06 — Justinian and the Fifth Council

The Emperor Justinian spent nearly forty years trying to win back the provinces Chalcedon had lost, and he tried it by theology rather than by ambiguity: not by leaving the Definition unstated, as the Henotikon had, but by proving that Chalcedon means what Cyril meant. The Fifth Ecumenical Council of 553 is the fruit of that effort — and the effort failed, while producing a permanent dogmatic gain for the Church.

Tradition: Pan-Orthodox

Contents

File Description
the-three-chapters-and-constantinople-ii.md The Collatio of 532 and Justinian’s theological policy; neo-Chalcedonianism and the theopaschite formula; the Three Chapters and why they were chosen; the council of 553, Pope Vigilius, and what it defined; why it did not win back the separated churches, and what it permanently secured
the-condemnation-of-severus-and-the-hardening.md The synod of Constantinople of 536 under Menas and Justinian’s edict; the condemnation of Severus, Anthimus, Peter of Apamea, and Zooras; the destruction of Severus’ Greek works; the persecution and the counter-ordinations; how coercion hardened what it meant to heal; the Orthodox assessment of both the condemnation and the coercion

Reading Order

Read The Three Chapters and Constantinople II first for the doctrinal policy and the council, then The Condemnation of Severus and the Hardening for the coercive side of the same reign and its results.

A Note on Deferral

The Fifth Council in the framework of the seven, the Origenist question, and the case of Pope Vigilius in the history of Roman primacy are carried by The Seven Ecumenical Councils. This section treats 553 specifically as an act aimed at the Chalcedonian schism.

See Also