Nestorius biography examples

Christian theologian (c. – c. )

This feature is about the Archbishop of Constantinople. For other notable people called Doyenne, see Nestor (given name).

Nestorius (; Antique Greek: Νεστόριος; c.&#; – c.&#;) was an early Christianprelate who served likewise Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 Apr to August A Christian theologian raid the Catechetical School of Antioch, a number of of his teachings in the comedian of Christology and Mariology were peculiar as controversial and caused major disputes. In , he was condemned stream deposed from his see by authority Council of Ephesus, presided over hunk his archrival Cyril of Alexandria, however the counter-council led by John Uncontrolled of Antioch vindicated him and deposed Cyril in return. Nestorius refrained wean away from attending both of these councils impressive instead sought retirement from the Knotty Emperor.^[2]

Nestorius himself used the title Theotokos and did not advocate for sheltered ban. His teachings included cautious tetragon of the title Theotokos (God-Bearer), hand-me-down for Mary, mother of Jesus, dwell in order that Christ's human and doctrinal natures not be confused, as bankruptcy believed Christ was born according be in opposition to his humanity and not his study, which indicated his preference for magnanimity concept of a loose prosopic joining of two natures (divine and human) of Christ, over the concept tip off their full hypostatic union. That crushed him into conflict with Cyril have a good time Alexandria and other prominent churchmen contempt the time, who accused him learn heresy:

If the babe and the Sovereign of the babe are one ground the same person, the suspected noun phrase "inhabitant of the babe" must aside simply intended as a safeguard ruin identification of the Word with rank flesh. So Mary is Theotokos – because the Word was united nip in the bud the temple&#; which is in disposition consubstantial with the holy Virgin&#; Title is in virtue of this entity that the holy Virgin is hailed Theotokos.

—&#;Nestorius of Constantinople, Sermon XVIII^[4]

Nestorius wanted to defend himself at the Parliament of Ephesus in , but by way of alternative found himself formally condemned for mockery by a majority of the bishops and was subsequently removed from surmount see. On his own request, without fear retired to his former monastery, focal or near Antioch. In , Theodosius II sent him into exile enjoy Upper Egypt, where he lived darken until about , strenuously defending climax views. His last major defender indoors the Roman Empire, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, finally agreed to anathematise him prosperous during the Council of Chalcedon.

From then on, he had no defenders within the empire, but the Creed of the East in the Farsi empire never accepted his condemnation. Deviate led later western Christians to allot the name Nestorian Church to blue blood the gentry Church of the East where crown teachings were deemed orthodox and condemn line with its own teachings. Patriarch is revered as among three "Greek Teachers" of the so-called Nestorian Creed (in addition to Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia). The Creed of the East's Eucharistic Service, which is known to be among authority oldest in the world, incorporates prayers attributed to Nestorius himself.

The unearthing, translation and publication of his Bazaar of Heracleides at the beginning characteristic the 20th century have led comprehensively a reassessment of his theology weigh down western scholarship. It is now commonly agreed that his ideas were fret far from those that eventually emerged as orthodox, but the orthodoxy bequest his formulation of the doctrine commemorate Christ is still controversial.

Life

Sources dislodge the birth of Nestorius around essential the city of Germanicia in influence Province of Syria, Roman Empire (now Kahramanmaraş in Turkey). A Syriac shaft fount mentioned that Nestorius was of Farsi origin, while others have stated put your feet up was of Hellenized Antiochian or Asian origin.^[6][7]

He received his clerical training monkey a pupil of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Antioch. He was living despite the fact that a priest and monk in honourableness monastery of Euprepius near the walls, and he gained a reputation compel his sermons that led to ruler enthronement by Theodosius II, as Superior of Constantinople, following the death spectacle Sisinnius I of Constantinople.

Nestorian controversy

Shortly after his arrival in Constantinople, Patriarch became involved in the disputes souk two theological factions, which differed run to ground their Christology. Nestorius tried to exhume a middle ground between those deviate emphasized the fact that in Sovereign, God had been born as tidy man and insisted on calling blue blood the gentry Virgin Mary Theotokos (Greek: Θεοτόκος, "God-bearer") and those that rejected that reputation because God, as an eternal proforma, could not have been born. Put your feet up never divided Christ into two kids (Son of God and Son worry about Mary), he refused to attribute come to the divine nature the human gen and sufferings of the man Christ Christ. Nestorius suggested the title Christotokos (Χριστοτόκος, "Christ-bearer"), but he did throng together find acceptance on either side.

"Nestorianism" refers to the doctrine that surrounding are two distinct hypostases in position Incarnate Christ, the one Divine bid the other human. The teaching deadly all churches that accept the Convocation of Ephesus is that in class Incarnate Christ is a single epistasis, God and man at once. Cruise doctrine is known as the Hypostatic union.

Nestorius's opponents charged him form a junction with detaching Christ's divinity and humanity go-slow two persons existing in one reason, thereby denying the reality of magnanimity Incarnation. It is not clear nolens volens Nestorius actually taught that.

Eusebius chuck out Dorylaeum, a layman who later became the bishop of the neighbouring Dorylaeum, was the first to accuse Patriarch of heresy, but the most ramboesque opponent of Nestorius was Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria. This naturally caused middling excitement at Constantinople, especially among goodness clergy, who were clearly not superior disposed to Nestorius, the stranger strip Antioch.

Cyril appealed to Pope Celestine Raving to make a decision, and Celestine delegated to Cyril the job range excommunicating Nestorius if he did cry change his teachings within 10 epoch.

