Does the Coptic Church recognize the Council of Chalcedon?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

The Coptic Orthodox Church does not recognize the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) as an Ecumenical Council. In our history and theology, this council is seen as the point of a tragic schism that divided the Church.

To the Coptic Orthodox, there are only three truly Ecumenical Councils: Nicaea (325 AD), Constantinople (381 AD), and Ephesus (431 AD). We reject Chalcedon for several fundamental reasons:

1. Christological Deviations (Miaphysitism vs. Dyophysitism)

The primary issue at Chalcedon was the definition of the Nature of Christ.

• The Coptic Position: We follow the formula of St. Cyril of Alexandria: "One Nature of God the Word Incarnate". We believe that the Divinity and Humanity of Christ united in a real, perfect, and natural union without mingling, without confusion, without alteration, and without division. This is called Miaphysitism.
• The Chalcedonian Position: The council adopted the "Tome of Leo" (from the Bishop of Rome) and defined Christ as being "in two natures." To the Coptic fathers, especially Pope Dioscorus, this language, duo physis, smelled of Nestorianism—the heresy that separated Christ into two persons. By saying "in two natures," the Chalcedonians risked implying that Christ was a composite of two separate entities acting independently.

2. The Injustice against Pope Dioscorus

Pope Dioscorus (the 25th Pope of Alexandria) was a stout defender of the Cyrillian faith. At Chalcedon, he was treated with extreme hostility, physically assaulted, and unjustly deposed and exiled to Gangra. He was not deposed for heresy—even his enemies admitted his faith was Orthodox—but for "canonical reasons" (disciplinary excuses used to silence the See of Alexandria). We venerate him as a Confessor and a Hero of the Faith because he chose exile over betraying the Orthodox truth.

3. Political and Imperial Interference

The Council of Chalcedon was heavily influenced by the Byzantine Emperor Marcian and Empress Pulcheria. The goal was often more about political unity in the Empire and curbing the influence of the See of Alexandria than about theological clarity. After the council, the "Imperial" (Melkite) Church tried to impose the Chalcedonian decrees on Egypt by force, leading to centuries of persecution when Coptic Christians were martyred by fellow "Christians" for refusing to accept the council.

4. Incorrect Labeling

For centuries, the Chalcedonians (Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox) called us "Monophysites." This is a lie and a theological slander. Monophysitism is the heresy of Eutyches, who believed the humanity of Christ was swallowed up or dissolved in His divinity. The Coptic Church anathematizes (excommunicates) Eutyches. We are Miaphysites, believing in a "Union of Natures," not a single nature that ignores the humanity.

Modern Dialogues

In recent decades (specifically since the 1960s and '70s), through the efforts of H.H. Pope Shenouda III, formal dialogues took place between the Oriental Orthodox (non-Chalcedonian) and Eastern Orthodox/Catholic churches. These dialogues concluded that our Christological faith is essentially the same, but we differ in the terminology used and, most importantly, we cannot accept a council that unjustly condemned our fathers and introduced confusing language.

While we remain in a state of schism with the Chalcedonians (Catholics and Eastern Orthodox like the Greeks and Russians), we maintain the truth: is one Person, one Lord, and has one unified nature from two..