The three chapters: اتفق أن كان في البلاط ثيودروس اسكيذاس أسقف قيصرية قبدوقية ودوميتيانوس أسقف أنقيرة الرها وهما الراهبان الفلسطينيان اللذان رحلا إلى القسطنطينية سنة 563 ليدافعا عمن قال بالأوريجينية الجديدة من رهبان فلسطين فنالا الحظوة لدى الامبراطور ورقيا إلى رتبة الأسقفية وبقيا في العاصمة وأسية وكان ثيودوروس لا يزال يحقد على بيلاجيوس ممثل رومة وجيلاسينوس رئيس أخوية القديس سابا لما أبدياه من النشاط في ملاحقة الرهبان الذين قالوا بالأوريجينية الجديدة في فلسطين. فرأى هذا الأسقف الأوريجيني “الباطني” أن يحقّر سميه ثيودوروس المبسوستي مقابل تحقير اوريجنس لتعلق جيلاسينوس وأتباعه به وتعظيمهم له ولا يخفى أن ثيودوروس المبسوستي كان قد انتقد اوريجنس وتفاسيره الرمزية.
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.
ولا يخفى أن ثيودوروس الموبسوستي جعل من اتحاد الكلمة بالناسوت في المسيح مجرد سكنى وتلطف ومسرة eudaxia لا إتحاداً في الجوهر ousia فأصبحت السيدة في نظره أم إنسان anthropotoxos وأم إله theotoxos! وأهم ما أخذ على ثيودوريطس القورشي اعتراضه على البند الثاني عشر من بنود كيرلس الإسكندري الذي نصَّ على أن “إن الله الكلمة تألم وصلب ومات في الجسد”. أما إيبا الرهاوي فإنه نقل تعاليم ثيودوروس إلى السريانية وفنّد أعمال مجمع أفسس في رسالة وجهها إلى ماري أسقف أردشير. إذاً تنص الفصول الثلاثة على حرم ما يلي:
- The Writings and Person of Theodore of Mopsuestia. Nestorius' teacher
- Writings of Theodoret of Cyrus against Cyril.
- 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). وتوفي افراميوس في السنة 545 فاهتم يوستنيانوس للأمر اهتماماً بالغاً وأخذ يبحث بنفسه عن خلف صالح للرسولين في أنطاكية. فتقدم عدد من الكهنة مرشحين أنفسهم لهذا المنصب الكبير. واتفق أن أمَّ العاصمة آنئذ دومنيوس رئيس إحدى المؤسسات الخيرية في ليخنيدس في تراقية. وما أن تعرف الإمبراطور إلى شخص هذا الرجل الصالح الوقور حتى أوعز بانتخابه بطريركاً على أنطاكية العظمى. ولنا في كره السريان له واعتباره “أكولاً نهماً لا يعمل شيء سوى ركوب الخيل والاضطهاد” دليل على اندفاعه الشديد في سبيل المحافظة على الإيمان القويم.
المجمع المسكوني الخامس – مجمع القسطنطينية الثاني
(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.
إن الإمبراطور يوستنيانوس كان لاهوتيا ضليعا، عبر عن إيمانه الخريستولوجي بكلمات شعرية لا تزال إلى اليوم ترتل في كل قداس الهي أرثوذكسي: “يا كلمة الله الابن الوحيد، الذي لم يزل غير مائت، لقد اقتبلت أن تتجسد لأجل خلاصنا من القديسة والدة الإله الدائمة البتولية مريم، وتأنست بغير استحالة، وصلبت أيها المسيح إلهنا، وبموتك وطئت الموت، وأنت لم تزل أحد الثالوث القدوس، ممجداً مع الآب والروح القدس، خلصنا”. وهذا المقطع يوجد كذلك في قداس الكنيسة اللاخلقيدونية.
A comment adapted from my parish bulletin: ما لا ريب فيه أن الحكم على “الفصول الثلاثة” كان من الواجب أن يتمّ وبإجماع الكنيسة كلها، على الرغم من أن الاقتراح الذي قدّمه ثيوذروس اسقف قيصرية للامبراطور يوستنيانوس كان مغرضا، وذلك أن غايته الحقيقية لم تكن الحكم على الفصول الثلاثة وإنما على “الرؤوس الثلاثة”، أي المعلمين الانطاكيين الثلاثة انفسهم. غير أن هذه الفصول، لو لم تُدَنْ، لكان من الممكن أن تترك مجالا للشك بأن مجمع خليقدونية كان راضيا بها. And reality أن مجمع خليقدونية -كما يُؤكد الاب جورج عطية- بَرَّأ ثيوذوريتوس اسقف قورش وايفا الرهاوي “ليس على اساس قبوله لأفكارهما”، وإنما لسبب رفضهما إياها صراحة “اذ لعنا نسطوريوس وهرطقته وقَبِلا الإيمان الارثوذكسي”.