View source for Pope Dioscorus I of Alexandria

{{Short description|Head of the Coptic Church from 444 to 454}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Pope
| honorific-prefix = [[Saint]]
| name = Dioscorus the Great
| title = [[Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church|Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark]]
| image = Dioskoros, biskup Aleksandrii.jpg
| caption = [[Coptic art|Coptic icon]] of St. Dioscorus from the [[Monastery of Saint Anthony]], by Theodore, 13th century
| venerated = [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox Churches]]<br>[[Non-Chalcedonian]], [[Coptic Catholic Church]], [[Ethiopian Catholic Church]], [[Eritrean Catholic Church]], [[Syriac Catholic Church]], [[Armenian Catholic Church]], [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]]
| shrine = [[Coptic Cathedral|St Mark Cathedral (Cairo, Egypt)]]
| enthroned = 444
| ended = September 454
| predecessor = [[Cyril of Alexandria|Cyril "Pillar of Faith"]]
| successor = [[Pope Timothy II of Alexandria|Timothy II]] {{Small|([[Non-Chalcedonian]])}}<br/>[[Proterius of Alexandria|Proterius]] {{Small|([[Chalcedonian]])}}
| ordination = 
| church = [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]]
| birth_date = 
| birth_place = [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt]]
| death_date = September 454
| death_place = 
| buried = [[Gangra]], [[Paphlagonia]]<br />(modern-day [[Çankırı]], Turkey)
| nationality = [[Roman Empire|Roman]]
| religion = [[Oriental Orthodox Churches|Oriental Orthodoxy]]
| residence = [[Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Alexandria)|Saint Mark's Church]]
| feast_day = 7 [[Thout]] in the [[Coptic calendar]]<ref name=Tout7>{{cite web |url=http://copticchurch.net/classes/synex.php?sa=1&month=1&day=7&btn=View#1 |title=Commemorations for Tout 7 |publisher=Coptic Orthodox Church Network |access-date=8 January 2013 |archive-date=6 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106031630/http://copticchurch.net/classes/synex.php?sa=1&month=1&day=7&btn=View#1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> (4 September in the [[Julian calendar]]) (17 September in the [[Gregorian calendar]] [from 1901 to 2099])
}}
{{Oriental Orthodox sidebar|expanded=figures}}

'''Dioscorus I''' ({{Langx|el| Διόσκορος Α΄ ὁ Ἀλεξανδρείας}}), also known as '''Dioscorus the Great''', was the [[List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria|pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark]] who was deposed by the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451. He was recognized as patriarch by the [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Church]] until his death. He died in [[Gangra]], [[Paphlagonia]], in September 454. He is venerated as a [[saint]] by the Coptic and other [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Tout 7 : Lives of Saints : Synaxarium|website=CopticChurch.net|url=https://www.copticchurch.net/synaxarium/1_7.html }}</ref>

==Early life==
Dioscorus' origins are unknown, although it is known that he was not a [[Copt]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Menze|first=Volker|year=2023|title=Patriarch Dioscorus Of Alexandria The Last Pharaoh And Ecclesiastical Politics In The Later Roman Empire|publisher=Oxford University Press |url=https://archive.org/details/oxford-early-christian-studies-volker-l.-menze-patriarch-dioscorus-of-alexandria/|isbn=978-0192871336|page=56|quote=Dioscorus' personal background is completely unknown.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Frend |first=William |author-link=W. H. C. Frend |url=https://archive.org/details/ancient-christian-writers-no.-51.-cassiodor.-walsh-patrick-gerard-senator-cassio/Frend%2C%20The%20Rise%20of%20the%20Monophysite%20Movement/ |title=The Rise of the Monophysite Movement |date=1972 |isbn=978-0227172414|page=xiv|quote=Neither Cyril nor his 'Monophysite' successors were Copts.}}</ref> Dioscorus served as the [[dean (education)|dean]] of the [[Catechetical School of Alexandria]], and was the personal secretary of [[Cyril of Alexandria]], whom he accompanied to the [[Council of Ephesus]] in 431. He eventually rose to the position of [[archdeacon]].<ref name=EB>''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', [[Micropædia]] v. 4, p. 112. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1998. {{ISBN|0-85229-633-9}}.</ref> He had been made Cyril's designated successor.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Haas |first=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c2NdJo7uLZoC |title=Alexandria in Late Antiquity: Topography and Social Conflict |date=2006-11-15 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-8541-9 |language=en}}</ref>

