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Heresies & Errors
Heresy
c. 448–451 · Christology (the two natures)

Eutychianism

Eutyches taught that after the incarnation Christ had only one nature, with the humanity absorbed into or mingled with the deity, so that Christ's humanity was not of the same essence as ours. It confuses the two natures that Nestorianism divides.

The central claim

After the union, Christ had one nature, and His humanity was not like ours.

ClassificationHeresy
PeriodPatristic
Datesc. 448–451
Doctrine affectedChristology (the two natures)

A heresy denies the Gospel or the God it reveals (Galatians 1:8).

Historical origins

Where It Began

Eutyches, an aged abbot in Constantinople with powerful friends at court, was a fierce opponent of Nestorius. Charged with heresy in 448, he confessed that Christ was of two natures before the union but of one nature after it, and he would not say plainly that Christ's body is of one essence with ours.

Major figures

The People Involved

EutychesArchimandrite (abbot) in Constantinople · c. 380–c. 456

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In a sentence

Why This Is Dangerous

If Christ's humanity was swallowed up in His deity, He is no longer truly one of us, and He cannot stand in our place as a man. Only One who is truly God and truly man can be the one mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5).

Visit The Council of Chalcedon · AD 451