The Council of Chalcedon was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia from 8 October to 1 November 451. The council was attended by over 520 bishops or their representatives, making it the largest and best-documented of the first seven ecumenical councils. The principal purpose of the council was to re-assert the teachings of the ecumenical Council of Ephesus against the teachings of Eutyches and Nestorius. Such doctrines viewed Christ's divine and human natures as separate (Nestorianism) or viewed Christ as solely divine (Monophysitism).
The 440s decade ran from January 1, 440, to December 31, 449.
Pope Hilarius was the bishop of Rome from AD 461 to 468.
The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom, confirmed the original Nicene Creed, and condemned the teachings of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who held that the Virgin Mary may be called the Christotokos, "Christ-bearer" but not the Theotokos, "God-bearer". It met in June and July 431 at the Church of Mary in Ephesus in Anatolia.
Photios I, also spelled Photius, was the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople from 858 to 867 and from 877 to 886. He is recognized in the Eastern Orthodox Church as Saint Photios the Great.
Epiphanius was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from February 25, 520 to June 5, 535, succeeding John II Cappadocia.
Eutyches or Eutyches of Constantinople was a presbyter and archimandrite at Constantinople. He first came to notice in 431 at the First Council of Ephesus, for his vehement opposition to the teachings of Nestorius. At the 448 Synod of Constantinople and the 451 Council of Chalcedon, Eutyches was condemned for having adopted an equally extreme, although opposite view. He himself, however, would reject this interpretation of his thought.
Flavian, sometimes Flavian I, was Archbishop of Constantinople from 446 to 449. He is venerated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.
Anatolius was a Patriarch of Constantinople. He is regarded as a saint, by both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.
Dioscorus I, also known as Dioscorus the Great, was the pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark who was deposed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. He was recognized as patriarch by the Coptic Church until his death. He died in Gangra, Paphlagonia, in September 454. He is venerated as a saint by the Coptic and other Oriental Orthodox Churches.
Eusebius of Dorylaeum was the 5th-century bishop of Dorylaeum, who spoke out against dissident teachings, especially those of Nestorius and Eutyches, during the period of Christological controversy. After succeeding in having them expelled from their positions, Eusebius was himself deposed and only reinstated two years later, after which the doctrine in dispute was more precisely defined.
The Second Council of Ephesus was a Christological church synod in 449 convened by Emperor Theodosius II under the presidency of Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria. It was intended to be an ecumenical council, and it is accepted as such by the miaphysite churches but was rejected by Chalcedonian Christians. It was explicitly repudiated by the next council, the Council of Chalcedon of 451, recognised as the fourth ecumenical council by Chalcedonian Christians, and it was named the Latrocinium by Pope Leo I; the Chalcedonian churches, particularly the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox communions, continue to accept this designation, while the Oriental Orthodox repudiate it.
Rusticus of Narbonne was a monk of the Lérins Abbey and bishop of Narbonne and Catholic saint of Gaul, born either at Marseilles or at Narbonne.
Chrysaphius was a eunuch in the Eastern Roman court who became the chief minister of Theodosius II. Having a great influence on the rule of the empire during his ascendancy, he pursued a policy of appeasement towards the Huns, which cost the empire far more gold than any military campaign, while amassing a vast fortune in bribes himself. He is depicted as a sinister figure in all the ancient accounts.
Paul II the Black, also known as Paul of Bēth Ukkāme, was the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church from c. 551 or 564 to his deposition in 578. He succeeded Sergius of Tella as the spiritual leader of the Syrian non-Chalcedonians, in opposition to the Chalcedonian Imperial Church, and led the nascent Syriac Orthodox Church as it endured division and persecution.
The East–West Schism that occurred in 1054 represents one of the most significant events in the history of Christianity. It includes various events and processes that led to the schism and also those events and processes that occurred as a result of the schism. Eastern and Western Christians had a history of differences and disagreements, some dating back to the period of Early Christianity. At the very root of what later became the Great Schism were several questions of pneumatology and ecclesiology. The most important theological difference occurred over various questions regarding the procession of the Holy Spirit, and the use of the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed. One of the main ecclesiological issues was the question of papal supremacy. Other points of difference were related to various liturgical, ritual, and disciplinary customs and practices. Some political and cultural processes also contributed to the breakout of the schism.
The Metropolis of Ephesus was an ecclesiastical territory (metropolis) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in western Asia Minor, modern Turkey. Christianity was introduced already in the city of Ephesus in the 1st century AD by Paul the Apostle. The local Christian community comprised one of the seven churches of Asia mentioned at the Book of Revelation, written by John the Apostle. The metropolis remained active until 1922-1923.
Memnon was metropolitan bishop of Ephesus during the third ecumenical council.
Stephen of Ephesus was a bishop of Ephesus, an attendee of the Second Council of Ephesus and the Council of Chalcedon. Stephen became a presbyter in the city of Ephesus about 400 AD and then bishop in 448 AD. He was a staunch rival of his predecessor Bassianus and, as Bassianus himself had done four years earlier, usurped the episcopal see of Ephesus by force. In 448 he threw Bassianus without a trial into prison.
