Nestorius

Christ, according to Nestorius, was the conjunction of the Godhead with his "temple" (which Nestorius was fond of calling his human nature).

Nestorius and his doctrine were condemned at the First Council of Ephesus in 431, leading to the Nestorian Schism in which churches supporting Nestorius split from the rest of Christianity.

The council was convoked before Nestorius's supporters from Antioch and Syria had arrived and thus Nestorius refused to attend when summoned.

About the same time John Cassian dedicated to him the treatise against Nestorius written at his request.

A copy of this letter reached Constantinople where Nestorius preached a sermon against it.

At Easter 429 A.D., Cyril wrote a letter to the Egyptian monks warning them of Nestorius' views.

Before acting on the Pope's commission, Cyril convened a synod of Egyptian bishops which condemned Nestorius as well.

Canons and declarations Cyril of Alexandria The Council denounced Nestorius' teaching as erroneous and decreed that Jesus was one person, not two separate people: complete God and complete man, with a rational soul and body.

Celestine found that the title Theotokos Eirini Artemi, Cyril of Alexandria's critique of the term THEOTOKOS by Nestorius Constantinople, Acta theol.

Conflict with Nestorius Another major conflict was between the Alexandrian and Antiochian schools of ecclesiastical reflection, piety, and discourse.

Cyril and Nestorius asked Pope Celestine I to weigh in on the matter.

Cyril had both theological and political reasons for attacking Nestorius; on top of feeling that Nestorianism was an error against true belief, he also wanted to denigrate the head of a competing patriarchate.

Cyril, however, used the opportunity to further attack Nestorius, who pleaded with Emperor Theodosius II to call a council so that all grievances could be aired.

Cyril's group was unable to communicate with the emperor because of interference from supporters of Nestorius both at Constantinople and at Ephesus.

Despite this advice from his colleagues, Nestorius persisted in maintaining the rightness of his position.

During the council, Nestorius defended his position by arguing there must be two persons of Christ, one human, the other divine, and Mary had given birth only to a human, hence could not be called the Theotokos, i.e. "the one who gives birth to God".

He agreed to anathematize Nestorius as a heretic in 451, during the Council of Chalcedon, as the price to be paid for being restored to his see (after deposition at the Council of Ephesus of 449).

However, Count Candidian and his troops supported Nestorius as did Count Irenaeus.

Indeed, the modern Assyrian Church of the East, which reveres Nestorius, does not fully subscribe to Nestorian doctrine, though it does not employ the title Theotokos.

It may be noted, however, that the biographer of Eusebius expressly states that the Cyril in question is the great opponent of Nestorius.