==Opposition to Nestorius==
In his struggle against [[Nestorius]], Cyril explained the union between the [[Christology|divine and human natures of Christ]] as "inward and real without any division, change, or confusion." He rejected the [[School of Antioch|Antiochene theory]] of "indwelling", or "conjunction" or "close participation", as insufficient. Thus the Alexandrian formula adopted by Cyril and Dioscorus was, in [[Greek language|Greek]], {{transliteration|el|''[[Miaphysitism|mia physis tou theou logou sesarkomene]]''}}, which translates into "one nature of God the Word Incarnate", by which Cyril meant "one nature"—that [[Jesus|Christ]] is at once God and man. On the other hand, the Antiochene formula was "two natures after the union", or "in two natures", which translates to {{transliteration|el|''[[Dyophysite|dyo physis]]''}}. This formula explained Christ as existing in two natures, God and man.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Nestorius was condemned and deposed by the [[First Council of Ephesus]], which approved of the Second Epistle of Cyril to Nestorius.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Seleznyov |first1=Nikolai N. |title=Nestorius of Constantinople - Condemnation, Suppression, Veneration: With special reference to the role of his name in East-Syriac Christianity |journal=Journal of Eastern Christian Studies |date=2010 |volume=62 |issue=3–4 |pages=165–190 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1845014}}</ref>

==Patriarch of Alexandria==
Dioscorus succeeded Cyril as Patriarch of Alexandria in the summer of 444.<ref name=chapman/>

Soon after Dioscorus' consecration, [[Theodoret]] sent a letter (''Letter 60'') to him. In this letter he praises Dioscorus' modesty and humility, stating: "you do not behold the multitude of your subjects nor the exaltation of your throne, but you see rather human nature, and life's rapid changes, and follow the divine laws whose observance gives us the kingdom of heaven". Though being theologically opposed to him, Theodoret always positively represents Dioscorus' qualities. Theodoret had written against the [[12 Anathemas of Saint Cyril]] and did not condemn Nestorius until the [[Council of Chalcedon]]. [[William Bright (historian)|W. Bright]] states that Theodoret's: "testimony in his favour cannot be suspected".<ref>{{Cite web |title=BibleStudyTools.com |url=https://www.biblestudytools.com/history/early-church-fathers/post-nicene/vol-3-theodoret-jerome-gennadius-and-rufinus/theodoret/letters-blessed-theodoret-bishop-of-cyrus.html |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=Bible Study Tools |language=en}}</ref>

Cyril's nephew [[Athanasius of Alexandria (presbyter)|Athanasius]], who C. Haas describes as a "wealthy Alexandrian priest and potential rival" was a fierce critic of Dioscorus. Immediately after his accession Dioscorus was worried that the influential group of Cyril's relatives would be tempted to sabotage his tenure. He was also legally obliged to persecute them for misappropriating church property. Dioscorus regained property (including boats) for the Church, and destroyed property and fruit trees that had been illegally situated on land belonging to the Church.<ref name=":1" /> Athanasius claimed that from the outset of his episcopate, Dioscorus harassed him and his brother by using influence with the court, so that the brother died of distress, and Athanasius, with his aunts, sister-in-law, and nephews, were bereft of their homes by the patriarch's malignity. According to the [[deacon]] Ischyrion in the third session of the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451, Dioscorus had laid waste to property, inflicted fines and exile, as well as buying up and selling at a high price the wheat sent by the government to Libya.<ref name="Bright">{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|}}</ref> In ''Patriarch Dioscorus of Alexandria: The Last Pharaoh and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Later Roman Empire'', V.L. Menze writes that illegal property had been "bearing income to the deacon Ischyrion".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Menze |first=Volker L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fYy0EAAAQBAJ |title=Patriarch Dioscorus of Alexandria: The Last Pharaoh and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Later Roman Empire |date=2023-03-15 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-269917-6 |language=en}}</ref>

