 Justinian saw the orthodoxy of his empire threatened by diverging religious currents , especially Monophysitism , which had many adherents in the eastern provinces of Syria and Egypt . Monophysite doctrine , which maintains that Jesus Christ had one divine nature or a synthesis of a divine and human nature , had been condemned as a heresy by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 , and the tolerant policies towards Monophysitism of Zeno and Anastasius I had been a source of tension in the relationship with the bishops of Rome . Justin reversed this trend and confirmed the Chalcedonian doctrine , openly condemning the Monophysites . Justinian , who continued this policy , tried to impose religious unity on his subjects by forcing them to accept doctrinal compromises that might appeal to all parties , a policy that proved unsuccessful as he satisfied none of them . 
