Dyophysite

Dyophysite is a term in Christian Christology describing the belief that Jesus Christ has two natures, divine and human, united in one person. The word comes from Greek dyo meaning two and physis meaning nature. In common scholarly usage it labels adherents of the Chalcedonian Definition affirmed at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, though the term is descriptive and may carry polemical nuance.

According to dyophysitism, Christ possesses two complete natures that are united in a single hypostasis. Each nature remains distinct and unmixed, yet they operate within the one person of Christ. The Chalcedonian formulation states that the union is without change, without confusion, without division, and without separation, so that Christ is truly God and truly man.

Historically, dyophysitism was opposed by groups holding miaphysite or monophysite positions. The term is used to distinguish Chalcedonian churches, including Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and many Protestant bodies, from non-Chalcedonian churches such as the Oriental Orthodox. In contemporary ecumenical dialogue, dyophysitism remains a descriptive label rather than a universally accepted denomination, and some churches affirm the two-nature language with varying nuances.

In scholarship, dyophysite may describe a broader Christological stance rather than a formal ecclesial identity, and it can appear in debates where different understandings of the relationship between Jesus’ divinity and humanity are discussed.