Civil law or church canon? some observations on the status of the monophysite bishops in John of Ephesus' church history

Authors

  • Héctor R. Francisco Universidad de Buenos Aires; Universidad Nacional de General Sarmiento

Abstract

Justinian's centralizing religious policy had a strong impact not only on the formation of the Byzantine Church, but also affected the way in which dissident religious groups, particularly the Monophysites, perceived their relationship with the Christian monarchy. This paper analyzes some episodes of the Ecclesiastical History of the Monophysite bishop John of Ephesus. These episodes reflect the shift in the legal statusof the Monophysite bishops related to the transformation of the definition of episcopal authority and perception of religious dissent in the legislation of the sixth century.    

Keywords:

Monophysitism, civil law, John of Ephesus, Church Canon