Nestorianism

, in a seventh- or eighth-century wall painting from a Nestorian church in Qocho, China Nestorianism was condemned as heresy at the Council of Ephesus (431). The Armenian Church rejected the Council of Chalcedon (451) because they believed Chalcedonian Definition was too similar to Nestorianism. The Persian Nestorian Church, on the other hand, supported the spread of Nestorianism in Persarmenia. The Armenian Church and other eastern churches saw the rise of Nestorianism as a threat to the independence of their Church. Peter the Iberian, a Georgian prince, also strongly opposed the Chalcedonian Creed. Thus, in 491, Catholicos Babken I of Armenia, along with the Albanian and Iberian bishops met in Vagharshapat and issued a condemnation of the Chalcedonian Definition. Nestorians held that the Council of Chalcedon proved the orthodoxy of their faith and had started persecuting non-Chalcedonian or Miaphysite Syriac Christians during the reign of Peroz I. In response to pleas for assistance from the Syriac Church, Armenian prelates issued a letter addressed to Persian Christians reaffirming their condemnation of the Nestorianism as heresy. ==Doctrine==

(light blue), the Chalcedonian Churches (light purple), and the Miaphysite Churches (pink) Nestorianism is described as a radical form of dyophysitism that, according to Chalcedonians, differs from their version of dyophysitism on several points, mainly by opposition to the concept of hypostatic union. It can be seen as the antithesis to Eutychian Monophysitism, which emerged in reaction to Nestorianism after the conclusion of the Council of Ephesus. Where Nestorianism holds that Christ had two distinct natures, divine and human, Monophysitism holds that he had but a single nature, his human nature being absorbed into his divinity. A brief definition of Nestorian Christology can be given as: "Jesus Christ, who is not identical with the Son but personally united with the Son, who lives in him, is one hypostasis and one nature: human." This contrasts with Nestorius' own teaching that the Word, which is eternal, and the Flesh, which is not, came together in a hypostatic union, 'Jesus Christ', Jesus thus being both fully man and God, of two ousia () (essences) but of one (person). Both Nestorianism and Monophysitism were condemned as heretical at the Council of Chalcedon and the Second Council of Ephesus. Nestorius developed his Christological views as an attempt to understand and explain rationally the incarnation of the divine Logos, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity as the man Jesus. He had studied at the School of Antioch where his mentor had been Theodore of Mopsuestia; Theodore and other Antioch theologians had long taught a literalist interpretation of the Bible and stressed the distinctiveness of the human and divine natures of Jesus. Nestorius took his Antiochene leanings with him when he was appointed Patriarch of Constantinople by Byzantine emperor Theodosius II in 428. Nestorius's teachings sparked controversy when he publicly challenged the long-established title of Theotokos ('God-Bearer') for the Virgin Mary. He argued that this title, while orthodox per se, was inadequate to fully encompass the nature of the Incarnation, as it singled out Christ's divinity with no reference to His humanity. To address this perceived limitation, he proposed the alternative title of Christotokos ('Christ-Bearer') as a more appropriate designation for Mary. He also advanced the image of Jesus as a warrior-king and rescuer of Israel over the traditional image of the . Nestorius' opponents found his teaching too close to the heresy of adoptionism – the idea that Christ had been born a man who had later been "adopted" as God's son. Nestorius was especially criticized by Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, who argued that Nestorius's teachings undermined the unity of Christ's divine and human natures at the Incarnation. Some of Nestorius's opponents argued that he put too much emphasis on the human nature of Christ, and others debated that the difference that Nestorius implied between the human nature and the divine nature created a fracture in the singularity of Christ, thus creating two Christ figures. Nestorius himself always insisted that his views were orthodox, though they were deemed heretical at the Council of Ephesus in 431, leading to the Nestorian Schism, when churches supportive of Nestorius and the rest of the Christian Church separated. However, this formulation was never adopted by all churches termed 'Nestorian'. 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. ==Intentions==

