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© Erich Lessing

CONDEMNED MONKS. The Christian Council of Chalcedon in 451 C.E. declared that Monophysitism—the belief that Jesus had just one (divine) nature—was heresy. The council affirmed that Jesus had two natures: human and divine. This declaration caused a schism in the Christian Church, with certain groups such as the Coptic Church and the Syriac Church rejecting the council’s decision. Dating to the fifth century, this limestone stele inscribed in Syriac lists the names of monks who were Monophysites and who did not uphold the Council of Chalcedon. The stele is part of the collection of the National Museum in Aleppo, Syria.