A Theological Doctrine of the Georgian Church during Late Antiquity (337-627)

ანოტაცია

It is difficult to follow how the situation changed in the Iberian Church in the second half of the fourth century. In all probability, after the Second ecumenical Council in 381 and the final victory of the Nicene Creed, the Georgian Church followed the path laid down by the imperial Church (even though Iberia had fallen out from the sphere of the Roman dominance). At the beginning of the fifth century, the religious situation changed again. The influence of the Persian Church (Syro-Persian Church or, the Church of the East) on Iberia is became stronger. In 451, the fourth ecumenical council of Chalcedon condemned the Miaphysite teaching. It is not clear how did the Iberian Church reacted to the decisions of the council in the middle of the fifth century, although it is a well-known that in 491, during the reign of the famous Iberian king Vakhtang Gorgasali (442-502), at the council of Vagharshapat, the Iberian Church, together with other Caucasian Churches, accepted and the doctrine of "Henoticon", which obviously meant the acceptance of Miaphysite doctrine (despite the fact that it is known as conciliatory document). The religious situation becomes even more complicated during the sixth century. Evidently, before the rule of Justin (518-527) and Justinian (527-565), the Iberian Church remained on the Miaphysite belief, but how did the situation change after the ascendance on the throne of the emperor Justin and then his nephew Justinian? During his long reign the emperor Justinian tried to reconcile Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians. This politics certainly influenced the Iberian Church where the Chalcedonians and non-Chalcedonians coexisted peacefully during several decades. There is no evidence that the Iberian Church had strong opinion or, radical position concerning the council of Chalcedon. However, the situation changed from the 570s. The growing influence of the Chalcedonian party in the Iberian Church ultimately led to the Armeno-Georgian ecclesiastical schism in 609.