As written in his Bazaar of Heracleides, Nestorius went on to qualify his beliefs, including justifying his position. Seemingly disconnecting him from the heresy of nestorianism. He would state that he never taught two persons or separated the Savior into two, affirming two natures in one person, that Mary is the mother of God; that Christ is God and Man. And, he "was born in flesh Christ, who is God above all." As John McGuckin says, "For Nestorius, a nature without a hypostasis was a 'phantom.' He used the word to mean the concrete particularity of the nature. His critics, however, read 'hypostasis' as 'Person,' and thus accused him of teaching two Persons when he was actually trying to teach two concrete realities." Nestorius would live long enough to read and happily agree with the Tome of Leo proclaiming him 'guiltless' and 'truthful' as he articulated the teachings he was trying to express in dyophysitism. As scholars note, Nestorius was trying to safeguard the distinctions of the two natures against confusion and mixture. For him, a nature without its own hypostasis (or concrete existence) was not a real nature at all. Nestorius defines hypostasis as the concrete reality of the nature, the 'that which' (id quod) of the essence. It is the individual instance which possesses the properties of the nature... This is why he insists on two hypostases: to ensure the humanity is not swallowed up. J.F. Bethune Baker says, "By hypostasis Nestorius means the actual concrete existence of the nature... For him, to say that there were two natures but only one hypostasis would have been to say that one of the natures was unreal a mere abstraction." His Bazaar and teachings following his excommunication would be preserved Mar Babai the Great and the Assyrian Church which would use syriac terminology to express what he meant. As Mar Babai the Great explains, "A nature (kyānā) which is not composed and does not stand in its own concrete instance (qnōmā) is not a nature at all, but a mere mental concept... For if the nature of man in Christ was not a qnōmā, then he did not truly become man, but only appeared to be so." Book of Union, Chapter 1 "The two qnōmē remain distinct in their natural properties, so that the divinity is not changed into humanity, nor the humanity into divinity... but they are united in the one parṣōpā of the Sonship, so that there is one Son, one Lord, and one Christ." Book of Union, Chapter 4 Sebastian Brock says, "The word qnoma... does not mean 'person' (for which parsopa is used), but 'an individual instance of a nature' (kyana). Since a nature (kyana) is an abstraction and can only exist in a concrete individual (qnoma), it follows that to speak of two natures is to imply two qnome." This would be seen as a concession to the dual-subject terminology and the antiochene theology Nestorius and Theodore of Mopsuestia stressed in their teachings by many, as noted by many scholars. This would be prevalent in the Church up until the condemnation of homo assumptus by Thomas Aquinas, who rejected the idea that the human 'hypostasis' was assumed by a divine one. Nevertheless, scholars agree that, in correcting the enhypostaton language used by John Damascene, the scholastics would still concede to the individualistic language used for the human nature. In the De Unione, Aquinas suggests that there is a secondary esse. This looked very much like the Nestorian view that there were two concrete beings (hypostases) in Christ. The difference is largely one of terminology: what Nestorius calls a hypostasis, the scholastics call a particular substance. As Richard Cross says, "The account of the union according to which the human nature is an individual substance an account that was, as we have seen, standard among the thirteenth century high scholastics is structurally very similar to the account offered by Nestorius... Both accounts require that there be two concrete particulars in Christ, one divine and one human." The later Latin scholastics, in their effort to maintain the integrity and reality of the human nature, ended up affirming a 'particularity' that is indistinguishable from the Nestorian hypostasis. By the time of Aquinas, the 'two-natures' doctrine had become so robust that it required what was essentially a Nestorian metaphysics of two concrete beings in one person. As Thomas Joseph White says, "Aquinas’s later teaching in the De unione... acknowledges a created esse for the humanity. This risks positing Christ as two 'things' (res) in a way that the Summa avoids. It brings him closer to a model where the humanity is a complete particular entity existing in the Word." Case in point: Going back to the semantics, the abovementioned scholars note that Leo managed to bypass the two persons baggage and limitations of the Greek, and provided a clarity through Latin persona and substantia. Moreover, the Syriac terminology expressed their (and by proxy Nestiorius's) theology and emphasis on the distinctnes of the distinct natural properties, much like Cyril of Alexandria in his dialogue with the Antiochene school; in the reunion formula and second letter to Succensus. Cyril in his second letter to Succensus says, "If the same one is understood to be perfect God and perfect man... then how can there be a perfection if the nature of man no longer endures? ... each [essence] is understood to remain in all its natural characteristics." Cyril in his letter to John of Antioch (Laetentur Caeli | 433 A.D.) says, "As to the evangelical and apostolic expressions concerning the Lord, we know that theologians treat some as common, as referring to one person, and distinguish others as referring to two natures, and they deliver the God-befitting ones to the divinity of Christ, but the humble ones to his humanity." Nestorius’s use of hypostasis was intended to guarantee the ontological permanence of the two natures... He feared that if there were only 'one hypostasis' after the union, one of the natures (likely the human) would be absorbed or swallowed up by the other. He insisted on two hypostases because he believed that a nature (physis) cannot exist in the abstract; it must have a concrete, individual expression. By 'two hypostases,' he meant that the divinity remained divine and the humanity remained human even after they were joined. Therefore, in conclusion, Nestorius was a pioneer in dyophysite theology, expressing the distinctness of the two natures of Christ, albeit audaciously. Whose religious and political disputes with the Alexandrians caused as scholars call it 'a linguistic tragedy of miscommunication.' Teaching that there exists two natures and two hypostases (concrete existents) within the one person of Jesus Christ. ==Nestorian Schism==