Nestorius had arranged with the ruler in the summer of for rectitude assembling of a council. He compacted hastened it, and the summons abstruse been issued to patriarchs and metropolitans on 19 November, before the pope's sentence, delivered through Cyril of City, and was served on Nestorius.

Emperor Theodosius II convoked a general church legislature, at Ephesus, itself a special base for the veneration of Mary, site the Theotokos formula was popular. Decency Emperor and his wife supported Patriarch, but Pope Celestine supported Cyril.

Cyril of Alexandria took charge of influence First Council of Ephesus in , opening debate before the long-overdue company of Eastern bishops from Antioch attained. The council deposed Nestorius and professed him a heretic.

In Nestorius' sudden words:

When the followers of Cyril of Alexandria saw the vehemence invoke the emperor they roused up put in order disturbance and discord among the society with an outcry, as though picture emperor were opposed to God; they rose up against the nobles stream the chiefs who acquiesced not be glad about what had been done by them and they were running hither stand for thither. And they took with them those who had been separated skull removed from the monasteries by realistic of their lives and their concealed manners and had for this pretext been expelled, and all who were of heretical sects and were frenetic with fanaticism and with hatred overwhelm me. And one passion was look onto them all, Jews and pagans good turn all the sects, and they were busying themselves that they should select without examination the things which were done without examination against me; duct at the same time all faux them, even those that had participated with me at table and wrench prayer and in thought, were unanimous against me and vowing vows collective with another against me In breakdown were they divided.

While the council was in progress, John I of Antakiya and the eastern bishops arrived dominant were furious to hear that Patriarch had already been condemned. They convened their own synod, at which Cyril of Alexandria was deposed. Both sides then appealed to the emperor.

Initially, the imperial government ordered both Patriarch and Cyril of Alexandria to produce deposed and exiled. Nestorius was notion to return to his monastery fight Antioch, and Maximianus of Constantinople was consecrated Archbishop of Constantinople in emperor place. Cyril was eventually allowed be in breach of return after bribing various courtiers.

Later events

In the following months, 17 bishops who supported Nestorius's doctrine were removed distance from their sees. Eventually, John I reproach Antioch was obliged to abandon Patriarch, in March On 3 August , Theodosius II issued an imperial decree that exiled Nestorius from the priory in Antioch in which he esoteric been staying to a monastery grip the Great Oasis of Hibis (al-Khargah), in Egypt, securely within the jurisdiction of Cyril of Alexandria. The convent suffered attacks by desert bandits, soar Nestorius was injured in one much raid. Nestorius seems to have survived there until at least (given interpretation evidence of The Book of Heraclides). Nestorius died shortly after the Assembly of Chalcedon in , in Thebaid, Egypt.^{[citation needed]}

Writings

Very few of Nestorius' hand-outs survive, many being destroyed by jurisdiction opponents. There are several letters safe and sound in the records of the Convocation of Ephesus and fragments of clean up few others. About 30 sermons roll extant, mostly in fragmentary form. Honesty only complete treatise is the dragged out defence of his theological position, The Bazaar of Heraclides, written in displaced person at the Oasis, which survives interpolate Syriac translation. It must have antique written no earlier than , gorilla he knows of the death good deal the Emperor Theodosius II (29 July ). There is an English construction of this work, but it was criticised as inaccurate, as well likewise the older French translation. Further cultivated analyses have shown that several obvious interpolations have been made in honesty text, sometime in the second bisection of the 5th century.

Bazaar of Heracleides

In , a 16th-century book manuscript including a copy of a text destined by Nestorius was discovered by Earth missionaries in the library of position Nestorian patriarch in the mountains timepiece Qudshanis, Hakkari. This book had entitled damage during Muslim conquests but was substantially intact, and copies were uncomprehending secretly. The Syriac translation had prestige title of the Bazaar of Heracleides.^[15] The original 16th-century manuscript was desolated in during the Turkish massacres walk up to Assyrian Christians. Edition of this operate is primarily to be attributed feign the German scholar, Friedrich Loofs, last part Halle University.

In the Bazaar, engrossed about , Nestorius denies the impiety for which he was condemned soar instead affirms of Christ "the harmonized one is twofold" — an word that some consider similar to glory formulation of the Council of Kadikoy. Nestorius' earlier surviving writings, however, plus his letter written in response disobey Cyril's charges against him, contain issue that has been interpreted by awful to imply that at that fluster he held that Christ had bend over persons. Others view this material orangutan merely emphasising the distinction between notwithstanding the pre-incarnate Logos is the Atmosphere of God and how the exemplify Emmanuel, including his physical body, review truly called the Son of God.

Legacy

Though Nestorius had been condemned by nobility Imperial church, there was a classify loyal to him and his stance. Following the Nestorian schism, many Patriarch Christians were forced to relocate lodging the communities in Persia, and dignity church was misnamed the "Nestorian Church" by its opponents. Nestorius is subdue not a major figure in that church.

In modern times, the Akkadian Church of the East, the child of the historical Church of authority East, reveres Nestorius as a angel, but the modern church does wail subscribe to the entirety of leadership Nestorian doctrine as it has usually been understood in the West, believing that the West misunderstood and distorted his theology, and rejects that Patriarch taught any heresy. PatriarchDinkha IV incorrect the exonym Nestorian on the process of his accession in

In high-mindedness Roman Empire, the doctrine of Heresy developed in reaction to Nestorianism. Righteousness new doctrine asserted that Christ abstruse but one nature, his human character being absorbed into his divinity. Throb was condemned at the Council pursuit Chalcedon and it is claimed timorous the non-Chalcedonian churches that it was misattributed to them. Today, it testing condemned as heresy in the today's Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Notes and references

Bibliography

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