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The Robber Synod of Ephesus, also known as the Second Council of Ephesus or the Latrocinium (meaning “synod of robbers”), was an infamous ecclesiastical gathering held in AD 449. It was a pivotal event in the Christological debates of the fifth century, intended to resolve significant theological disputes within Christianity. However, the council became a scene of intimidation, manipulation, and violence, leading to outcomes so controversial that the council was later condemned, and later church authorities reversed its decisions. This episode underscored the gravity of the Christological debates of the fifth century.
The theological backdrop to the Robber Synod was a growing dispute over correctly understanding the nature of Jesus Christ. The critical issue was the balance between Christ’s divinity and humanity, a debate that had already led to significant tension within the church at large. Two principal figures, Nestorius and Cyril of Alexandria, emerged during this controversy. Nestorius had proposed that Christ’s divine and human natures were completely separate and distinct, a view his critics felt divided Christ into two persons. In opposition, Cyril promoted the concept of a hypostatic union, the idea that Christ’s divine and human natures were united without loss of separate identity.
In AD 431, the Council of Ephesus had condemned Nestorianism and sided with Cyril, emphasizing the unity of Christ’s nature. However, the matter was far from settled, as new theological tensions emerged in the aftermath of that council. These tensions culminated in the rise of Eutyches, an influential Constantinople monk who took Cyril’s teachings to an extreme by arguing that Christ’s human nature was absorbed into His divine nature after the Incarnation. This view, monophysitism (“one nature”), provoked a backlash, especially from Flavian, the Patriarch of Constantinople. Flavian convened a synod in AD 448 that condemned Eutyches’ views as heretical. This act sparked further controversy and division within the church.
Eutyches appealed the synod’s decision, and the Roman emperor Theodosius II sided with him, calling for another council to reconsider the issue. Thus, the Second Council of Ephesus was convened in August 449 under the leadership of Dioscorus, Patriarch of Alexandria—who happened to be a staunch supporter of Eutyches. This council quickly spiraled into a travesty of ecclesiastical governance. Dioscorus, with his unwavering support for Eutyches, dominated the proceedings, using coercion to push through decisions in favor of Eutyches. Flavian and other bishops who opposed monophysitism were silenced, and the council openly rejected Pope Leo the Great’s letter (the Tome of Leo), which articulated the orthodox position of the dual nature of Christ. In the end, Eutyches’ position was declared orthodox, and his previous condemnation was overturned.
The Second Council of Ephesus was marked by violence and intimidation. At one point, Flavian was physically assaulted during the session, which led to his death shortly afterward. Bishops who opposed Dioscorus were either exiled or forced into submission. Dioscorus and his allies seized control of the council, silencing dissent and temporarily securing the triumph of monophysitism.
Pope Leo the Great was outraged by the outcome and denounced the council as a “latrocinium” or “band of robbers” (latro being the Latin word for “bandit” or “robber”). The term captured the lawlessness and fraud of the proceedings. The council’s decrees were not recognized in the West, and after Theodosius II died in 450, the tide turned. The emperor’s sister, Pulcheria, assumed control of the Eastern Roman Empire, and she was sympathetic to the positions held by Pope Leo. In 451, the Council of Chalcedon was convened, and it reversed the decisions of the Robber Synod, condemned Dioscorus, and affirmed the doctrine of the unmixed unity of the two natures of Christ. The orthodox position was restored that said Jesus has a fully divine nature and fully human nature in one person.
The Robber Synod of Ephesus was a defining moment in church history, illustrating the volatile intersection of politics, theology, and ecclesiastical authority. Though the council was meant to address theological disputes, it became infamous for its procedural abuses, violent tactics, and the temporary triumph of a theological position later deemed heretical.