==Reception of Eutyches==
[[Eutyches]] was an [[archimandrite]] in [[Constantinople]]. In his opposition to Nestorianism, he seemed to take an equally extreme, although opposite view. Eutyches claimed to be a faithful follower of Cyril. In November 448, [[Flavian of Constantinople|Flavian, Bishop of Constantinople]] held a [[synod]] regarding a point of discipline connected with the province of Sardis. Eutyches had been accusing various personages of covert Nestorianism, and at the end of the session of this synod one of those inculpated, Eusebius, Bishop of Dorylaeum, brought the question forward, and proffered a counter charge of heresy against the archimandrite.<ref name=chapman>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|Chapman, John. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05631a.htm "Eutyches"] ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 6 February 2019}}</ref> Eutyches was summoned to clarify his position regarding the nature of Christ. When asked whether Christ was in two natures after the union, Eutyches responded by stating: "I confess that our Lord was of two natures before the union, but after the union, one nature... I follow the teaching of the blessed Cyril and the holy Fathers and the holy Athanasius, because they speak of two natures before the union, but after the union and incarnation, they speak not of two natures but of one nature." Flavian had demanded that Eutyches confess two natures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cohen |first=Samuel |date=2022-01-25 |title=Eutychianorum furor! Heresiological Comparison and the Invention of Eutychians in Leo I's Christological Polemic |journal=Entangled Religions |volume=11 |issue=4 |doi=10.46586/er.11.2020.9434 |issn=2363-6696|doi-access=free |s2cid=246332371 }}</ref> Finding his response unsatisfactory, the synod condemned and exiled Eutyches as well as excommunicating anyone associated with him.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Constantinople 448 - The Condemnation of Eutyches |url=https://earlychurchtexts.com/public/constantinople_448_eutyches.html |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=earlychurchtexts.com}}</ref>

Eutyches appealed against this decision, labeling Flavian a Nestorian, and received the support of Dioscorus. In his famous ''Tome'', [[Pope Leo I]] confirmed Flavian's theological position but as he concluded that Eutyches had erred through ignorance, he also requested that Eutyches should be readmitted if he repented.<ref name="zeitun-eg.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.zeitun-eg.org/Coptic_interpretations_of_the_Fourth_Ecumenical_Council_(Chalcedon).pdf |title=Coptic interpretations of the Fourth Ecumenical Council |publisher=Our Lady of Zeitun Online |access-date=8 January 2013}}</ref>

==Second Council of Ephesus==
Through the influence of the court official [[Chrysaphius]], the godson of Eutyches, in 449, Emperor [[Theodosius II]] convened the [[Second Council of Ephesus]]. In remembrance of Cyril's role during the council of 431, the emperor asked Dioscorus to preside over the meetings. The council subsequently decided to reinstate Eutyches and to depose Flavian, as well as [[Eusebius of Dorylaeum]], [[Theodoret|Theoderet of Cyrrus]], [[Ibas of Edessa]], and [[Domnus II of Antioch]]. Leo's legates protested but were ignored.<ref name=EB/> Dioscorus and his council proceeded to depose [[Theodoret]] and several other bishops. Pope Leo called the council a "robber synod". In the spring of 450 at Nicaea, Dioscorus, while on his way to the court, caused ten bishops whom he had brought from Egypt to sign a document excommunicating Pope Leo.<ref name="Bright" /> Flavian was sent into exile. Anatolius, who had been the agent of Dioscorus at Constantinople, was appointed his successor.<ref name="Tout7" />

