Miaphysite

Miaphysite refers to a Christological position concerning the nature of Jesus Christ. The term comes from Greek mia (“one”) and physis (“nature”). Miaphysitism holds that in the incarnation the divine and human natures are united in a single, composite nature of the incarnate Logos. This unity is said to preserve both the full divinity and the full humanity of Christ without confusion, change, division, or separation. The label is most closely associated with the Oriental Orthodox churches, including the Coptic, Armenian Apostolic, Syriac, Ethiopian, and Eritrean Orthodox churches, which are often described as non-Chalcedonian.

Historically, the controversy followed the early ecumenical councils. The Council of Ephesus (431) affirmed Mary as Theotokos and condemned Nestorianism; the Council of Chalcedon (451) defined Christ as truly God and truly man in two natures in one person. The Oriental Orthodox rejected Chalcedon’s formula, maintaining a Christology anchored in miaphysite language. In practice, churches teaching miaphysite Christology insist on the full reality of both divine and human aspects in Jesus, united in one person, without adopting the Chalcedonian two-nature formula.

In contemporary ecumenical discourse, terms and interpretations vary. Some scholars argue that Miaphysitism and the Chalcedonian dyophysite view describe compatible realities, while others maintain a clear distinction. The term remains a convenient label for a historic set of non-Chalcedonian churches and their Christological emphasis on the unity of Christ’s nature.