Nestorius
Christian theologian (c. 386–c. 451)
b. 380s · d. c. 451
44th Archbishop of Constantinople (Ecumenical Patriarch)
Offices
Nestorius of Constantinople was an early Christian prelate who served as Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 11 July 431. He was a Christian theologian from the Catechetical School of Antioch, and several of his teachings in the fields of Christology and Mariology were seen as controversial and heretical, causing major disputes. In 431, he was condemned and deposed from his see by the Council of Ephesus, presided over by his archrival Cyril of Alexandria, but the counter-council led by John I of Antioch vindicated him and deposed Cyril in return. Nestorius refrained from attending both of these councils and instead sought retirement from the Byzantine Emperor.
Related people
- Theodore of Mopsuestia disciple of · traditional
- Archbishop Sisinnius I of Constantinople succeeded · inferred
- Archbishop Maximianus of Constantinople preceded · inferred
Works
Events
Places
- Kahramanmaraş birth
- Kharga Oasis burial
- Upper Egypt death
How we know
Recorded as a historical figure.
- The Seven Ecumenical Councils (NPNF series 2 vol. 14) 1 claim — Council of Ephesus
- Ecclesiastical History 1 claim — Nestorius preaches against Theotokos
- Oriens Christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus 1 claim — Oriens Christianus I, col. 195 sqq. — Patriarchae Constantinopolitani
What he held
- Christotokos Mary is Mother of Christ, and it is not proper to call a creature the mother of God.
- Two persons in Christ In Christ there are two persons as well as two natures, conjoined in a union of will and of honour.
In the disputes
- The Nestorian controversy A quarrel about a title of Mary that was a quarrel about her Son.