Nestorian schism

TheNestorian schism(a.d.431–544) was a split between theChristianchurches ofSassanid Persia,which affiliated withNestorius,and those that later became theCatholicand Orthodox churches. The schism rose out of aChristologicaldispute, notably involvingCyril(Patriarch of Alexandria) andNestorius(Patriarch of Constantinople).

TheFirst Council of Ephesusin 431 and theCouncil of Chalcedonin 451 condemned Nestorius andhis doctrine,which emphasized the radical distinctness betweenChrist's human and divine natures.That forced a breach between the churches that defended Nestorius and thestate church of the Roman Empire,which caused theChurch of the East,the Christian church of Sassanid Persia, to become known as the Nestorian Church, as it took the side of Nestorius. However, in 544 the schism came to an end when patriarchAba Iratified the decision of Chalcedon.

History

The doctrine ofNestorianismis associated withNestorius,thePatriarch of Constantinoplefrom 428 to 431. Prior to becoming Patriarch, Nestorius had been a student ofTheodore of Mopsuestiaat theSchool of Antioch.Nestorius argued that Christ's human and divine natures were distinct and so he was against using the titleTheotokos(Greek: "Godbearer ") for theVirgin Mary.He preferred to call herChristotokos( "Christbearer ").Cyril of Alexandriaconsidered the doctrine contrary to Orthodox teaching and encouraged measures against it.

Finally, Nestorius and his doctrine were condemned at theFirst Council of Ephesusin 431, which was reiterated at theCouncil of Chalcedonin 451.

Afterward, churches aligned with Nestorius were centred on theSchool of Edessaand were separated from the rest of the Christian Church. Anathemised in the Roman Empire, they relocated to theSassanid Empire,where they were welcomed by Persian Christians, who had already declared independence from Constantinople in an attempt to cast off accusations of foreign allegiance.

The School of Edessa relocated to theMesopotamiancity ofNisibis.TheSchool of Nisibisthereafter became a centre of Nestorianism. In 484, the Sassanids executed the pro-Byzantine CatholicosBabowaiand enabled the Nestorian bishop of Nisibis,Barsauma,to increase his influence over the bishops of the region. That effectively ended links between Persian Christianity and the Roman Empire.

The schism ended in 544, when patriarchAba Iratified the decision of the Council of Chalcedon. After this, there was no longer technically any "Nestorian Church", i.e. a church following the doctrine ofNestorianism,although legends persisted that still further to the east such a church was still in existence (associated in particular with the figure ofPrester John), and the label of "Nestorian" continued to be applied even though it was technically no longer correct. Modern research suggests that also theChurch of the East in Chinadid not teach a doctrine of two distinct natures of Christ.^[1]

Notes

^Hofrichter, Peter L. (2006). "Preface". In Malek, Roman; Hofrichter, Peter (eds.).Jingjiao: the Church of the East in China and Central Asia.Steyler Verlagsbuchhandlung.ISBN 978-3-8050-0534-0.

References

O'Leary, De Lacy(2002). "Nestorian Schism".The Syriac Church and Fathers.Gorgias Press. p. 88.ISBN 978-1-931956-05-5.

[1] Hofrichter, Peter L. (2006). "Preface". In Malek, Roman; Hofrichter, Peter (eds.).Jingjiao: the Church of the East in China and Central Asia.Steyler Verlagsbuchhandlung.ISBN 978-3-8050-0534-0.

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