A century after Chalcedon, the Church remained divided over how that council should be understood. Many who rejected Chalcedon believed it had reopened the door to Nestorianism. In an effort toward reconciliation, the Emperor Justinian moved to condemn the 'Three Chapters' — writings of three earlier theologians associated with the Antiochene school.
Reaffirming Chalcedon
The council condemned the Three Chapters while insisting that Chalcedon itself stood. Its work was less the framing of a new confession than the careful interpretation of an existing one: Chalcedon, it declared, was to be read in full continuity with Cyril of Alexandria and the council of Ephesus, not against them.
Reception
The fifth council was received slowly and unevenly in the West, where some saw the condemnation of the Three Chapters as a slight against Chalcedon. In time it was received across the Chalcedonian churches. Its hoped-for reconciliation with the non-Chalcedonian churches, however, did not come.