Michael Ibrahim: The liturgical hymn “O Monogenis” as a symbol of Post-Chalcedonian Christological convergence.

The idealised Nicene legacy is that of a unifying doctrinal pronouncement. This memory of Nicea impacted on the schema pursued within both the ecclesial and imperial realms, with subsequent councils and controversies attempting to replicate this model with varying degrees of success. From one perspective, the power of the Nicene/Constantinopolitan legacy is the liturgical basis of its central text, the roots of which can be traced to baptismal creeds. The traditional appellation “Theotokos” also connects one of the central Ephesian issues with the liturgical/devotional dimension of ecclesial life. Chalcedon can be seen as marking a departure from this tradition. Caught in the nexus of the power-plays of Eastern patriarchates, growing Western claims of authority, imperial geo-politics and a delicate episcopal ‘consensus’, the Chalcedonian definition signals a shift from the liturgically-based expression to a ‘proto-scholiastic’ one.In the search for signs of post-Chalcedonian Christological convergence, modern scholarship commonly focuses on the Theopaschite controversy or the events surrounding Zeno’s Henotikon and its impact on neo-Chalcedonian Christology. However, one area often overlooked is the liturgical. Of particular interest is the hymn “O monogenis”, which has been incorporated into the vast majority of eastern liturgies. The authorship of this text is attributed by opposing sides to Justinian or Severus of Antioch. In this paper, I will endeavour to demonstrate the likely Severian origins of this hymn, which embodied the convergence of Christology long sought by emperors and bishops, and ultimately achieved it not through polemical victories, but rather through liturgical devotion.