The three chapters: It so happened that there were in the court Theodoros Askidas, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Domitianus, Bishop of Ankara, Edessa. They were the two Palestinian monks who traveled to Constantinople in the year 563 to defend those who spoke of the new Origenism among the monks of Palestine. They gained favor with the Emperor, were promoted to the rank of bishopric, and remained in the capital and Asia. Theodorus still resented Pelagius. Representative of Rome and Gelasinus, head of the Brotherhood of Saint Saba, for their activity in persecuting the monks who preached the new Origenism in Palestine. This “esoteric” Origen bishop decided to demean his name, Theodorus of Mepsosthe, in exchange for Origen’s disdain for Gelasinus and his followers’ attachment to him and their glorification of him. It is no secret that Theodoros of Mepsosthe had criticized Origen and his symbolic interpretations.

Rome summoned Pelagius in 543, and Bishop Theodorus became the emperor's most influential advisor. Theodore was still courting and complimenting her husband to reconcile him with her group of Monophysites, so she encouraged Theodoros in his position on his so-called Mepsosti and advised him to inform her husband of his opinion. Theodorus took advantage of an appropriate circumstance during one of his evenings in the palace library and drew Justinian’s attention to the possibility of winning over the Monophysites by denouncing the Nestorians who had disowned them at the Chalcedonian Council. He listened to him, then consulted himself, corrected Theodorus’ opinion, and issued a new Sunni decree in which he forbade the teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus, and Ebba of Edessa.

This imperial will came in three chapters. Hence the saying the three seasons. The text of this will has been lost, and only some fragments remain scattered here and there. The credit for collecting these fragments goes to the scholar Schwartz, who took pains to match the remaining texts and join them together to form a unified, sequential, continuous collection.

It is no secret that Theodorus of Mopsuosti made the union of the Word and humanity in Christ merely an indwelling, gentleness, and pleasure eudaxia, not a union in essence ousia, so the Lady became in his view the mother of the human being anthropotoxos and the mother of the god theotoxos! The most important thing that took place against Theodoret of Cyrus was his objection to the twelfth clause of Cyril of Alexandria, which stated that “God the Word suffered, was crucified, and died in the flesh.” As for Ebba of Rahawi, he transferred the teachings of Theodorus to Syriac and refuted the actions of the Council of Ephesus in a letter he addressed to Mary, Bishop of Ardashir. Therefore, the three chapters stipulate that the following is forbidden:

1. The Writings and Person of Theodore of Mopsuestia. Nestorius' teacher
2. Writings of Theodoret of Cyrus against Cyril.
3. Eva of Rahawi's letter to Maris the Persian. In which he said that Cyril's teaching was heretical

Justinian asked all bishops in both the East and the West to agree with him in denouncing these works and sayings. Avramius, Patriarch of Antioch, hesitated for a while and then agreed shortly before his death. The Western bishops were not satisfied with these chapters, and Pope Vigilius went along with them in this regard. They were not approved in the West because the Fourth Council used Tomos Leo in the final statement. They said, if we sign these condemnations against the Council of Chalcedon, then we condemn Chalcedon, and it is considered a victory for the Chalcedonians and a devaluation of Pope Leo, whose writings were practically taken as a basis in the Fourth Council. Also, since these people who are condemned by the three chapters were Orthodox, is it reasonable that after their death we condemn them as heretics and excommunicate them? The Bishop of Carthage wrote to the Emperor that it is not permissible to excommunicate a person after his death. The Monophysites underestimated the work of the emperor because the text of the will prohibiting the three chapters also contained a similar prohibition for those who thought of nullifying the decisions of the Chalcedonian Council.

So Justinian summoned the Pope to Constantinople, and he came there and ended up complying with the will of the Emperor. He wrote his letter known as the Judicatum, in which he denounced the Three Chapters (548). This was under pressure from Empress Theodora, who helped him ascend to the Roman throne. But his bishops attacked him and set a time for him to repent. Vigilius stayed in Constantinople and retracted his statement in the Judicatum. Then Justinian issued a second order (551) denouncing the Three Chapters and requesting its approval. Vigilius refused and entered St. Peter's Church in the Hormizda Palace and took refuge there, holding on to the pillar of the table. The soldiers pulled him by force, and the column withdrew and the table fell.

