Nestorius the Holy See of Constantinople and the beginning of the Eastward migration of Nestorian Theology
Introduction
The following is the account of a son of a merchant who grew up in the age of Nestorius’ rise to greatness and then watched him succumb to the jealousy of the Bishop of Alexandria. Though there were many others who played a major role in the introduction of Christianity to the East, one must note the significance of Nestorius’ ideas. His reasoning was met with a strong reaction and he was forced to step down as the Holy See of Constantinople. His theories were passed on and people became missionaries of his word. They began to migrate towards the East in order spread the word. Though most of its modern-day members live in Iraq, Syria and Iran, it must be noted that the missionaries travelled as far east as China. The travels along the Silk Road from the West to the East explains the Christian reliquaries that have been discovered in Asia. There were many who came before and after Nestorius but the degree of his battle against the Bishop of Alexandria is what sets him apart from the rest. An uproar was created in the Roman Church because of his beliefs in terms of the relation of Christ to the Virgin Mary.
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My name is Fitzgibbons and this is my account of the beginning of the reformation of the Church of the East under the influence of Nestorian theology. This way of thinking is accredited to John Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, a man who came from Antioch. Many believe that he did not belong to our church but we must all remember that it was our church that defended and confessed him while he was under attack from the Bishop of Alexandria. His eloquence as a preacher is what made his reputation surpass the area in which he lived. That is why Emperor Theodosius appointed Nestorius as the See of Constantinople.
Nestorius’ way of thinking began to cause great upheaval within the Roman Empire and the Bishop of Alexandria made sure that he was condemned. The reason for this jealousy was that Constantinople had replaced Alexandria as second in rank after Rome and its bishop Cyril did not like this. I was only a very young child at this time but I remember the arguments my parents would have late at night. My mother believed that the words coming from Nestorius’ mouth were heresy and that he was doing the work of the devil. Looking back on it now I can understand why my mother was so irrational; she had been a slave girl working in Rome until my father married her and brought her to Constantinople. He was a silk merchant who would make the long journey to Rome in order to trade the silks he had received from the far East. Ingrained in her mind was that one could never turn their back on the Pope or the Roman Empire but I took after my father’s way of thinking. We began to go to listen to Nestorius’ preachings on a very regular basis.
I learned that the Virgin Mary was not Theotokos (the mother of God) but rather Christotokos (the mother of Christ the man). People didn’t understand what he was saying, they accused him of teaching that there were two sons, the son of God and the son of Mary. My father said we were wise because we knew what he was really talking about. I became aware of the fact that the man Christ and the Divine Logos had their own ousia, physis and prosopon (essence, nature and undivided external appearance). People said he was trying to create a Quaternity in place of the Trinity by stating that the two were distinct but that’s not what he believed. When the Virgin Mary conceived with the Holy Spirit the man Jesus became one with the Divine Logos. Their prosopas merged. He wasn’t attacking Mary like the people shouted, he was merely trying to teach that God was not the one who came from Mary’s womb. The essence of God cannot be transformed into the essence of man.
With all the controversy taking place the Emperor called for the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in 431. Against the great protest of my mother, my father took me with him to support the man he so strongly believed in. It was utter chaos in Ephesus! Cyril was an evil man and turned everyone against Nestorius! He bribed the high officials in order to succeed. That’s why I believe money destroys peoples’ values – I saw it with my own eyes.
Nestorius was forced to resign and this left us to go on our way home with heavy hearts.
Mary was to be called Theotokos.
This did not sit well with the people who believed in Nestorius’ teachings and my father uprooted us to move to Edessa where many Nestorians (that’s what we now called ourselves) were settling down. This is where we lived for the next twenty years, proclaiming our faith and trying to get others to believe. I became a preacher of the word of Nestorius. In this time Constantinople became a powerful place, the Holy See had equal power with the Pope of Rome and I only wished this could have happened years ago, while Nestorius had reigned.
