Trinity

TRINITY & OTHER DOCTRINES OF GOD:
PROF. M. M. NINAN
Nestorianism after the Council
On their way back to their sees, the Syrian bishops called two more councils. At the first
council, at Tarsus, they once again condemned St Cyril and Memnon. At the second
council, in Antioch, they confessed that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully Divine and fully
human, except without sin, based on a unity in Him of Divine and human natures, and
that, therefore, the Virgin Mary may be called the Theotokos. Thus they condemned
Nestorianism, though they refused to condemn Nestorius. Peace was restored a few
years later, by the work of Paul of Emessa, who convinced John of Antioch to condemn
Nestorius and St Cyril of Alexandria to agree to the Antiochian confession without,
however, refuting his 12 anathemas.
The Ephesian Council was not, however, accepted by some in Syria. Among those who
agreed with the Orthodox teaching but rejected the Council was Theodoret of Cyrrhus.
Thus, a strong Nestorian party arose in the Syrian and Mesopotamian churches. After
agreeing to a common confession with St Cyril of Alexandria, John of Antioch began
working on eradicating Nestorianism in the Eastern churches. What could not be
accomplished by conviction was done with the help of the civil authorities, who
imprisoned several Nestorian bishops.
John of Antioch ordered the destruction of the Edessa theological school, which spread
Nestorian ideas. Ibo of Edessa and other theologians who accused St Cyril of
unorthodoxy were exiled. At the same time, St Cyril wrote a refutation of Theodore of
Mopsuestia. However, this refutation, too, was not accepted by all. Theodoret defended
Theodore of Mopsuestia. Meanwhile, Ibo became bishop of Edessa, and spread
Nestorian ideas. In his famous letter to Marius the Persian, Ivo of Edessa condemned
Nestorius for refusing to use the term Theotokos but also condemned St Cyril for
preaching Apollinarianism. In 489, the Edessa school was again destroyed, and
Nestorian theologians fled to Persia where they finally broke with the One, Holy, Catholic,
and Apostolic Church. In 499, at a council in Seleucia, the Third Ecumenical Council was
condemned and the Nestorians formally split from the Church. They formed the
Chaldean or Assyrian Church, which governs itself with its own Patriarch. Nestorians
also have a community in India, called the Thomites.
Nestorianism and the Fifth Ecumenical Council
In their struggle against Nestorianism, some theologians went as far as the other
extreme. They denied completely the presence of human nature in Jesus Christ,
accepting only one Divine Nature in one Divine Hypostasis. Thus, they are called
Monophysites (believers in one nature). Condemned at the Fourth Ecumenical Council in
Chalcedon, Monophysites accused the Council and the Church of restoring Nestorianism.
The basis for accusation in the 6th Century was the Church's unclear position on
Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, and Ibo of Edessa. Their writings, which
became known as the Three Chapters were a cause of debate that resulted in the calling
of the Fifth Ecumenical Council in 553.
At the Council, the Church condemned Theodore of Mopsuestia as a heretic. In addition,
the Church condemned the writings of Theodoret against St Cyril and the letter of Ibo of
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