Domninos the Patriarch: (545-559). Avramius died in the year 545, so Justinian paid great attention to the matter and began personally searching for a worthy successor to the apostles in Antioch. A number of priests came forward as candidates for this major position. It happened that the mother of the capital at that time was Domnius, the head of one of the charitable institutions in Lychnides in Thrace. As soon as the Emperor recognized the person of this righteous and venerable man, he instructed him to elect him as Patriarch of Great Antioch. The Syriacs’ hatred of him and his consideration of him as “a voracious eater who does nothing but ride horses and persecute” is evidence of his intense drive to preserve the right faith.

Fifth Ecumenical Council - Second Council of Constantinople

(553) Justinian wanted to put an end to the dispute over the three chapters, so he consulted in calling for a fifth ecumenical council to look into this dispute and decide on it. During the consultation, Menas, Patriarch of Constantinople, died, and was succeeded by Euphticius, the Pontian monk. Euphticius announced that he had received the staff of patronage to Pope Vigilius, residing in Constantinople (January 6, 553), and he attached this message of peace to a statement of faith, signed by him, Apollinaris, Patriarch of Alexandria, Domeninus, Patriarch of Antioch, and Elijah, Archbishop of Thessalonica. Vigilius sensed the orthodoxy of his colleagues, so he agreed to call for an ecumenical council to be held under his leadership to consider the matter of the three chapters.

The Pope of Rome wanted the council to meet in Sicily and Italy to ensure a Western African majority, but Justinian required equality between the five patriarchs, ancient Rome, new Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. By sending a similar number of bishops from all of these patriarchates. The Pope protested, but the Emperor did not care.

The council met in the Patriarchal Palace next to the Church of Divine Wisdom (Agia Sophia) on May 5, 553, under the chairmanship of Euphticius, Patriarch of Constantinople, and the membership of Apollinaris, Patriarch of Alexandria, and Domninus, Patriarch of Antioch. One hundred and forty-five bishops.

Antiochian delegation: The Antiochian delegation consisted of Domninos the Patriarch, Domninos Qinnasrine, Dionysius of Slavicia of the Coast, Thomas of Apamea, Theodotos of Slavicia of Assyria, Paul Idrasus, Peter Domitiopolis, Peter of Tarsus, Cyprian Coricus, Cosmas of Mallus, Ethereus of Ain Zerba, Pascasius of Aegean, and Niciates of Epiphanius of Cilicia. And Theodoros of Manbij, and John of New Caesarea on the Euphrates, and Julianus of Bilqis, and the Amazons of Edessa, and Julianus of Serouj, and Thomas of Circus, and Thomas of Constantinople, and Nonus of Doser, and Sergius of Hemeria. Kyriakos Amed and Theodorus Engel. And John Busra and Dhurmanius Deraa. Eusebius of Tyre, Zosimus of Tartous, Syncratius of Arwad, Leonidius of Arqa, Stephen of Batroun, Theodosius of Byblos, George of Akkah, and Anastasius of Rakhla. And Efstathios of Damascus, and John of Barqash (Ghouta), and Theodoros of Giroud, and Eulogius of Maheen, and Theodoros of Latakia? Stephen of Latakia, Stephen of Baniyas the coastal city, and Romanos of Jableh. Ibrahim Al-Rusafa and Stephen Dara.

As for the representation of the Pope, this council was devoid of a representative of the Pope. The reason is that the Pope of Rome was in Constantinople, but he did not attend this council because he knew that the council was on its way to condemn the Three Chapters, and this is what the Church of Rome was opposed to. However, the Emperor did not allow him to go to Rome before he signed the statement. On his way to Rome he died.

