A.D. by the hands of the righteous Empress St. Helen, the mother of Constantine the great, the righteous Emperor. This Saint when her son Constantine accepted the Faith in the Lord Christ, she vowed to go to Jerusalem. Her righteous son prepared everything needed to fulfill this holy visit. When she arrived to Jerusalem with multitude of soldiers, she asked about the place of the Cross but no one would tell her. She took one of the Jewish elders and pressured him by hunger and thirst until he was forced to direct them to the place where they might find the Cross at the hill of Golgotha. She ordered them to clear out the site of Golgotha where they found three crosses and that was in the year 326 A.D. However, they did not know the cross upon which Our Lord Christ was crucified, they brought a dead man and they laid upon him one of the crosses and then the other but he did not rise up but when they laid the third cross upon him he rose up immediately, then they realized that this was the Cross of Our Lord Christ. The Empress and all the believers kneeled down before the Holy Cross, and she sent a piece of it with the nails to her son Constantine. Immediately after, she built the churches that were mentioned on the Sixteenth day of the blessed month of Tute. The Second celebration that the church commemorates the Cross is on the Tenth day of the month of Baramhat by the hands of Emperor Heraclius, in 627 A.D. When the Persians were defeated by Heraclius they retreated from Egypt to their country. On their way back they passed through Jerusalem, a Persian prince entered the church of the Cross, which was built by Empress Helen. He saw a great light shinning from a piece of wood located on a place decorated with gold. He thrust his hand to it and there went forth from it fire which burned his fingers. The Christians told him that this is the base of the Holy Cross and they told him how it was discovered and no one was able to touch it except a Christian. He deceived the two deacons who were standing to guard it and gave them much money so they would carry this piece and go with it with him to his country. They took it and put it in a box and went with him to his country along with those who were captured from the city of Jerusalem. When Emperor Heraclius heard that, he went with his army to Persia, fought with them and slew many of them. He traveled about this country searching for this piece of the Holy Cross but he could not find it, for the Persian prince had dug a hole in his garden and ordered the two deacons to put the box in it and buried it and then he killed them. One of the captives of that Persian prince, which was the daughter of one of the priests, was looking out of the window by chance and saw what happened. She went to Heraclius the Emperor and told him what she saw. He went with the bishops, priests and the soldiers to the place. They dug there and found the box, they took the piece of the Holy Cross out, in 628 A.D., wrapped it in magnificent apparel and Heraclius took it to the city of Constantinople and kept it there. May the blessings of the Holy Cross be with us and Glory be to God forever. Amen
 

Definition of Chalcedon (451 AD)

  Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all men to
  confess the one and only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.  This selfsame
  one is perfect both in deity and in humanness; this selfsame one is
  also actually God and actually man, with a rational soul <meaning
  human soul> and a body.  He is of the same reality as God as far as
  his deity is concerned and of the same reality as we ourselves as
  far as his humanness is concerned; thus like us in all respects, sin
  only excepted.  Before time began he was begotten of the Father, in
  respect of his deity, and now in these "last days," for us and behalf
  of our salvation, this selfsame one was born of Mary the virgin, who
  is God-bearer in respect of his humanness.

  We also teach that we apprehend this one and only Christ-Son, Lord,
  only-begotten -- in two natures; and we do this without confusing
  the two natures, without transmuting one nature into the other,
  without dividing them into two separate categories, without con-
  trasting them according to area or function.  The distinctiveness
  of each nature is not nullified by the union.  Instead, the
  "properties" of each nature are conserved and both natures concur
  in one "person" and in one reality <hypostasis>.  They are not
  divided or cut into two persons, but are together the one and
  only and only-begotten Word <Logos> of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
  Thus have the prophets of old testified; thus the Lord Jesus
  Christ himself taught us; thus the Symbol of Fathers <the Nicene
  Creed> has handed down to us.
----------------

From the Council of Chalcedon:

A Tome was sent by Leo, bishop of Rome, to the Council of Chalcedon. It briefly stated that, "Christ the two, the God and the Man, came. The first overwhelmed us with miracles, and the second received the humiliations." Therefore the Orthodox anathematized the Council of Chalcedon, as Pope Dioscorus had anathematized the heresy of Eutyches. Eutyches stated that the Human nature of Christ mingled with His Divine nature, and that the essence of the Divinity had suffered the passion of the Cross.

Pope Cyril of Alexandria (Kyrillos I) said, "The union of the Divinity and the Humanity, like the union of fire and iron, the hammering of the iron affects only the iron, but doesn't affect the fire, although it shares a unity with the iron. The union of the Divinity with the Humanity gave an infinitive value for the one Who suffered for the sake of the salvation of all the humanity.

