Nestorius facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mar Nestorius
Portrait of Nestorius
Archbishop of Constantinople
Born	c. 386 Germanicia, Province of Syria, Roman Empire (now Kahramanmaraş, Turkey)
Died	c. 451 (aged 64 or 65) Great Oasis of Hibis (al-Khargah), Egypt
Venerated in	Assyrian Church of the East Chaldean Syrian Church Ancient Church of the East
Feast	October 25, Fifth Friday Of Denha along with Mar Theodore of Mopsuestia and Mar Diodore of Tarsus
Controversy	Christology, Theotokos

Nestorius (born around 386 – died around 451) was a very important church leader. He served as the Archbishop of Constantinople from 428 to 431. Constantinople was a major city in the Roman Empire.

Nestorius was a Christian thinker. Some of his ideas about Jesus Christ and Mary caused big arguments. These ideas were seen as controversial by many. Because of these disputes, he was removed from his position by a major church meeting called the Council of Ephesus in 431.

One of his main ideas was about the title "Theotokos" (meaning Mother of God). This title was used for Mary, the mother of Jesus. Nestorius preferred to think of Jesus as having two separate parts—one divine (God) and one human. He believed these parts were loosely joined. Other church leaders, like Cyril of Alexandria, disagreed strongly. They believed Jesus was fully God and fully human, perfectly united as one person. This disagreement led to him being accused of heresy, which means holding beliefs that go against official church teachings.

Nestorius tried to explain his views at the Council of Ephesus in 431. However, most bishops at the council decided his teachings were wrong. He was officially condemned and removed from his role as archbishop. He asked to go back to his old monastery near Antioch. Later, in 435, the Roman Emperor Theodosius II sent him into exile in Egypt. He lived there until about 451, still defending his ideas. His last supporter in the Roman Empire, Theodoret of Cyrrhus, eventually agreed to condemn Nestorius in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon.

After this, Nestorius had no supporters left within the Roman Empire. However, the Church of the East (a Christian church mainly in Persia) never agreed with his condemnation. Because of this, Christians in the West sometimes called the Church of the East the Nestorian Church. The Church of the East saw Nestorius's teachings as correct and in line with their own beliefs. Nestorius is honored by the Church of the East as one of their important "Greek Teachers." Some prayers in their ancient church services are even said to be written by Nestorius himself.

Later, in 553, another church meeting called the Second Council of Constantinople confirmed that Nestorius's condemnation was valid.

In the early 1900s, a book written by Nestorius was found. This book, called The Bazaar of Heracleides, helped scholars understand his ideas better. Many now agree that his original thoughts were not very different from what later became official church teaching. However, whether his specific way of explaining Jesus's nature was fully correct is still debated.

Early Life and Rise to Power

Nestorius was born around 381 or 386 in a city called Germanicia. This city was in the Roman Province of Syria, which is now part of Turkey.

He studied to become a priest under Theodore of Mopsuestia in Antioch. Nestorius became known for his powerful sermons. Because of his reputation, Emperor Theodosius II chose him to be the new Patriarch (Archbishop) of Constantinople in 428. This happened after the previous archbishop, Sisinnius I, passed away.

The Council and Exile

After the Council of Ephesus, 17 bishops who supported Nestorius were removed from their positions. Eventually, even John I of Antioch, a former ally, had to stop supporting Nestorius in 433. On August 3, 435, Emperor Theodosius II ordered Nestorius to be sent away from his monastery in Antioch. He was exiled to a monastery in the Great Oasis of Hibis in Egypt. This area was under the control of Cyril of Alexandria, his main opponent.

Nestorius's monastery was sometimes attacked by desert bandits, and he was hurt in one of these raids. He seems to have lived in exile until at least 450. Nestorius died shortly after the Council of Chalcedon in 451, in Egypt.

His Writings and Ideas

Not many of Nestorius's original writings still exist today. We have some of his letters from the records of the Council of Ephesus. There are also parts of about 30 of his sermons. The only complete book he wrote is a long defense of his beliefs called The Bazaar of Heracleides. He wrote this book while he was in exile in Egypt. It was written no earlier than 450, as he knew about the death of Emperor Theodosius II that year. This book was translated into Syriac.

The Bazaar of Heracleides

In 1895, a very old book manuscript was found in a library in the mountains of Qudshanis, Hakkari. This book contained a copy of Nestorius's text. The book had been damaged over time but was mostly complete. Copies were secretly made. The Syriac translation of the text was titled The Bazaar of Heracleides. Sadly, the original 16th-century manuscript was destroyed in 1915 during attacks on Assyrian Christians. A German scholar named Friedrich Loofs helped publish this important work.

In The Bazaar, which Nestorius wrote around 450, he denied the accusations of heresy against him. He wrote that Christ is "the same one is twofold." Some people think this idea is similar to what the Council of Chalcedon later taught. However, Nestorius's earlier writings, like his letters to Cyril of Alexandria, have been interpreted by some to mean he believed Christ had two separate "persons." Others believe he was simply trying to explain the difference between Jesus as God's Son before he became human, and Jesus as a human being.

What Happened After?

Even though Nestorius was condemned, some people remained loyal to him and his teachings. Many of these "Nestorian Christians" moved to Persia. There, Nestorius's ideas became a strong part of the local Christian community, which became known as the Church of the East. Because of this, it was often called the "Nestorian Church."

Today, the Assyrian Church of the East is a modern church that came from the historical Church of the East. They honor Nestorius as a saint. However, the modern church does not fully agree with all the ideas that were traditionally called "Nestorian" in the West. In 1976, their leader, Mar Dinkha IV, said that the name Nestorian was not accurate for their church.

In 1957, Pope Pius XII of Rome asked for the restoration of certain ancient prayers for the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. These prayers included those attributed to Theodore of Mopsuestia and Nestorius. The Syro-Malabar Church had used prayers attributed to Nestorius for a long time. However, they were forced to stop using them in 1599.

In the 2010s, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church brought back three of these ancient prayers, called Anaphorae or quddashas:

• Addai and Mar Mari, who were early Christian apostles.
• Theodore of Mopsuestia.
• Nestorius of Constantinople.

These three prayers are among the oldest in Christianity. The prayer attributed to Nestorius is used on five special days in the church year. Even though these prayers are used, Nestorius is not separately honored in the Syro-Malabar Church's calendar. However, because the East Syriac tradition sees him as one of the Three Greek Fathers, he is remembered among them.

In the Roman Empire, a different idea called Monophysitism developed. This idea was a reaction to Nestorianism. Monophysitism claimed that Jesus Christ had only one nature, where his human nature was completely absorbed into his divine nature. This idea was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon. Today, it is considered a heresy by the modern Oriental Orthodox churches.

See also

In Spanish: Nestorio para niños