Monophysite

American  

[muh-nof-uh-sahyt] / məˈnɒf əˌsaɪt /

noun

Theology.

1. a person who maintains that Christ has one, wholly divine nature, or in certain interpretations that this one divine nature is inclusive of Christ’s subordinate humanity; an adherent of Monophysitism.

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Monophysite British  

/ ˌmɒnəʊfɪˈsɪtɪk, mɒˈnɒfɪˌsaɪt /

noun

1. a person who holds that there is only one nature in the person of Christ, which is primarily divine with human attributes

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adjective

1. of or relating to this belief

Other Word Forms

• Monophysism noun
• Monophysitic adjective
• Monophysitical adjective
• Monophysitism noun

Etymology

Origin of Monophysite

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Late Latin monophysīta, from Late Greek monophysī́tēs, equivalent to Greek mono- mono- + phýs(is) “nature” + -ītēs -ite ¹

Example Sentences

By the thirteenth century, Monophysite Christianity was well- established in northeastern Africa.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

The Monophysite position dominated in Egypt, but the council decreed it heretical, triggering a schism that brought the ejection of monks and church members throughout Egypt.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Some believed he was both fully divine and fully human—the Dyophysite position—while others believed Jesus’s humanity was inseparable from his divinity—the Monophysite position.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

By the eighth century, following the direction of the patriarch of Alexandria, the Coptic Church had uniformly adopted Monophysite Christianity and was flourishing in the upper reaches of the Nile valley.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

Acacius, then excommunicated by Rome because he would not excommunicate the Monophysite patriarch of Alexandria, retorted by striking out the name of Felix from the diptychs of the Church.

From The Church and the Barbarians Being an Outline of the History of the Church from A.D. 461 to A.D. 1003 by Hutton, William Holden