Please see St. Discorus, and St. Cyril I, in the 5th Century.

Oriental Orthodox Churches reject the Monophysite teachings of Eutychus and the Dyophysite teachings of Nestorius.

In the 20th century, the Chalcedonian schism was not seen with the same relevance any more, and from several meetings between the Roman Catholic Pope and Patriarchs of the Oriental Orthodoxy, reconciling declarations emerged.

The confusions and schisms that occurred between their Churches in the later centuries, they realize today, in no way affect or touch the substance of their faith, since these arose only because of differences in terminology and culture and in the various formulae adopted by different theological schools to express the same matter. Accordingly, we find today no real basis for the sad divisions and schisms that subsequently arose between us concerning the doctrine of Incarnation. In words and life we confess the true doctrine concerning Christ our Lord, notwithstanding the differences in interpretation of such a doctrine which arose at the time of the Council of Chalcedon.

From the common declaration of Pope John Paul II and HH Mar Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, June 23, 1984

Official Statements

Pastoral Agreement between the Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Patriarchates of Alexandria

Since the Holy Synods of both the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all Africa have already accepted the outcome of the official dialogue on Christology between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, including the two official agreements: the first on Christology signed in June 1989 in Egypt and the second also on Christology and on the lifting of anathemas and restoration of full communion signed in Geneva 1990, in which it is stated that "In the light of our agreed statement on Christology..., we have now clearly understood that both families have always loyally maintained the same authentic Orthodox Christological faith, and the unbroken continuity of Apostolic tradition". It was agreed to have mutual recognition of the sacrament of Baptism, based on what St Paul wrote, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph 4:5)

But since up until now we are waiting for the responses of the Holy Synods of some other churches in both families, the restoration of full communion is not yet reached between the two sides of the bi-lateral dialogue. And due to the pastoral consequences and implications caued by mixed Christian marriages between the members of the two Patriarchates of Alexandria, having the majority of their people living in the same countries. Those marriages being difficult to perform in both Churches at the same time or in concelebration. The result is that mant sensitivities are created between the two families of the partners of such marriage. Those sensitivities which can extend even after the marriage and may affect the relation between the two communities of churches.

For those mentioned reasons, the Holy Synods of both Patriarchates have agreed to accept the sacrament of marriage which is conducted in either Church with the condition that it is conducted for two partners not belonging to the same Patriarchate of the other Church from their origin. Both the Bride and the Groom should carry a valid certificate from his/her own Patriarchate that he/she has a permit of marriage and indicating the details of his/her marriage status up to date.

Each of the two Patriarchates shall also accept to perform all of its other sacraments to that new family of Mixed Christian Marriage.

It is agreed that the Patriarchate which shall perform the marriage shall be responsible for any marriage problems that may happen concerning this certain marriage, taking into consideration the unified marriage laws signed by the heads of Churches in Egypt in the year 1999.

Each Patriarchate shall preserve its right not to give its sacraments to any persons whom she does not find fulfilling its canons according to the Apostolic Tradition.
Petros VII
Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa		 Shenouda III
Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark

www.orthodoxunity.org/statements.htm

Orthodox-Catholic Relations: 
An Orthodox Reflection

By Father Chrysostom Frank

"It is only in worship, with a keen sense of the transcendence of the inexpressible mystery 'which surpasses knowledge' (Eph. 3:19), that we will be able to see our divergences in their proper setting and 'to lay. . . no greater burden than these necessary things' (Acts 15:28), so as to reestablish communion. . . . It seems to me, in fact, that the question we must ask ourselves is not so much whether we can reestablish full communion, but rather whether we still have the right to remain separated. We must ask ourselves this question in the very name of our faithfulness to Christ's will for his Church, for which constant prayer must make us both increasingly open and ready in the course of the Theological Dialogue.

These words were originally spoken by His Holiness Pope John Paul II in the patriarchal Church of St. George in the Phanar in Constantinople in 1979. They were repeated thirteen years later in 1992 by Bishop Vsevolod, Ruling Hierarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada (Ecumenical Patriarchate), to a gathering in St. George's Cathedral in L'viv of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The question these words pose is perhaps the singular most important issue in Orthodox-Catholic relations and perhaps the singular most important question for all of Christianity in our age: do we Orthodox and Catholics still have the right to remain separated? It is the question with which this reflection is concerned."  www.unitypublishing.com/Newsletter/OrthodoxCatholic.htm

