In 451, the
Council of Chalcedon settled Christological disputes by condemning both
Monophysitism, held by
Eutyches, and
Nestorianism. However, large sections of the
Eastern Roman Empire, especially in
Egypt, but also in
Palestine and
Syria, held
miaphysite views. In order to restore unity, the
Patriarch of Constantinople,
Acacius, devised an
irenic formula, which Emperor
Zeno promulgated without the approval of a synod of bishops. The
Henotikon endorsed the condemnations of
Eutyches and
Nestorius made at
Chalcedon and explicitly approved the twelve anathemas of
Cyril of Alexandria, but avoided any definitive statement on whether Christ had one or two natures, attempting to appease both sides of the dispute. This act failed to satisfy either side. All sides took offence at the Emperor openly dictating church doctrine, although the Patriarch of Antioch was pressured into subscribing to the
Henotikon. When
Patriarch John I of Alexandria refused, the Emperor had him expelled and instead recognized the miaphysite
Peter Mongos, who accepted the
Henotikon. However, other miaphysites abandoned Mongos and were thenceforth called
Akephaloi (headless ones), since they had lost their leader. After two years of prevarication and temporizing by Acacius,
Pope Felix III of Rome condemned the act and excommunicated Acacius (484), although this was largely ignored in Constantinople, even after the death of Acacius in 489. Zeno died in 491. His successor
Anastasius I was sympathetic to the miaphysites, and accepted the
Henotikon. However, Anastasius's position was at odds with the predominantly Chalcedonian population of Constantinople, and
Vitalian, a Chalcedonian general, attempted to overthrow him in 514. Anastasius then attempted to heal the schism with
Pope Hormisdas, but this failed when Anastasius refused to recognize the excommunication of the now deceased Acacius. Vitalian tried to overthrow the emperor a second time, but he was defeated by loyal officers. The schism caused by the
Henotikon was officially settled in 519 when Emperor
Justin I recognized the excommunication of Acacius and reunited the Chalcedonian churches. However, the then-Patriarchs of
Alexandria and
Antioch still embraced miaphysitism, and their churches came to be known in modern times as the
Oriental Orthodox Churches. Meanwhile, the incident did nothing to mend the growing rift between the churches of Constantinople and Rome, which would lead in later centuries to the
East-West Schism. ==See also==