457 wasn’t a good year for us. A new emperor came into power and with it so did a powerful mob. The monophysite party became unstoppable and they quickly took over the church of Edessa. For fear of our lives we were forced to flee for Nisibis, a place on the Persian frontier. This marked the beginning of our journey Eastward and the opening of the Nestorian School of Theology. That is was one of my proudest moments – knowing that I helped create
a place where people could understand the truth about the nature of Christ and God.
With this influx of Nestorians in Persia our ways of thinking began to influence others. We were not condemned as we had been in the Roman Empire. We knew we had found our place and were going to expand in order to educate others. That was our mission.
Afterward
The Nestorians continued to spread until the 10th century when they had reached almost every outlet possible. In 637 the Caliphate recognized the Church of the East as a separate religious community in Persia. The Nestorians helped shape the Arab culture and played a role in the influence of rulers. They were able to send missionaries to India, China, Egypt and all the way to Lake Baikal. People were converted to a Christianity that had never been in that part of the world before.
Works Researched
430 August: Conflicts over theology between Nestorius and Archbishop Cyril of Alexandria reach the point where both appeal to Pope Celestine 1 to solve the dispute. Celestine is well aware of the conflict and sympathetic to Cyril. He arranges a church council in Rome, where the accepted Christology is settled and decided upon that the term Theotokos should be used on Virgin Mary. Nestorius was requested to confirm these decisions, which he apparently refused to do.
431: The Council of Ephesus is convened to condemn the teaching of Nestorius. Nestorius himself is deposed as archbishop, and 17 bishops supporting him are also removed from their offices. This causes a schism in the church, since Nestorius’ supporters continued with their practices.
451: The Council of Chalcedon reaffirms the condemnation of Nestorianism from the prior ecumenical council.
462: The Sassanid rulers of Persia grant protection to Nestorian Christians.
484: The pro-Byzantine Catholicos Babowai is replaced by the Nestorian Bishop of Nisibis, Bar Sauma.
486 February: The Persian Church acknowledges Theodore of Mopsuestia, the chief Nestorian theological authority, as guardian of correct faith. Since that time, the church has been Nestorian.
489: Nestorians are forced to abandon their theological school and stronghold of Edessa, and relocate to Persia. Nisibis is made their new headquarters. It would soon emerge as a famous and influential seat of learning. But few scriptures have survived out of Nisibis.
520′s and 530′s: Schism among the Nestorians.
540′s: Persecution of Nestorian Christians in Persia.
553: The Second Council of Constantinople condemns the theology of Nestorius’ teacher, Theodore of Mopsuestia.
End 6th century: Schism among the Nestorians, as Henana of Adiabene tries to replace the doctrine of Theodore with his own doctrine, which was close to the theology of Origen.
Around 600: Babai the Great, the unofficial head of the Eastern Church at that time and reformer of the Assyrian monastic movement, refutes Nestorius and writes what became the normative Christology of the Assyrian Church.
635: Nestorian missionaries reach China.
637: Muslim Arab conquest of Persia, and the independence of the national church is recognized.
7th-10th centuries: The Nestorian church prospers and expands.
10th century: The Nestorians have 20 metropolitan provinces (bishoprics), of which 15 are within the Caliphate.
— Central Asian Tatars are converted to Nestorian Christianity.
14th century: The raids of Timur Lenk almost destroys the infrastructure of the church. Nestorianism survives mainly in the mountainous regions of modern Iraq, Iran and Turkey.
1551: A large contingent of Nestorians acknowledges the Pope in Rome, forming the church today called Chaldean Catholic Church. The groups refusing this, are since known as Nestorian Church.
1559: Nestorian church in India, known as St. Thomas Christians acknowledge the Pope in Rome too.
1898: A small number of Nestorian congregations of the Urmia region (Iran) becomes part of the Russian Orthodox Church.
March 30, 2010
fitzgibbonsandthesilkroad
