What does the Coptic Orthodox Church teach about the two natures of Christ?

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

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, we follow the Christology of St. Cyril of Alexandria, known as Miaphysitism. We confess that our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ is one nature out of two—a union of His divinity and His humanity.

To understand our faith properly, it is necessary to distinguish our position from those we reject, specifically the heresies and the innovations of other denominations.

1. The One Incarnate Nature

We believe in "one nature of God the Word incarnate". This means that the Divine nature and the Human nature were united in a true, real, and natural union without mingling, without confusion, without alteration, and without division.

As we confess every day in the Divine Liturgy:

"He made it one with His divinity without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration."

2. We Are NOT Monophysites

It is a common error and a historical slander by others to call Coptic Orthodox Christians "monophysites." Monophysitism (the Eutychian heresy) suggests that Christ's humanity was swallowed up or dissolved by His divinity like a drop of vinegar in the ocean. We condemn this heresy. We believe the humanity remains full and complete, and the divinity remains full and complete, united in one Hypostasis.

3. Rejection of Chalcedonian Dyophysitism

We reject the formula "in two natures" (Dyophysitism) adopted at the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD). This term, used by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox, is problematic because it implies a duality in Christ after the union. To suggest that Christ exists "in two natures" risks the Nestorian heresy—the idea that Christ is two separate persons or that His actions can be partitioned (attributing some to "the man" and some to "the God").

4. The Biblical and Patristic Reality

If Christ were two natures, which nature suffered on the Cross? As Philoxenus and the Fathers argued:

• If you say only the human nature suffered, then our redemption is not divine and has no power to save.
• If you say they are separate, whom did the Magi worship? Divine nature cannot be seen, yet they worshiped the Child.

We believe that the Lord Himself redeemed us—not a mere man and not an angel. The "Weakness of God" (the Cross) is stronger than men because it was God the Word who suffered in the flesh for our sake.

5. Summary of the Union

• Without Mingling: The divinity did not mix with the humanity to become a third, new substance.
• Without Confusion: Each nature retains its distinct properties within the union.
• Without Alteration: God did not change into a man, nor did the man change into God.
• Without Division: They were never separated for a single moment nor a twinkling of an eye.

In the Coptic faith, we do not speak of Christ "in two" but "out of two", resulting in One Composite Nature. This is the truth handed down by St. Cyril and defended by the See of St. Mark against the innovations of Rome and Byzantium.