-JUNE 22, 431 AD-
It is a time of kings and pontiffs; a world where reality and politics are shaped by the doctrines and teachings of the Church. The Roman Empire rules, and at its helm is the Emperor Theodosius II. Nearly 400 years after the crucifixion of Christ, much of the political landscape has changed since. Whereas Rome was once dominated by polytheism, now is it the very epicenter of the Christian religion. On this day, many bishops come from far and wide across the Empire to the ancient city of Ephesus to decide the fate of the teachings of one Nestorius.
Nestorius, the archbishop of Constantinople, had been in the spotlight for some time. Well respected by many of his peers and even holding the admiration of the emperor himself, Nestorius was one of the most influential men of his day.
Shortly after taking up his office of archbishop in Constantinople, he came to encounter two factions in the city disputing over who and what Mary, the mother of Jesus, really was. One of these factions wanted to attribute the title of theotokos ("God-bearer") to her, being she was the mother of Jesus...after all. The opposing faction hated this. Proclaiming it to be impossible for God to ever be born, they absolutely repulsed the idea of Mary being able to birth God from her womb.
Nestorius saw this dispute and intervened in the hopes of getting both factions to compromise on a middle road. He proposed instead of giving the title of "God-bearer" to the virgin Mary, that a more modest title be bestowed. Thus was the word christokos ("Christ bearer") formed and taught by Constantinople's head cleric. He stated that there were actually two natures (two persons, according to some sources) inside of Jesus Christ, one being the human, and the other being divine. This therefore made it possible for Mary to give birth to a human without that human being God, but still could be God in a roundabout way by having a separate nature in the picture that came after Jesus's birth.
Unfortunately for Nestorius, his proposal was heavily unpopular (and controversial) in both factions. Multiple prominent bishops of the Church caught wind of Nestorius's teaching, and he was soon called out on the carpet by one Cyril of Alexandria (bishop and patriarch) for being a heretic inside the Church. Nestorius's original intent was to restore peace between these two local factions, but had now been attributed of being a schismatic by his own peers.
Nestorius soon came to the conclusion that the only way to defend his teaching and his position in the church was to call a council of bishops together. The third ecumenical council was called, and Ephesus was the meeting place.
The Council of Ephesus met in 431.
The tides turned against Nestorius. The orthodox teaching of the Church was Christ being a single person. His political enemies within the church accused his teaching of the "dual natures" of Jesus Christ actually being a teaching of two distinct persons. Whether Nestorius taught this or not is unknown, but his fate was certain. They condemned him of heresy, and Nestorius and his teachings were excommunicated from the Church.
Personal Thoughts on Nestorianism
The legacy of Nestorius is a complex one. To say whether or not he actually taught of two distinct persons inside of Jesus Christ is a rather unfair observation, being there is never any clear incident of this occurring in history. Remember, the history of this has been handed down to us largely by the winners of this Council debate, and so Nestorius was no doubt demonized to some extent by the bishops of the Church.
Interestingly enough, he is actually venerated as a saint in Eastern Christianity, and his teachings are still taught there.
What are your thoughts? Has this impacted Christianity across the world today? Share your comments!