How do you solve the Severian dilemma as a Copt?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-08

To "solve" the Severian Dilemma as a Coptic Orthodox Christian is to demonstrate why the Miaphysite confession is the only logically and theologically consistent way to preserve the Unity of Christ and the reality of our Salvation.

The dilemma, as established by St. Severus of Antioch, forces an opponent to define what they mean by "nature" when they count "two." You solve this by presenting the Third Way—the Alexandrian/Coptic synthesis.

1. Identify the False Choice

The opponent tries to force you into two traps:

• Trap A: Natures are just abstract ideas (Universals).
• Trap B: Natures are separate concrete individuals (Particulars).

Your Solution: Reject both. We do not believe in an "abstract" union, nor a "divided" union. Instead, we confess a Hypostatic Union that results in a Composite Nature.

2. Present the Solution: The Composite Nature (ⲫⲩⲥⲓⲥ ⲥⲩⲛⲑⲉⲧⲟⲥ)

The Coptic Orthodox solution is to say that after the union, the Divinity and Humanity are united into One Nature of God the Word Incarnate.

• How to explain it: Use the analogy of the human being. A human is "from" two natures—soul and body.
• If you say a human is only soul, you are a heretic (like Eutyches/Monophysites).
• If you say a human is two separate people (a "Soul-Person" and a "Body-Person"), you are a heretic (like Nestorius).
• The Coptic Truth: Man is one composite nature. The soul and body are distinct in thought, but they form a single, unified reality. You cannot point to the soul and the body as "two" separate actors.

3. Use the Term "From Two" (ⲉⲕ ⲇⲩⲟ ⲫⲩⲥⲉⲱⲛ)

The "solution" to the dilemma of counting is to stop counting "two" after the Union.

• We acknowledge the "two" (Divinity and Humanity) at the moment of the Union (from two).
• However, we confess "one" after the Union (one nature).
• The Logic: If you count "two" after the union, you are admitting they have not truly become one. If they have truly become one, you can no longer count them as two.

4. Apply the "Property" Argument

A common counterattack is: "If there is only one nature, then the Divinity must have changed or the Humanity was swallowed up."

• Your Solution: No. Mention that in the Miaphysis (One Nature), the properties of both natures are preserved "without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration."
• Just as a glowing coal is both "wood" and "fire" in one object—the wood doesn't become fire and the fire doesn't become wood, yet they are one "glowing coal"—so too is Christ. He carries the properties of God and Man in one single, unified Nature.

5. Define the "Subject"

The ultimate solution to the dilemma is the Identity of the Subject.

• Ask: "Who was born?" "Who died on the Cross?"
• If the answer is "The Word," then you must have one nature. If you say "The human nature died," you have two subjects, which is the Nestorian error the dilemma exposes.
• By confessing One Nature, we guarantee that it was God Himself who died for us, not a mere man joined to God.

Summary of the Coptic Solution:

1. Refuse the count: We count natures before the union (in our minds), but we confess one Nature after the union.
2. Use the Human Analogy: Just as soul + body = one human nature, Divinity + Humanity = One Nature of God the Word Incarnate.
3. Preserve the Distinction: "One Nature" does not mean "One Essence." The identities of the divinity and humanity remain distinct but inseparable.
4. The Goal: We maintain the union to ensure that "He Who is" (God) became "what we are" (Man) so that we might become like Him.

This is why we repeat the Homologia at every Liturgy—it is the direct answer to the dilemma, affirming that the union is real, perfect, and results in a single, undivided Lord.