- Home
- Collections
- Search the Collection
- 100 lire Council of Chalcedon single
100 lire Council of Chalcedon single
Object Details
- Description
- A set of five stamps commemorating the 1500th anniversary of the Council of Chalcedon was issued October 31, 1951. Inspired by a fresco in the Vatican Library, the 100-lire brown value depicts the final session of the Council. This design also appears on the 5- and 35-lire values.
- The Council of Chalcedon, the Fourth Ecumenical Council, met from October 8 through November 1, 451, in Chalcedon, a city in the Roman province of Bithynia. Approximately 370 bishops attended. At the urging of Pope St. Leo I, the Great (440-461), Emperor Marcian (450-457) summoned the council.
- The Council dealt with the heresy of Monophysitism, which held that Christ was only the son of Mary. The Council determined that Mary was the Mother of God. It affirmed Mary gave birth to one person, complete God and complete man, affirming Christ to be of two natures in one person. This was the position held by Pope Leo I, the Great, whose written analysis (Leo’s Tome) was presented to the Council. In agreeing with Leo I, the Council acclamation was “St. Peter has spoken through Leo.”
- The horizontal stamp depicts Council participants, seated and standing. An inscription at the design’s bottom left states, “PETRUS PER LEONEM LOCUTUS EST” (Peter Speaks Through Leo). Another inscription, “XV CENTARIO DEL CONCILIO DI CALCEDONIA” (15th Centenary of the Council of Chalcedon), appears at the bottom right of the design. Poste Vaticane and the stamp’s value appear at the stamp’s top left.
- Corrado Mezzana designed the stamp; the engraver was M. Colombati. It measures 4 x 3 cm with 13 ½ x 14 ½ perforations. The stamp was printed by recess at the Italian State Printing Works, Rome. Approximately 225,000 sets were printed. The stamps were withdrawn on December 31, 1952.
- References:
- Catalogo Enciclopedico Italiano, 2007/2008,”Citta del Vaticano,” Rome: ASCAT, 2006.
- “Vatikanstaat,” in Michel Europa Katalog, band 3, Südeuropa, Unterschleißheim, Germany: Schwanberger Verlag GMBH, 2008.
- “Vatican City,” in Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, part 8, Italy and Switzerland, 7th edition, Ringwood, Hampshire, England, 2010.
- Ullmann, Walter, A Short History of the Papacy in the Middle Ages, second edition (London: Routledge, 2003), 23-27.
- Chadwick, Henry, The Penguin History of the Early Church, vol. 1, The Early Church (London: Penguin, 1993), 200-205.
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- October 31, 1951
- Object number
- 2008.2009.147
- Type
- Postage Stamps
- Medium
- paper; ink(multicolored)
- Place
- VATICAN CITY (independent city state)
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- Title
- Scott Catalogue Vatican City 153
- Topic
- International Stamps & Mail
- Record ID
- npm_2008.2009.147
- Usage
- Usage conditions apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.