V V V

The Latest Call  ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome    

Code: ZE05052602       Date: 2005-05-26

Cardinal Kasper Proposes a Synod With Orthodox

And an Alliance With Protestants to Defend Europe's Christian Roots

BARI, Italy, MAY 26, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican representative for ecumenism proposed a synod of reconciliation to the Orthodox and an alliance with the offspring of the Protestant Reformation to rediscover the Christian roots of Europe.
Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, made the proposals Wednesday when addressing the Italian National Eucharistic Congress.
The cardinal was joined in the ceremony by Orthodox Archbishop Kirill of Yaroslavl and Rostov of the Moscow Patriarchate, and Lutheran Bishop Eero Huovinen of Helsinki, Finland.
Cardinal Kasper began his address by recalling that in Bari a synod of Greek and Latin bishops took place in 1098.
"Why not hope that here, in Bari, 1,000 years after the synod of 1098, in 2098 -- and why not before? We might again celebrate a synod of Greek and Latin bishops, a synod of reconciliation," he said.
"I am profoundly convinced that, after the great efforts and important steps taken by John Paul II, the new Pope Benedict XVI will smooth and open the way for such a prospect," the cardinal added.
Threatened by secularism
Cardinal Kasper acknowledged that Orthodox and Catholics are "heirs of a common European culture and we have the same ethical values, which are essentially for the good of our societies and their people."
"But those values are seriously threatened, both by the secularism in Western Europe as well as the profound lacerations caused in Eastern Europe by 40 or 70 years of propaganda and atheistic education," he observed.
"What can be more obvious or urgent than, as the next step in the long road toward full communion, we form an alliance to rediscover the Christian roots of Europe?" the Vatican official asked.
He described such an alliance as designed "to help one another mutually in favor of common values, of a culture of life, of the dignity of the person, of solidarity and social justice, of peace and the safeguarding of creation."
Cardinal Kasper also presented this "alliance" to Protestant brothers who face this same challenge.  ................

V V V

From the Orthodox side:

"The reason for Latins falling away from the Catholic Church was the false teaching concerning the Holy Spirit emanating from the Father and the Son (ex Patre Filioque), based solely on the conclusion and zeal not according to reason, and which was elevated to the rank of dogma, and later also formally entered by Rome into the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. This heresy which became the cause of the Schism, was followed by others thus creating the gulf between Latins and Orthodox [270].

The following heretical innovations gradually took root in the Latin Church:

- The false teaching on the supremacy of the Roman Pope over the Church. After Rome's falling away from the Universal Church this teaching was taken to its extremes. This false teaching is inextricably bound with the dogma of the Infallibility of the Pope of Rome, which "leaves one horrified" [271].

- The heretical teaching on the emanation of the Holy Spirit "and from the Son" ("filioque") which distorted the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. Under Pope Urban II (1088-1099), in 1098 at the Council in Bari (Italy) "filioque" was proclaimed a dogma.

- The Latin teaching concerning the original sin, which perverted the traditional teaching of the Orthodox Catholic Church. "Carried through to its logical conclusion it suggests that God Himself is the cause of evil in the world, i.e. it leads to an absurdity" [272].

- The false soteriological teaching on satisfying God for sins, which supplanted the moral understanding of man's salvation by the juridical one, and the related

- The false teaching on the purgatory, the alleged intermediate stage between Paradise and hell, as well as the invented teachings of Rome on the "treasury of the extra merits of the Saints" and indulgences. The "accounts" of these two were at the disposal of the supreme ecclesiastical power, first of all the Pope. Initially indulgences were given as a reward for participation in Crusades. Later on and until now they have been given for price-listed donations, for repeating a certain prayer a specific number of times, for making a pilgrimage while observing certain rules, for using objects allegedly having a "conciliatory power". Indulgences precisely indicated the length of time by which the "suffering in purgatory" would be reduced: 40 days, 12 months, 100 years or more (the maximum period of time of a partial indulgence was 154,000 years) [273]. But can one measure the harm done by the invention and sale of indulgences which introduce financial considerations, profit and calculation in relations between God and man?! and when repentance and moral effort are replaced by casuistic morality? [274].

"The tragedy of Roman Catholicism lies not in the sins and personal transgressions of individual bishops of the Roman Church, personal sins abounded everywhere, -- but in the fact that the spirit of this world, the spirit of power, the spirit of juridical, utilitarian and worldly distortion of Divine mysteries was introduced into the very foundation of the Christian doctrine and of spiritual order of the Church. This spirit led to slavery the imprint of which resulted in the urge to translate the law of the life of Spirit into the language of an external, mechanistic calculation of merit, number and measure" [275]. Something irrevocable has been gradually taking place: the living love for God was being replaced by a hostile fear of a severe Creditor which led the West towards man's estrangement from the Creator.