Complex works: This council was headed by Eutychios, Patriarch of Constantinople, and was attended by 163 bishops, including Apollinaris, Patriarch of Alexandria, and Domnian, Patriarch of Antioch. Justinian’s letter was read, in which the members were mixed about the matter of the three chapters and hinted that most of the bishops had previously denounced the teachings of the three Antiochians. Then it was decided that a delegation of bishops would move to the headquarters of Pope Vigilius to invite him, in the name of the council, to participate in the work of the council. A delegation consisting of the three patriarchs and a large number of bishops called Vigilius and informed him of the council’s decisions. The Pope complained of an illness that he suffered from, and the council took some time before accepting and rejecting. Then the delegation repeated the matter the next day, and Vigilius replied that he would not participate in the work of the council unless other Italian bishops participated with him. The Patriarch of Constantinople presided over the council and approved all the actions of previous ecumenical councils. Since the Third Council had adopted the title of the Mother of God, this Council adopted the title of the Ever-Virgin. On the twelfth of May and the thirteenth, the Council examined the issue of the three chapters.

On the fourteenth of May, Vigilius, Pope of Rome, presented to the emperor a Constitutum memorandum in which he reviewed his position on the three chapters from the time their issue was raised until the day he wrote his memorandum. In this memorandum, Vigilius stated many things that he blamed Theodoros of Mopsuesti for, but he refrained from denouncing Theodoros after his death, especially since he died in the embrace of the universal Church. He also refrained from rejecting Theodoretus and Ebba because the Fourth Ecumenical Council listened to them and absolved them of Nestorianism. Justinian refused to address this papal document, claiming that it was useless, stressing that the Pope had previously rejected the three chapters. If he defended with his new document what he had previously rejected, he would have contradicted himself and weakened his argument.

On the seventeenth and nineteenth of May, the Council returned to examine the issue of the three chapters. On June 2, in the final eighth session, the members unanimously agreed to reject all of the works of Theodore of Mopsuest and to denounce Theodoret’s position on the Council of Ephesus and the provisions of Cyril. They clearly stated Ebba's infidelity and atheism in the letter he addressed to Mary. Justinian considered the decisions of this council binding and forced the bishops to accept them. He exiled Vigilius's entourage to Upper Egypt, and he showed compassion to the Pope himself because he was suffering from gallstone disease, so he kept him in Constantinople and did not deport him. Six months later, Vigilius agreed with the council’s decisions, wrote a letter to his fellow Constantinople, and issued a second Constitutum refuting what was stated in the first (February 554). He remained in Constantinople for another year and did not leave it before he obtained the Emperor’s approval for a new regime for Italy. He departed for Rome, but died in Syracuse before arriving.

New Origenism: Origen is a major theologian and is considered one of the greatest theologians of the Alexandrian School. He studied under Clement of Alexandria. He was famous for his eloquence and eloquence. While studying theology, he met and debated with philosophers. So he studied philosophy to respond to them. He was convinced that philosophy helps express the Christian faith. This is one of the drawbacks to it. This council also condemned those who believed in the new Origenism as the prior existence of souls, the salvation of all, even Satan, thanks to God’s mercy. The council condemned these teachings.

This council was considered ecumenical at the end of the sixth century when the Pope of Rome at that time studied the works of the council and the Church of Rome recognized it.

Emperor Justinian was a well-versed theologian. He expressed his Christological faith in poetic words that are still chanted today in every Orthodox Divine Mass: “O Word of God, the only Son, who is not yet dead, you have accepted to be incarnated for our salvation by the Saint Mary, the ever-virgin Mother of God.” And you were made human without transmutation, and you were crucified, O Christ our God, and by your death you trampled death, and you were still one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us. This passage is also found in the Mass of the Anti-Chalcedonian Church.

A comment adapted from my parish bulletin: There is no doubt that the ruling on the “three chapters” had to be carried out with the consensus of the entire church, despite the fact that the proposal presented by Theodore, Bishop of Caesarea, to Emperor Justinian was tendentious, because his real goal was not to rule on the three chapters, but rather on the “three heads.” “, that is, the three Antiochian teachers themselves. However, these chapters, had they not been condemned, would have left room for doubt that the Council of Chalcedon was satisfied with them. And reality The Council of Chalcedon - as Father George Atiya confirms - acquitted Theodoretos, Bishop of Cyrus, and Eve of Rahavi “not on the basis of his acceptance of their ideas,” but rather for the reason that they explicitly rejected them. “We cursed Nestorius and his heresy and accepted the Orthodox faith.”.