Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

CHAPTER 27
THE DEFINITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF
ORTHODOXY
pauline allen
The definition of orthodoxy between 425 and 600 finds expression primarily
in the decrees or statements of the Oecumenical Councils of Ephesus
I (431), Chalcedon (451) and Constantinople II (553), which to a large
extent were held at imperial instigation. The difficulties of enforcing such
definitions, which often had to be upheld by the legislative, military, and
even theological and liturgical interventions of emperors, prove that orthodoxy
so defined was by no means acceptable to all Christians in the empire.
This was particularly the case with the Council of Chalcedon, for its reception
and promulgation, or its rejection and condemnation, were played out
not only in imperial and patriarchal circles, but also among great numbers
of monks and faithful. What, in fact, constituted right belief? Both proponents
and opponents of Chalcedon laid claim to orthdoxy, tracing their
pedigree in right belief back to the Council of Nicaea (325). An additional
complication in assessing the definitions of orthodoxy in this period and
the manner in which they were enforced is caused by the development and
differentiation in the expression of doctrine. The interpretation of
Chalcedon by its sixth-century adherents, for instance, was to differ from
the perception of orthodoxy among their fifth-century counterparts.
Furthermore, imperial policies adopted for the enforcement of orthodoxy
were often dictated by a desire for ecclesiastical unity rather than for the
preservation of right belief, which in such cases was used as an administrative
tool. Increasingly, different perceptions of orthodoxy, and contrary
opinions regarding its enforcement, caused ruptures not only among
Christians of the eastern empire, but between east and west as well.
i. the councils of ephesus i and ii
Prior to the First Council of Ephesus two figures dominate the theological
debate concerning orthodoxy – Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria (412–44), and
the Antiochene Nestorius, who in 428 was appointed by the emperor
Theodosius II as patriarch of Constantinople. While this was indeed a
conflict of personalities, it was also a confrontation between the Alexandrian
school, with its allegorical interpretation of scripture and its emphasis on the
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