- In 1854 the Papists accepted a false dogma of the "immaculate conception of the All-Holy Virgin Mary, i.e. of the alleged nonparticipation of the Mother of God in the original sin. Thus they once again departed from the teaching of the Holy Church which was confessed until then. According to St. Epiphany of Cyprus, "the harm is done by heresies both when the Holy Virgin is disparaged and, on the contrary -- when She is glorified beyond what is Her due" ("Panarion, against Collaridians").

This false teaching of Latins 1) does not correspond with the Holy Scriptures where reference is often made to Jesus Christ Alone being without sin (1 Tim. 2,5); 2) contradicts also Holy Tradition because the Fathers are in accord as to the high degree of holiness of the Virgin Mary from Her birth and Her purification by the Holy Spirit at the time She conceived Christ, but not at the time when She Herself was conceived by Anna; 3) is meaningless because if sinlessness of the Mother of God before Her birth were indispensable for the birth of Sinless Christ, then the same condition (i.e. sinlessness of Joachim and Anna) should apply also for Her own birth, and so on all the way up to Adam; 4) presents God as unmerciful and unjust because if God could protect Mary from sin and purify Her before She was born, why does He predetermine some to salvation without their will, while leaving others in sin? 5) actually denies all virtues of the Mother of God because if She was unable to commit sin, what made Her worthy of glorification by God? Thus the "gift" which She received from Pope Plus IX and from those who thought of glorifying Theotokos through discovery of new truths, meant Her denigration rather than Her exaltation and greater glory. The All-holy Virgin Mary was glorified by God Himself to such an extent and was so superior by Her life on earth and Her glory in Heaven that human fancies can add nothing to Her honor and glory" [276]. With these words Saint John concludes his reflections.

- The false dogma of the Resurrection and bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary also belongs to the so called "Marian dogmas" and was the logical consequence of the "Immaculate Conception". It was pronounced by Pope Pius XII in 1950. Both these teachings contradict Holy Tradition and Orthodox patristic theology (it does not contain an autonomous Mariology; the teaching concerning Mother of God is included in Christology).

- The Roman Catholic theology still refuses to acknowledge the self-existence of Divine energies in keeping with the Barlaamite heresy which was opposed by Saint Gregory Palamas.

- The false dogma of Papal Infallibility in the matter of "faith and morality", when they speak ex cathedra. It forms the basis of Latin dogmatics and, as we said above, crowns all the age-old errors of Rome. They all eventuated due to the loss of humility, the "poverty of spirit" and were the result of the pride of mind and preference for considerations which are human to those of divine origin. Latins have lost the mystical concept of the Church as the Body of Christ. It was replaced by rationalistic skepticism and false wisdom according to flesh. Humanistic anthropocentrism which flourished on the foundation of the Papism, had always aspired to depose faith in the God by faith in man. "The dogma of Infallibility of Pope who is a mere human is nothing else but the rebirth of paganism, of pagan axiology and criteria of truth... By this dogma European Humanism reached its ideal and idol -- Man was proclaimed supreme divinity, European humanistic Pantheon got its Zeuss... History of mankind, -- says Archimandrite Justin Popovich, knows of three main falls: those of Adam, of Judas and of Papism" [277].

In order to substantiate their claims to Papal preeminence in the Church Latins began resorting to arbitrary, tendentious interpretation of Holy Scripture. This concerns the imaginary supremacy of the Apostle Peter who is alleged to have passed his rights to the Bishop of Rome whom he ordained. This idea about the exclusive privileges of the Holy Apostle who, along with the Apostle Paul is called Preeminent is in contradiction with Holy Tradition: not one of the Church Fathers and teachers considered the Apostle Peter the head of the Apostles, even less the Vicar of Christ. The patristic interpretation of the Lord's words: "thou art Peter and on this rock I will build My Church" (Mt. 16,18) has nothing in common with the arbitrary invention of the Papists. Both Eastern and Western Fathers understood the "rock" as the steadfast faith of the Apostles, particularly the rock of faith professed by Saint Peter -- "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt. 16,16). According to Saint Hieronymus, Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Augustine, Saint Ambrose of Milan and other Fathers on this rock of the confession of faith was founded the Holy Church. "God founded His Church on this rock, and from this rock the Apostle Peter received his name" (Saint Hieronymus, "Commentary to the Gospel by Matthew", Book VI).

