What Is Miaphysitism?

Understanding Our Faith as Oriental Orthodox

If you’ve ever heard someone say, “You’re Oriental Orthodox—so you believe in one nature, right?” you might wonder what that actually means. The answer is yes—but it’s important to explain what we mean by that one nature, and how it reflects the ancient, true teaching of the Church.

The term we use is Miaphysitism, and it’s central to our Orthodox faith.

What Does “Miaphysitism” Mean?

The word comes from Greek:

• Mia = one

• Physis = nature

  
  

But this doesn’t mean Christ had only one kind of nature. Miaphysitism means that in the one person of Jesus Christ, His divine and human natures are united into one composite, incarnate nature. This one nature is both fully divine and fully human—without confusion, without change, without separation.

This is what St. Cyril of Alexandria taught when he said that Christ is “one incarnate nature of God the Word.”

How Is That Different from Monophysitism?

It’s really important not to confuse Miaphysitism with Monophysitism. Monophysitism teaches that Christ had only one nature, where His humanity was absorbed into His divinity, like a drop of water in the ocean. That’s not what we believe.

We believe in one united nature, not because the humanity disappeared, but because the two natures were perfectly joined in one Person—the Word of God Incarnate.

Why Not “Two Natures”?

At the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD), another group of Christians declared that Christ exists “in two natures,” divine and human. While they also believed in the full humanity and divinity of Christ, we as Oriental Orthodox do not use that language because it seems to divide Christ after the union.

We want to protect the mystery of the Incarnation: One Lord Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, united without separation.

Why This Matters for You

• This is about who Jesus really is: He’s not a half-and-half savior. He is one Person—our God and our Brother—who took on real flesh to save us.

• It helps us understand salvation: Only if Christ is fully divine can He save. Only if He is fully human can He heal our humanity. Miaphysitism protects both truths.

• You stand in a deep tradition: This teaching isn’t new. It’s the ancient faith of the Church, preserved through the Fathers, defended by martyrs, and lived by the saints.

  
  

Living the Faith

Every time you pray, take communion, or say, “Lord Jesus Christ,” you are encountering this mystery: God became man, and He did not leave His divinity behind, nor did He fake His humanity. He is one Person—our Savior—who brings heaven and earth together in Himself.