[[File:Martyrdom of Saint Flavian.png|alt=Depiction of the Martyrdom of Flavian by Dioscorus and Barsumas.|thumb|Dioscorus and Barsauma depicted killing Flavian]]
The common narrative is that Dioscorus partook in and/or ordered an assault on Flavian, who died three days later. However, there are varying accounts at the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451 of who killed Flavian. Those accused included Dioscorus himself (Session I, Line 30, and many other lines), his soldiers (Session I, Line 54), his [[Synkellos|personal clerics]] (Session III, 54), the Bishops of Egypt, Illyricum, and Palestine (Session I, Line 32, 38), Barsauma (Session IV, Line 77, 81), Barsauma's monks (Session I, Line 851), the [[Parabalani]] (Session I, Line 851), the Bishops who opposed Dioscorus (Session I, Line 853), a miscellaneous mob (Session I, Line 62, 851) and [[Juvenal of Jerusalem]] (Session I, Line 62).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Price |first1=Richard |url=http://dge.cchs.csic.es/dge-i/lst-trad/Bookzz/Price%20-%20Gaddis%202007.pdf |title=The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon |last2=Gaddis |first2=Michael |date=2007 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |isbn=978-1-84631-100-0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140211072052/http://ixoyc.net/data/Fathers/624.pdf |archive-date=2014-02-11}}</ref> In ''The Exile and Death of Flavian of Constantinople: A Prologue to the Council of Chalcedon'', [[Henry Chadwick (theologian)|H. Chadwick]] claims that [[Pulcheria]] and possibly [[Anatolius of Constantinople|Anatolius]] were most likely responsible because she planned "reunion with Rome" and a council that would overturn unfavourable results at the [[Second Council of Ephesus]]. Given they wanted to overturn the results of the council, he notes that [[Pope Leo I]] would never have been willing to recognise [[Anatolius of Constantinople|Anatolius]] as bishop if Flavian were still alive. Given Flavian was being exiled he would be incapable of pursuing their objectives. Chadwick states that: "Nothing could have been easier than to arrange an unfortunate 'accident'. Nothing would have been more convenient to Pulcheria and the patriarch than his removal from the scene." When Flavian is killed and Anatolius comes to power, Chadwick notes a "dramatic decision to throw Dioscorus aside, to reassert the claims of his see to be the second see of Christendom, and to accept, as a necessary bargain, the Tome of Leo." He sees these facts as indicating Flavian's death was ultimately in Pulcheria and Marcian's best interest.<ref name="Chadwick"/>

Additional, possibly embellished details about Flavian's death only appear in later authors. The earliest source on Flavian's death, [[Nestorius]], describes how Flavian was beaten at Ephesus, though not to death, and then banished to his home city of [[Hypaepa]]. However, the soldiers rushed him to his place of exile (with murderous intent, according to Nestorius), so that Flavian's injuries combined with the fatigue of the journey led to his death after four days.<ref name="Chadwick">{{cite book |last=Chadwick|first=Henry|author-link=Henry Chadwick (theologian)|year=1955|title=The Exile and Death of Flavian of Constantinople: A Prologue to the Council of Chalcedon|publisher=Oxford Publishing Limited(England) |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-theological-studies_1955-04_6_1/|access-date=2 December 2024}}</ref> [[Prosper of Aquitaine]], another contemporary, affirms that Flavian was killed by the soldiers taking him to his place of banishment. In a disputed letter to [[Theodoret]] dated 11 June 453, Pope Leo blamed Dioscorus in a general sense for Flavian's death. [[Liberatus of Carthage]] relates that Flavian suffered blows and died as a result. According to [[Evagrius Scholasticus]], [[Eusebius of Dorylaeum]] complained at the council that Dioscorus himself, along with Barsauma's monks, beat and kicked Flavian.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Evagrius Scholasticus |author-link=Evagrius Scholasticus |title=Ecclesiastical History (431–594 AD), Book 2 |translator=Edward Walford |translator-link=Edward Walford |url=https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/evagrius_2_book2.htm |isbn=978-0353453159 |quote=He also said that Flavian had even been brought to a miserable end by being thrust and trampled on by Dioscorus himself.}}</ref> [[Theophanes the Confessor]], writing three centuries after the event, mentions that Dioscorus personally struck Flavian "both with hands and feet".<ref>{{cite book |author=Charles Joseph Hefele |author-link=Karl Josef von Hefele |title=A History Of The Councils Of The Church |date=12 June 2014 |publisher=CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform |url=https://www.ecatholic2000.com/councils/untitled-35.shtml |isbn=978-1500177898}}</ref> The detail of Flavian clutching the altar as he was beaten is also a later invention.