The speech of the well known Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph G. Strossmayer on the Supremacy and Infallibility of the Roman Popes presented at the first Vatican Council (1870), deserves particular attention. Referring to the opinion of Saint Augustine which was shared by all Christians of his time, Strossmayer expressed the following theses:

- The Apostle Peter did not receive any exclusive authority from the Lord, by comparison with the other Apostles.

- The Holy Apostles never regarded Peter as the Vicar of Jesus Christ and the infallible teacher of the Church.

- The Holy Apostle Peter never was the Bishop of Rome, never thought of being a Pope, and never acted the way Popes do.

- The Councils of the first four centuries, while acknowledging the high position occupied by the Bishop of Rome in the Church in view of the importance of the city of Rome, accorded to him only preeminence of honor but never of authority, or jurisdiction.

- The famous words: "Thou art Peter and on this rock I will build my Church" were never interpreted by Fathers as meaning that the Church was founded on Peter (super Petrum), but on the rock (super petram), i.e. on the Apostle's confession of faith.

Having cited these and other weighty arguments which are wholly in agreement with the Orthodox patristic teaching, Strossmayer said: "On the basis of data, reason, logic, common sense, and Christian conscience I solemnly conclude that Christ imparted no authority to Saint Peter and that the Bishops of Rome became the masters of the Church by gradually suppressing all rights of bishops one by one... If we acknowledge Pius IX to be infallible then we are obliged to acknowledge also the infallibility of all his predecessors... But can you do this when history makes it as clear as daylight, that popes were committing errors in their teaching? Can you do this and prove that the popes -- self-interested individuals, sexual perverts, murderers, simonists -- were Jesus Christ's vicars on earth?" [278]

From Wikipedia, free encyclopedia

John Paul II
Ut unum sint, §22

“That they may all be one”

When Christians pray together, the goal of unity seems closer. The long history of Christians, which is marked by many divisions, seems to converge once more, because it tends towards that Source of its unity, which is Jesus Christ. He "is the same yesterday, today and forever!" (Heb 13:8). In the fellowship of prayer, Christ is truly present; he prays "in us," "with us" and "for us." It is he who leads our prayer in the Spirit-Consoler, whom he promised and then bestowed on his Church in the Upper Room in Jerusalem, when he established her in her original unity.

Along the ecumenical path to unity, pride of place certainly belongs to common prayer, the prayerful union of those who gather together around Christ himself. If Christians, despite their divisions, can grow ever more united in common prayer around Christ, they will grow in the awareness of how little divides them in comparison to what unites them. If they meet more often and more regularly before Christ in prayer, they will be able to gain the courage to face all the painful human reality of their divisions, and they will find themselves together once more in that community of the Church which Christ constantly builds up in the Holy Spirit, in spite of all weaknesses and human limitations.
 

John Paul II
Talk to the Synod on Family Life (October 1980), §5

“The two shall become as one”

Before His death, on the very threshold of the paschal mystery, Christ prayed, saying: “Father most holy, protect them with your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” (Jn 17:11) In so doing, he also asked, maybe in a very special way, for the unity of spouses and of families. He prayed for the unity of his disciples, for the unity of the Church. And Saint Paul compared the mystery of the Church with marriage (Eph 5:32). Thus, the Church not only gives the family a part in her care, but in a certain sense, she also considers the family to be her model. In the love of Christ, her Spouse, who loved us even unto death, the Church contemplates husbands and wives who have promised to love one another throughout their lives until death. And she considers it to be her singular obligation to protect that love.

V V V

Code: ZE05061624   Date: 2005-06-16

Papal Address to Secretary-General of World Council of Churches

Church's Commitment "to the Search for Christian Unity Is Irreversible"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 16, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered today to the Reverend Samuel Kobia, secretary-general of the World Council of Churches, and his entourage.

* * *
"Dear General Secretary,

.............
"Relations between the Catholic Church and the World Council developed during the Second Vatican Council, where two observers from Geneva were present at all four sessions. This led in 1965 to the establishment of the Joint Working Group as an instrument of ongoing contact and cooperation, which would keep in mind the common task of unity in answer to the Lord's own prayer, "that they may all be one" (John 17:21). Next November an important consultation on the future of the Joint Working Group will be held to mark the fortieth anniversary of its founding. My hope and prayer is that its purpose and working methodology will be further clarified for the sake of ever more effective ecumenical understanding, cooperation and progress.

In the very first days of my Pontificate I stated that my "primary task is the duty to work tirelessly to rebuild the full and visible unity of all Christ's followers." This requires, in addition to good intentions, "concrete gestures which enter hearts and stir consciences … inspiring in everyone that inner conversion that is the prerequisite for all ecumenical progress" ("Missa pro ecclesia," 5).

