The Nestorian and
Monophysite Heresies
Nestorius was originally a monk from Antioch, of austere life and great
eloquence. In 428, he was elevated to the position of Patriarch of
Constantinople. On Christmas day 428, Nestorius delivered a sermon from
the pulpit of his Cathedral containing the following words: “Mary did not
bear God. The creature did not bear the Creator, but the man…He who was
formed in the womb of Mary was not God Himself, but God assumed him.”
Though immediately challenged from within the congregation, Nestorius
continued to develop his theme in a series of sermons, saying, “how could
she be the mother of Him who is of a different nature than herself?” Clergy
and monks who opposed Nestorius found themselves excommunicated and
deposed, some were even scourged and imprisoned.
Nestorius’ underlying problem was his denial of Christ as one divine
Person with two natures, human and divine, asserting rather that Christ was
two Persons, one human and one divine, with two natures, human and
divine. Further, these two persons were not united but separate, thus
rejecting the hypostatic union. Instead, the divine only dwelt in Christ as in
a temple. Consequently, the Virgin Mary, as she supplied only Christ’s
human flesh and not His divinity, was only mother of Christ the man. She
could be called Christotokos (mother of Christ), but in no sense could she
be called Theotokos (Mother of God).
Copies of Nestorius’ sermons containing his novel teaching soon spread
rapidly. St. Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, on hearing of it himself asked the
question, “Is her son God, or is he not?” St. Cyril refuted Nestorius,
demanded a retraction, and appealed to Pope Celestine when none was
forthcoming: “The ancient custom of the church admonishes us that matters
of this kind should be communicated to Your Holiness.” Nestorius, too,
sent his views to Pope Celestine. On August 11, 430, Celestine pronounced
Nestorius to be heretical and gave him ten days to renounce his views or
face deposition. Nestorius paid no attention to the Pope’s ultimatum and
declared his doctrine to be correct; furthermore, his condemnation was the
work of the Church of Alexandria, which was jealous of Constantinople.
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