Theodosius supported the council's decisions until he died on 28 July 450. His sister [[Pulcheria]] returned to power and made the officer [[Marcian]] her consort and emperor. She consulted with Pope Leo on convoking a new council, gathering signatures for his ''Tome'' to be introduced as the basic paper for the new council, but also insisted, against Leo's wishes, that the council should be held not in Italy but in the East. Meanwhile, the new imperial couple brought Flavian's remains back to Constantinople and exiled [[Eutyches]] to Syria.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==Council of Chalcedon==
{{Main|Council of Chalcedon}}
The [[Council of Chalcedon]] in October 451 dealt with the Christological views of Eutyches but also with Dioscorus' views and earlier behaviour; specifically, his condemnation of the bishop Flavian in Ephesus II was questioned. When, at the Council of Chalcedon, he was asked why he had deposed Flavian, he, according to the minutes of Chalcedon, responded, "Flavian was deposed for this reason, that he spoke of two natures after the union. But I have quotations from the holy fathers Athanasius, Gregory and Cyril saying in numerous places that one should not speak of two natures after the union".<ref>Richard Price & Michael Gaddis, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=6IUaOOT1G3UC&pg=PA190 The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon]'', vol. 1 (Liverpool University Press, 2005; {{ISBN|0-85323-039-0}}), p. 190</ref>

At the council, Dioscorus expressed a willingness to condemn Eutyches. According to the minutes of the council of Chalcedon, Dioscorus stated: "If Eutyches holds opinions contrary to the doctrines of the church, he deserves not only punishment but hell fire. For my concern is for the apostolic faith and not for any human being."<ref name=Bright/>

The council deposed Dioscorus and other bishops that had been responsible for the decisions of 449 for violations of [[canon law]] rather than of [[heresy]]; Dioscorus had not attended the council of Chalcedon from the third session onward despite an imperial call to do so, which was a deposable offence. According to the minutes of the council of Chalcedon, Dioscorus had given the reason of ill health for his nonattendance from the third session. However, historical accounts from the Eastern Orthodox Church note that Dioscorus was put under solitary arrest. As a result, he was condemned, but by an underwhelming amount (more than half the bishops present for the previous sessions did not attend his condemnation), and all of his decrees were declared null. Empress Pulcheria (Marcian's wife) told Dioscorus "In my father's time, there was a man who was stubborn (referring to [[St. John Chrysostom]]) and you are aware of what was made of him", to which Dioscorus famously responded "And you may recall that your mother prayed at his tomb, as she was bleeding of sickness". Pulcheria is said to have slapped Dioscorus in the face, breaking some of his teeth, and ordered the guards to confine him, which they did pulling his beard hair. Dioscorus is said to have put these in a box and sent them back to his Church in Alexandria noting "this is the fruit of my faith."<ref>''History of the Coptic Church'', Father Menassa Yuhanna</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/thecopticchurch/Intro_to_the_Coptic_Church_fr_yacoub_malaty.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622192628/http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/thecopticchurch/Intro_to_the_Coptic_Church_fr_yacoub_malaty.pdf |archive-date=2006-06-22 |url-status=live|title=Introduction to the Coptic Church|last=Tadros|first=Y. Malaty|year=1993|website=www.copticchurch.net|page=71|access-date=2018-12-07}}</ref> Marcian responded by exiling Dioscorus to [[Gangra]].<!--Also "Gagra" in some sources, though I can't find an article on it. -BDD--><ref name=EB/><ref name="zeitun-eg.org"/>