Pope John Paul II often recalled that the heart of the search for Christian unity is "spiritual ecumenism." He saw its core in terms of being in Christ: "To believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the Church; to desire the Church means to desire the communion of grace which corresponds to the Father's plan from all eternity. Such is the meaning of Christ's prayer: 'Ut unum sint'" (Encyclical Letter "Ut Unum Sint," 9)."

It is my hope that your visit to the Holy See has been fruitful, strengthening the bonds of understanding and friendship between us. The commitment of the Catholic Church to the search for Christian unity is irreversible. I therefore wish to assure you that she is eager to continue cooperation with the World Council of Churches. Again, I offer a special word of encouragement to you, Mr. General Secretary, to the members of the Central Committee and to the entire staff, as you work to lead and renew this important ecumenical body. Please know that you are in my prayers and that you have my unfailing goodwill. "May grace and peace be yours in abundance" (2 Peter 1:2)."      Original text: English
     

V V V

ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome Code: ZE05062601  Date: 2005-06-26

Looking Ahead to Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

"Occasion to Underline the Unity of the Church"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 26, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today from the window of his study, before he prayed the midday Angelus with the crowds gathered below in St. Peter's Square.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters!

We are preparing to celebrate with great solemnity the feast of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, who sealed with blood in Rome the proclamation of the Gospel. At 9:30 a.m. on June 29 I will preside over the holy Mass in the Vatican basilica: It will be a significant occasion to underline the unity and catholicity of the Church.

As in the past, the celebration will be attended by a special delegation sent by the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople. I invite the faithful of Rome -- who venerate the holy Apostles Peter and Paul as their special patrons -- pilgrims, and the whole People of God to invoke heavenly protection on the Church and her pastors.

............

May the Virgin Mary, who accompanies us in our daily journey of life, watch over those who are traveling and obtain mercy for road victims. To her, heavenly Queen of the Apostles, on the imminent feast of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, we entrust the Church and her missionary action in the whole world.

Code: ZE05062904  Date: 2005-06-29                     

Benedict XVI's Homily for Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

"Catholicity and Unity Go Together"

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 29, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily delivered by Benedict XVI at today's Mass for the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, founders and patrons of the Church in Rome.
 ............

"Catholicity means universality -- multiplicity that becomes unity; unity that still remains multiplicity. From Paul's word on the universality of the Church we already saw that part of this unity is the capacity of peoples to overcome themselves, to look toward the one God.

The true founder of Catholic theology, St. Irenaeus of Lyon, expressed this link between catholicity and unity in a very beautiful way: "This doctrine and this faith the Church, disseminated throughout the world, guards diligently, forming almost one single family: the same faith with only one soul and one heart, the same preaching, teaching, tradition as if having one voice. Churches of Germany do not have a different faith or tradition, as neither do those of Spain, of Gaul, of Egypt, of Libya, of the East, of the center of the earth, as the sun creature of God is only one and identical in the whole world, so the light of true preaching shines everywhere and enlightens all men who wish to come to the cognition of truth" ("Adversus Haereses" I, 10,2).

The unity of men in their multiplicity became possible because God, this one God of heaven and earth, showed himself to us; because the essential truth of our life, of our "from where?" and "to where?", became visible when he showed himself to us and in Jesus Christ made us see his face, himself. This truth of the essence of our being, of our living and our dying, truth that by God was made visible, unites us and makes us become brothers. Catholicity and unity go together. And unity has a content: the faith that the apostles transmitted to us on behalf of Christ.

.........

In this perspective I greet from my heart and with gratitude the delegation of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, which is sent by ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, to whom I address a cordial remembrance. Led by Metropolitan Ioannis, it has come to our feast and participates in our celebration. Even if we still do not agree on the question of the interpretation and of the capacity of the Petrine ministry, we are however together in the apostolic succession, we are profoundly united with the others by the episcopal ministry and by the sacrament of the priesthood and we confess together the faith of the apostles as it is given in Scripture and as it is interpreted in the great Councils.

In this hour of the world, full of skepticism and doubts but rich in the desire for God, we acknowledge again our common mission to witness together Christ the Lord and, on the basis of that unity that is already given to us, to help the world believe. And we entreat the Lord with all our heart to guide us to full unity so that the splendor of the truth, which alone can create unity, will again become visible in the world. "  .........
         

V V V

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III  of Alexandria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III is well known for his deep commitment to Christian Unity. In an address he gave at an ecumenical forum during the International Week of Prayer in 1974, he declared, "The whole Christian world is anxious to see the church unite. Christian people, being fed up with divisions, are pushing their church leaders to do something about church unity and I am sure that the Holy Spirit is inspiring us."

