Pope Dioscorus and the Story of the Dispute with the Church of Constantinople
Saint Dioscorus is one of the saints of this month (Tout).
The Church celebrates his feast on the seventh day of the month of Tout.
He was the 25th Pope of Alexandria. He was one of the graduates of the Clerical College.
He was a learned, meek, and devout man. He was chosen as secretary to his predecessor,
Pope Cyril of Alexandria, the Pillar of the Faith, and then succeeded him on the See of Saint Mark.
He also succeeded him in troubles, persecution, and was persecuted like him for the sake of the faith.
As for Saint Cyril, he found someone who would vindicate him, but Saint Dioscorus found no one to vindicate him except God alone and his loving children.
This time, Leo, Bishop of Rome, disagreed with Flavian, Bishop of Constantinople.
Leo sent a letter on the faith, known in history as the Tome of Leo.
Saint Dioscorus found in it a separation between the divinity of Christ and His humanity.
This separation became known in history as “the two natures.” Saint Dioscorus also saw in it a tendency toward Nestorianism,
which had been condemned by the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus under the presidency of Saint Cyril of Alexandria.
Saint Dioscorus rejected the Tome of Leo, while the Church of Constantinople accepted it.
Marcian, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, and his wife Pulcheria also accepted it.
The emperor and his wife intervened in matters of faith, and the situation became more complicated.
A problem arose concerning Eutyches, the head of a monastery in Constantinople.
He deviated from the faith, and while defending the divinity of Christ, he denied His humanity.
The Church excommunicated him. He pretended to return to the sound faith, so he received absolution, then returned to his heresy and was excommunicated again.
Flavian, Patriarch of Constantinople, also deviated, and the Second Council of Ephesus condemned him in the year 449 AD.
The Council appointed Anatolius as Patriarch of Constantinople.
Up to this point, Saint Dioscorus had been successful and had his position among the holy councils; indeed, he was the president of that Holy Council.
The Council of Chalcedon was convened in the year 451 AD. At it, the Holy Church was divided, and our Coptic Church does not recognize this council.
The Empress Pulcheria had originally been a nun. She abandoned her vow and married the commander Marcian, making him emperor after the death of her brother,
Emperor Theodosius, who had left no heir. She feared for the authority of the Popes of Alexandria and their religious power in the councils!
When Saint Dioscorus entered the Council of Chalcedon, he was astonished to find among the council some Nestorians, such as Theodoret,
Bishop of Cyrus, who was called the teacher of Nestorius, along with other Nestorians. The attitude of the bishops at the council appeared hostile toward Saint Dioscorus.
When Saint Dioscorus spoke, the Empress Pulcheria assaulted him, struck the saint, plucked his beard,
knocked out his teeth, and exiled him from his See. The civil authority united with the bishops of Constantinople in persecuting the Coptic Church.
They appointed Proterius, the intruder, as successor to Saint Dioscorus, but the Coptic people rejected him.
They tried to force the Copts, as a people and as monastics, to accept the Tome of Leo,
the doctrine of the two natures, and the Council of Chalcedon, but the Copts firmly refused.
Force, killing, and torture were used, but all of this did not turn the Copts away from their faith.
It was a tragedy that began in the year 451 AD and continued for 190 years, until the Arab conquest. Its details require articles.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III — in Al-Keraza Magazine — Tenth Year (Issue Thirty-Nine), 28/9/1979.
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