==Exile==
Following Dioscorus's deposition and exile, an Alexandrian priest named [[Proterius of Alexandria|Proterius]] was appointed Patriarch in his stead, with the approval of the emperor. When Proterius returned to Alexandria, he was met by a riot.{{sfn|Wilde|2022|p=44}} The native Christians continued to support Dioscorus as the legitimate Patriarch.

Dioscorus died in exile in 454. When the news reached Egypt, his supporters assembled and elected [[Pope Timothy II of Alexandria|Timothy]], a disciple of his, to be the new Patriarch. Timothy immediately went into hiding, but was recognized among the [[Copts|Coptic]] inhabitants of the countryside, creating the split between the [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic]] and the [[Melkite|Melchite]] (i.e. Royal) Church.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

==Legacy==
[[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] remain in disagreement with [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] churches regarding Dioscorus's character and positions. He is considered a saint by the [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic]], [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac]], and other Oriental Orthodox Churches, while Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches have frequently deemed him a heretic.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Certain modern theologians (as well as ancient ones like [[Basil of Seleucia]]) suggest that both Leo and Dioscorus were [[Orthodoxy|orthodox]] in their agreement with Saint Cyril's Twelve Chapters, even though both have been (and still are) considered heretical by some.<ref name=romanides /> Some commentators like [[Patriarch Anatolius of Constantinople|Anatolius]] and [[John S. Romanides]] argue that Dioscorus was not deposed for heresy but for "grave administrative errors" at Ephesus II, among which they mention his restoration of Eutyches, his attack on Flavian, and afterwards, his [[excommunication]] of Pope Leo I. Defenders of Dioscorus argue that Eutyches was orthodox at the time of his restoration and only later lapsed into heresy, that Flavian was a Nestorian, and that Pope Leo had supported Nestorianism.<ref name=romanides>{{cite web |last=Romanides |first=John S. |author-link=John S. Romanides |title=Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Consultation |url=http://www.romanity.org/htm/rom.06.en.orthodox_and_oriental_orthodox_consultation.htm |publisher=Romanity.org |year=1994 |access-date=29 December 2012}}</ref><ref name=angaelos>{{cite web |last=Bishop Angaelos |first=H.G. |title=The Altar in the Midst of Egypt |url=http://www.coptichymns.net/module-library-viewpub-tid-1-pid-418-page-2.html |publisher=Coptichymns.net |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629211734/http://www.coptichymns.net/module-library-viewpub-tid-1-pid-418-page-2.html |archive-date=29 June 2012 }}</ref>

Another controversial aspect of Dioscorus's legacy is the accusation, frequently levelled by Chalcedonian churches, that the Oriental Orthodox Churches accept [[Eutychianism]]. They deny this charge, arguing that they reject both the [[Monophysitism]] of Eutyches, whom they consider a heretic, as well as [[Dyophysitism]] espoused by the Council of Chalcedon, which they equate with Nestorianism, for a doctrine they term ''[[miaphysitism]]'', or that in Jesus Christ, divinity and humanity exist as "one incarnate nature" (''[[physis]]''), as opposed to the Chalcedonian teaching of a divine and a human nature united in the one person (''hypostasis'') of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, a doctrine called the "[[hypostatic union]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Davis, [[Jesuits|SJ]] |first=Leo Donald |title=The First Seven Ecumenical Councils (325–787): Their History and Theology (Theology and Life Series 21) |year=1990 |publisher=Michael Glazier/Liturgical Press |location=Collegeville, Minnesota |isbn=978-0-8146-5616-7 |oclc=21906084 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/firstsevenec_davi_1990_000_6702418/page/n345 342] |url=https://archive.org/details/firstsevenec_davi_1990_000_6702418 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

