Page:The Age Of Justinian And Theodora Vol II (1912).pdf/320

 CHAPTER XIV

RELIGION IN THE SIXTH CENTURY: JUSTINIAN AS A THEOLOGIAN

The reign of Justinian in its theological aspect was a long contest between the Dyophysites, that is, the Orthodox Christians according to the creed of the dominant hierarchy, and the Monophysites. Although the Emperor was devotedly attached to Orthodoxy, he was above all things desirous of finding some common ground on which the conflicting sects could meet and be reconciled. From the opposite side Theodora was animated by a similar policy; she warmly espoused the Monophysite doctrine, but was equally anxious with her husband to promote a general union of the Christian Church. The Monophysites at this time were divided into two parties, viz., the uncompromising Acephali, who would concede nothing, and those who accepted the Henoticon of Zeno (482). The former, almost all Egyptians, anathematized the Council of Chalcedon; the latter, chiefly Asiatics, pretended to tolerate that synod with the reservations expressed by the Henoticon. Thus, in the