Their Split from the Roman Catholic Church
The Council of Chalcedon is the fourth of the first seven Ecumenical Councils in Christianity, which took place in AD 451, and is recognized as infallible in its dogmatic definitions by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches (then one church). The Trinity as defined by these councils is also taken as orthodox among most Protestants. However, the Council resulted in a major schism, with those who refused to accept its teaching, now known as Oriental Orthodoxy, being accused of monophysitism. The Oriental Orthodox churches reject the "monophysite" label and instead describe themselves as miaphysite. The Coptic Orthodox Church is among this group.
To put it simply there was a debate concerning the nature of Christ, and how to describe His deity. There was a struggle for power that resulted in the Coptic Church becoming separated from the Roman Catholic Church. Many say the debate was semantical in nature and did not reflect a true difference in belief. But because of a political struggle for power the two sides refused to reach an agreement, each stating that the other was heretical.
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