In 1973, Pope Shenouda was the first Coptic Pope to visit the Roman Pope in over 1500 years. In this visit, Popes Shenouda III and Paul VI signed a common declaration on the issue of Christology and agreed to further discussions on Christian Unity. There have also been dialogues with various Protestant churches worldwide.

V V V

8 July, 2005  
SYRIA
Greek-Orthodox Synod: “Joy for the renewed ecumenical dialogue”
by Jihad Issa
At the end of their synod, the bishops release a statement in which they “urge everyone to cooperate in the renewal of ecumenism” and express “hope in the democratic rebirth of Lebanon”.

Damascus (AsiaNews) – The Greek-Orthodox Synod of Antioch “welcomes with joy and favor the renewed ecumenical dialogue with the Catholic Church and expresses its confidence to that effect, urging everyone to offer the necessary collaboration”.

This is the gist of the press release published on Thursday, July 7, in which the participants to the annual Greek-Orthodox synod that ended after three days of deliberations “greeted Pope Benedict XVI in a spirit of respect and faith”.

The statement also carried a strong appeal to all “that they may quietly participate in the work of the joint commission to continue on the path towards full [Christian] unity so much desired by Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

During the synod (the 38th) that saw the participation of 19 bishops under the chairmanship of Patriarch Ignatius IV Hazim, a report prepared by Mgr Elias Awde, Metropolitan of Beirut, was read

V V V

CHRIST CANNOT BE DIVIDED!

When the soldiers divided the Savior's garments into four parts, they kept the coat in its undivided state. By this the ineffable wisdom of the Only-begotten was giving as it were a sign of the mystical dispensation whereby the four quarters of the world were destined to be saved. For the four quarters of the world divided, as it were, among themselves the true and holy garment of the Word, that is His Body, which yet remained indivisible. For though the Only-begotten be distributed in small pieces to every one, to sanctify his soul together with his body by His own Flesh; yet He remains One in His entirety and without division in all of them and in all place; for, as Paul says, Christ cannot be divided.                                                          (St. Cyril the Great  On John 19:23-24)

ORTHODOX AND ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CONSULTATION
LEO OF ROME'S SUPPORT OF THEODORET,
DIOSCORUS OF ALEXANDRIA'S SUPPORT OF EUTYCHES
AND THE LIFTING OF THE ANATHEMAS

Excerpts  from Fr. John Romanides, well known research, will come soon.

THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON
AND
THE CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

By The Very Reverend

Father Tadros Malaty

THE IMPORTANCE OF RESTUDYING THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON

Nowadays it is very important to restudy and reexamine the Council of Chalcedon, not for the sake of reminding the world of wounds inflicted upon the Church of Alexandria by her sisters, the apostolic Churches, but in order to clarify the position of the Church of Alexandria. From the seventh century the Church of Alexandria had lost communication with other churches because of unwilling political circumstances. Through this long period she was accused of the following charges:

1. She is Eutychian!, and is called "Monophysite!" This title means that she believes in one nature of Jesus Christ, that the human nature was absorbed totally in the divine nature. This idea differs from our own belief and from our Fathers' belief; and our church never accepted it.
2. Dr. J. Tager [1] states that Christianity was foreign to Egypt until the fifth century, and that Egyptians accepted Christianity for political reasons. When their Patriarchs felt sympathy of the Christian world and the world-wide respect to their education, they found a chance to get rid of the emperor's authority, and did their best to exercise their religious thoughts which differed from those of their direct principal, i.e. the Roman Pope!
This picture is too far from reality with regard to the Coptic Church. History witnesses that Christianity was not foreign in Egypt, hundreds of thousand of Copts had been martyred in the Roman age. In Egypt all forms of the evangelic monastic movements originated, and in Egypt the School of Alexandria was established and its Fathers were well known all over the world. I think that there is no need to argue this accusation that the Patriarchs of Alexandria used to oppose their leader, the Roman Pontiff, for history reveals the relations of mutual respect between Alexandria and Rome!
It is not true that the Coptic Church was separated from the Universal Church because of its desire to flee from Byzantium, but the truth is that the emperors wanted to solve the theological disputes by force, and the Melkite (royal) Patriarch, who was appointed by the emperor, used to persecute the Copts using the power given to him. These elements created a kind of revolution within the souls of the Copts against the rulers.
3. Some scholars accused St. Dioscorus of violence, looking upon his exile as a penalty for his violence. There is a new trend amongst scholars that attributes violence to all Alexandrian Fathers, such as SS. Athanasius and Cyril, looking to their spiritual struggle for keeping fast the true faith of the Church as a kind of violence.
Now, I do not ignore the efforts which the Church in the East and West offered for the cause of unity, especially when many of the theologians acknowledge our true belief concerning Christology. I have already written about this matter l2].
Here I present in brief the theological point of view to clarify the Coptic Church's opinion in the Council of Chalcedon.