In recent times, Oriental Orthodox churches have engaged in [[Ecumenicalism|ecumenical]] dialogue with Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches on the issues of Dioscorus's day. In May 1973 [[Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria]] visited [[Pope Paul VI]] in Rome and declared a common faith in the nature of Christ, the issue which caused the schism of the church in the [[Council of Chalcedon]].<ref>{{cite web |title=COMMON DECLARATION OF HIS HOLINESS PAUL VI AND HIS HOLINESS PATRIARCH AMBA SHENOUDA III (May 10, 1973) |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/speeches/1973/may/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19730510_dichiarazione-comune.html}}</ref>

A similar declaration was reached between the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox churches in 1990 in [[Geneva]], in which both agreed in condemnation of the Nestorian and Eutychian "heresies" and in rejection of interpretations of ecumenical councils which do not fully agree with the Horos of the [[First Council of Ephesus|Third Ecumenical Council]] and the letter (433) of Cyril of Alexandria to John of Antioch.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.orthodoxunity.org/state02.html |title=Second Agreed Statement |year=1990 |publisher=Orthodox Unity |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207033544/http://www.orthodoxunity.org/state02.html |archive-date=7 February 2012 }}</ref> They also agreed to lift the anathemas and condemnations of the past.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zeitun-eg.org/Coptic_Chalcedon_ExtraNotes2.pdf |title=Notes |publisher=Our Lady of Zeitun Online |access-date=8 January 2013}}</ref> In the summer of 2001, the Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Patriarchates of Alexandria agreed to mutually recognize baptisms performed in each other's churches.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{Cite book|last=Meyendorff|first=John|author-link=John Meyendorff|year=1989|title=Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450-680 A.D.|series=The Church in history|volume=2|location=Crestwood, New York|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|isbn=978-0-88-141056-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J_YAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last1=Menze |first1=Volker-Lorenz |title=Patriarch Dioscorus of Alexandria: the last pharaoh and ecclesiastical politics in the Later Roman Empire |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, United Kingdom New York |isbn=9780192871336}}
* {{cite book |title=Late Antique Responses to the Arab Conquests  |editor-first1=Josephine |editor-last1=van den Bent |editor-first2=Floris |editor-last2=van den Eijnde |editor-first3=Johan |editor-last3=Weststeijn |publisher=Brill |year=2022 |chapter=The Qurʾānic Rūm: A Late Antique Perspective |first=Clare |last=Wilde |pages=32–55 }}
* [http://www.copticchurch.net/synaxarium/1_7.html#1 St. Dioscorus, 25th Pope of Alexandria].
* {{Cite journal |last=Seleznyov |first=Nikolai N. |title=Nestorius of Constantinople - Condemnation, Suppression, Veneration: With special reference to the role of his name in East-Syriac Christianity |journal=Journal of Eastern Christian Studies |date=2010 |volume=62 |issue=3–4 |pages=165–190 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1845014}}

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{{s-rel|Titles of [[Early Christianity]]}}
{{s-bef|rows=2|before=[[Cyril of Alexandria|Cyril I]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Patriarchs of Alexandria|Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria]] (before schism)|years=444–451}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Proterius of Alexandria|Proterius I]]}}
|-
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria]]|years=444–454}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pope Timothy II of Alexandria|Timothy II]]}}
|-
{{s-end}}

{{Patriarchs of Alexandria}}
{{Coptic saints}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dioscorus 01 of Alexandria, Pope}}
[[Category:454 deaths]]
[[Category:5th-century Oriental Orthodox archbishops]]
[[Category:5th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:5th-century popes and patriarchs of Alexandria]]
[[Category:Deans of the Catechetical School of Alexandria]]
[[Category:Saints from Roman Egypt]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:People declared heretics by the first seven ecumenical councils]]
[[Category:Participants in the Council of Chalcedon]]
[[Category:Popes of the Coptic Orthodox Church]]