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I have heard that the Armenian Apostolic Church
recently resolved their original
theological differences with the Catholic Church,
within the last two years. My understanding
is that these differences were based on Christological
issues apart from the notion of the Roman
primacy.
Is this true?
What is the nature of this resolution?
Where can I find out more?
(My current sources are unreliable daily papers)
A close friend is an Armenian Apostolic Christian and
is considering converting to the Church.
Many thanks for your fantastic work.
God Bless,
Joseph
{
How were
the differences resolved between the Armenian Apostolic
and Catholic Church? }
John
replied:
Hi, Joseph —
In the fifth century, there were two schisms over Christology. The first
happened after the Council of Ephesus (431). This Council declared that Jesus
was one Divine Person from the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and therefore Mary is the Mother of
God. At this point, some Eastern Churches left and followed a man called Nestorius.
About 30 years later, a man named Apollinaris started teaching that Christ
was not only one person but only had one Divine nature and will, unlike what we believe as Catholics. (See my Catechism references below.) This
was rejected at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. Those that went into
Schism were called Monophysites. Among them are the Coptics and Armenian
Apostolic Churches.
481 Jesus Christ possesses two natures, one divine and the other human, not confused, but united in the one person of God's Son.
482 Christ, being true God and true man, has a human intellect and will, perfectly attuned and subject to his divine intellect and divine will, which he has in common with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
483 The Incarnation is therefore the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one person of the Word.
In recent years both these camps have worked out formulas between both the
Catholic and Orthodox Churches which satisfy everyone involved. Much of
the problem was semantical and based on miscommunications due to the language barrier
in the fifth century.
In substance, there is no longer an issue over Christology
with either the Monophysites or Nestorians.