THE ALEXANDRIAN AND ANTIOCHENE CHRISTOLOGICAL THOUGHTS[3]

Many scholars attribute the problem of the Christological formula concerning the nature of Christ to the controversy between the Alexandrian and the Antiochene theology. While the Alexandrian School adopted the "hypostatic union" or "natural union" of the Godhead and manhood to assert the oneness of Jesus Christ, the Antiochene School accepted the "indwelling theology," that is the Godhead dwell in Manhood, as if Jesus Christ were two persons in one, to assert that no confusion had occurred between the Godhead and manhood and to avoid attributing human weakness to His divinity. The basis of the point of view to the Alexandrian School was John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh," while that of the Antiochenes was Colossians 2:9 "For in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily."
I would like to make clear the following points:
1. There was a controversy between the two schools, but they agreed on many points.
2. The problem has risen because of those who misinterpreted these Schools' concepts. Apollinarius of Laodicea, who denied that the Lord Jesus had a human soul, and Eutyches of Constantinople denied the humanity of Christ, both did wrong to the School of Alexandria. It is noteworthy that they accepted the Alexandrian formula concrening the one nature of Christ (mia-physis), they were not Alexandrians, nor had they studied the Alexandrian system of theology. On the other side Nestorius, Theodoret of Cyrus, Theodore of Mospuestia and Ibas of Edessa who insisted to divide the Lord Jesus Christ in two persons, did wrong to the School of Antioch.
3. The imperial and church politics played their role in this controversy to create a huge gap between the leaders of these schools.

THE ALEXANDRIAN HYPOSTATIC UNION

St. Cyril, in his struggle against Nestorius explained the "hypostatic union" as a "personal union," "natural union" and "real unification." He conserves at least two ideas:
1. The Logos, an eternal hypostasis, united Himself to manhood, which had no existence before the incarnation and could not be separated from the Godhead. He became individuated by receiving its hypostatic status through His union with the Logos. Manhood was not an independent hypostasis apart from the Logos, but became a hypostasis through union with the Logos.
2. The union of the natures was inward and real.  St. Cyril rejected the Antiochene theory of "indwelling," that is the Godhead of Christ dwelt in His manhood, or the theory of "conjunction" or "close participation" as insufficient to reveal the real unification but permits the division of the natures of Christ as Nestorius taught4.

MIA-PHYSIS OR ONE INCARNATE NATURE5

Sellers states that the majority of bishops who attended the Council of Chalcedon believed that the traditional formula received by St. Athanasius was the "one incarnate nature of the Word of God." This formula differs from that of Eutyches concerning the "one nature."
I have already clarified the meaning of the one nature (of Alexandria) as "mia-physis," through the writings of St. Cyril and the non- Chalcedonian Fathers, such as SS. Dioscorus, Severus of Antioch and Philoxenus: We can summarize the meaning in the following points:
1. We mean by "mia" one, but not "single one" or "simple one," but unity, one "out of two natures" as St. Dioscorus states.
2. St. Cyril insisted on "the one nature" of Christ to assert Christ's oneness, as a tool to defend Church's faith against Nestorianism.
3. According to the Nestorians "one nature" of Christ means only one of two probabilities: the natures had been absorbed or a confusion between the divine and human nature happened to produce one confused nature. St. Cyril confirmed that no confusion or absorption had occurred but a real unity.
4. Jesus Christ is, at once, consubstantial with God the Father and consubstantial with us, men.
5. He is at once God and man (Incarnate God).
6. St. Severus states that in the incarnation "the divine nature of the Word was not changed into what it was not," but He remained what He was.
7. The Word became truly man.
8. Jesus' manhood was perfect, He had a body and also a soul.
9. Manhood of Christ was not formed before the incarnation, i.e. the manhood did not exist then the Godhead dwelt in it afterwards.
Some scholars tried to attribute the Alexandrian theological system to the Egyptian attitude of asceticism, saying that Copts concentrated on the "deification" or "divination" of believers, ignoring the body. I have discussed this wrong idea before6.

THE ANTIOCHENE "DYO PHYSEIS" (TWO NATURES)7

To understand the Antiochene formula: "two natures after the union" we must know its position in the "one nature-two nature dispute":
1.<