Nestorianism became a distinct sect following the Nestorian Schism, beginning in the 430s. Nestorius had come under fire from Western theologians, most notably Cyril of Alexandria. 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 and Nestorius asked Pope Celestine I to weigh in on the matter. Celestine found that the title Theotokos and that the Virgin Mary, conceiving and bearing this divine person, is truly and sufficiently called the Mother of God (Theotokos). The council accused Nestorius of heresy, and deposed him as patriarch. Upon returning to his monastery in 436, he was banished to Upper Egypt. Nestorianism was officially anathematized, a ruling reiterated at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. However, a number of churches, particularly those associated with the School of Edessa, supported Nestorius – though not necessarily his doctrine – and broke with the churches of the West. Many of Nestorius' supporters relocated to the Sasanian Empire of Iran, home to a vibrant but persecuted Christian minority. In Upper Egypt, Nestorius wrote his Book of Heraclides, responding to the two councils at Ephesus (431, 449). Christian denomination tree ==Church of the East==

from a monastery of Fangshan District in Beijing (then called Dadu, or Khanbaliq), dated to the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271–1368) of medieval China , Inner Mongolia The western provinces of the Persian Empire had been home to Christian communities, headed by metropolitans, and later patriarchs of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. The Christian minority in Persia was frequently persecuted by the Zoroastrian majority, which accused local Christians of political leanings towards the Roman Empire. In 424, the Church in Persia declared itself independent, in order to ward off allegations of any foreign allegiance. By the end of the 5th century, the Persian Church increasingly aligned itself with the teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia and his followers, many of whom became dissidents after the Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). The Persian Church became increasingly opposed to doctrines promoted by those councils, thus furthering the divide between Chalcedonian and Persian currents. In 486, the Metropolitan Barsauma of Nisibis publicly accepted Nestorius' mentor Theodore of Mopsuestia as a spiritual authority. In 489, when the School of Edessa in Mesopotamia was closed by Byzantine Emperor Zeno for its pro-Nestorian teachings, the school relocated to its original home of Nisibis, becoming again the School of Nisibis, leading to the migration of a wave of Christian dissidents into Persia. The Persian patriarch Babai (497–502) reiterated and expanded upon the church's esteem for Theodore of Mopsuestia. Now firmly established in Persia, with centers in Nisibis, Ctesiphon, and Gundeshapur, and several metropoleis, the Persian Church began to branch out beyond the Sasanian Empire. However, through the sixth century, the church was frequently beset with internal strife and persecution by Zoroastrians. The infighting led to a schism, which lasted from 521 until around 539 when the issues were resolved. However, immediately afterward Roman-Persian conflict led to the persecution of the church by the Sassanid emperor Khosrow I; this ended in 545. The church survived these trials under the guidance of Patriarch Aba I, who had converted to Christianity from Zoroastrianism. Missionaries entered Central Asia and had significant success converting local Turkic tribes. The Anuradhapura Cross discovered in Sri Lanka strongly suggests a strong presence of Nestorian Christianity in Sri Lanka during the 6th century AD according to Humphrey Codrington, who based his claim on a 6th-century manuscript, Christian Topography, that mentions of a community of Persian Christians who were known to reside in Taprobanê (the Ancient Greek name for Sri Lanka). Nestorian missionaries were firmly established in China during the early part of the Tang dynasty (618–907); the Chinese source known as the Nestorian Stele records a mission under a Persian proselyte named Alopen as introducing Nestorian Christianity to China in 635. The Jingjiao Documents (also described by the Japanese scholar P. Y. Saeki as "Nestorian Documents") or Jesus Sutras are said to be connected with Alopen. Following the Arab conquest of Persia, completed in 644, the Persian Church became a community under the Rashidun Caliphate. The church and its communities abroad grew larger under the caliphate. By the 10th century it had 15 metropolitan sees within the caliphate's territories, and another five elsewhere, including in China and India. In a 2017 paper, Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of the Assyrian Church, stated the position of that church: "After the Council of Ephesus (431), when Nestorius the patriarch of Constantinople was condemned for his views on the unity of the Godhead and the humanity in Christ, the Church of the East was branded as 'Nestorian' on account of its refusal to anathematize the patriarch." Several historical records suggest that the Assyrian Church of the East may have been in Sri Lanka between the mid-5th and 6th centuries. == Modern discourse ==

The accusations of Nestorianism have been used in contemporary theological discourse. One notable example is the case of John MacArthur, as he has asserted that when Mary gave birth to Jesus, she did not give birth to God, but rather gave birth to Jesus in his humanity and that "it’s heretical to call the blood of Jesus Christ the blood of God." These statements have been critiqued as resembling Nestorianism by other Christians. ==See also==