The Future of Chalcedon: Frontier Monks and the Reception of Chalcedonian Christology in the Sixth Century

This paper examines the intervention of the Scythian monks in the early sixth century as part of the ongoing reception of the Council of Chalcedon (451). In the decades following the council, the meaning of its Christological definition remained contested across the eastern Mediterranean. The Scythian monks, associated with Abbot Maxentius, entered these debates through their defense of the theopaschite formula, “one of the Trinity suffered in the flesh.” They argued that this language did not introduce a doctrinal innovation but clarified the implications of Chalcedonian Christology and protected the unity of Christ’s person. By examining the monks’ writings and appeals to ecclesiastical authorities, this paper situates their intervention within the broader process through which Chalcedon’s meaning continued to be interpreted and debated in the sixth century. The episode highlights how actors from frontier monastic communities participated in shaping the reception of conciliar doctrine in Late Antiquity.