The Council of Jerusalem of 536 was a meeting of

Chalcedonian Chalcedonian Christianity is the branch of Christianity that accepts and upholds theological and ecclesiological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Chalcedonian Christianity accepts the Christ ...

representatives of the church of the Three Palestines ( Prima, Secunda, Tertia) to condemn certain persons accused of the

Monophysite Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the inca ...

heresy. It was convoked at the initiative the Roman emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renov ...

following the forced resignation of the Patriarch

Anthimus I of Constantinople Anthimus I (? – after 536) was a Miaphysite patriarch of Constantinople from 535–536. He was the bishop or archbishop of Trebizond before accession to the Constantinople see. He was deposed by Pope Agapetus I for adhering to Monophysitism ...

in February or March, an event in which Pope Agapetus I had played the main role. Following the Council of Constantinople in May–June 536, Patriarch Menas of Constantinople wrote to Patriarch

Peter of Jerusalem Peter of Jerusalem was the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Patriarch of Jerusalem from 524 to 544. He held to the Chalcedonian belief.Severus of Antioch Severus the Great of Antioch ( Greek: Σεβῆρος; syr, ܣܘܝܪܝܘܣ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ), also known as Severus of Gaza or Crown of Syrians ( Syriac: ܬܓܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܥܝܐ; Tagha d'Suryoye; Arabic: تاج السوريين; Taj al-Suriyy ...

, Zaʿūra the Stylite and Peter of Apamea. The emperor also sent a letter. These letters were delivered by the monks of the

Judaean Desert The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( he, מִדְבַּר יְהוּדָה, Midbar Yehuda}, both ''Desert of Judah'' or ''Judaean Desert''; ar, صحراء يهودا, Sahraa' Yahuda) is a desert in Palestine and Israel that lies east of Jerusa ...

who had traveled to Constantinople to take part in the council there. Since Jerusalem had only been raised to a patriarchate by the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, B ...

in 451, the authority of the bishop of the city over the church in the Three Palestines was not accepted by

anti-Chalcedonian Non-Chalcedonian Christianity comprises the branches of Christianity that do not accept theological resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held in 451. Non-Chalcedonian denominations reject the Christological ...

s. The council met on 19 September 536 in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

(formally

Aelia Capitolina Aelia Capitolina (Traditional English Pronunciation: ; Latin in full: ) was a Roman colony founded during Emperor Hadrian's trip to Judah in 129/130, centered around Jerusalem, which had been almost totally razed after the siege of 70 CE. The f ...

). It conducted its business in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

. Its acts are preserved in the collection known as the Collectio Sabbaitica. The verdicts of the Council of Constantinople were read into the record and the assembled clergy at Jerusalem discussed all four condemned clerics. Their own verdict, however, only explicitly condemned Anthimus. It was subscribed by 47 bishops, which was almost every bishop in the Three Palestines. There is no logical sequence to the subscriptions and they were all made in Greek.

List of signatory bishoprics

The list of 47 bishops appears to be nearly complete for the Three Palestines. Among the known sees of ancient Palestine, only the bishoprics of Diospolis, Maiuma of Ascalon, Maiuma of Gaza and Zoara were probably in existence in 536 and are unrepresented in the subscriptions.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{refend 536 530s in the Byzantine Empire Jerusaalem Medieval Jerusalem Christianity in Jerusalem