Sempiternus rex Christ

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With the encyclical Sempiternus rex Christ ("Christ, the Eternal King") Pope Pius XII commemorates . on September 8, 1951 of the 1500th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon .

Faith in the following and the teaching of Christ had been defended in the previous ecumenical councils in Nicaea , in Ephesus and fifteen centuries ago at the Council of Chalcedon. Therefore it is a special concern to remember the council and to celebrate its anniversary.

The Pope brings to mind the encyclical Lux veritatis , with which his predecessor Pius XI. honored the 1500th anniversary of the Council of Ephesus . The Council of Chalcedon should now experience this honor. Pius XII. declares that two important decisions were adopted by these councils: first, the primacy of the Pope in Rome, and second, the dogmatic definitions of the Trinity of God and the essence of Christ.

This is followed by the historical and dogmatic description of the council, which ends with the presentation of all negotiations and processes in chronological order. The Council in Chalcedon mentions the heretical statements of Eutyches , who was an advocate of Monophysitism and thus followed the false teachings of Nestorius . Consequently, the theological foundations had to be discussed and defined at the Council of Chalcedon.

Pope Pius XII describes the result of the council. in its summary and concluding paragraphs. He laments the suffering of the witnesses of faith up to the present day and emphasizes that the valid dogmas of the two councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon, which were important for the early Church - here especially the declaration on the human and divine nature of Christ - are still of importance.

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