Umbrella term used for several related but distinct sets of Christian teachings
For the church sometimes known as the Nestorian Church, see Church of the East.
"Nestorian" redirects here. For other uses, see Nestorian (disambiguation).
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Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings.[1] The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian Nestorius (d. c. AD 450), who promoted specific doctrines in the fields of Christology and Mariology. The second meaning of the term is much wider, and relates to a set of later theological teachings, that were traditionally labeled as Nestorian, but differ from the teachings of Nestorius in origin, scope and terminology.[2] The Oxford English Dictionary defines Nestorianism as:
"The doctrine of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople (appointed in 428), by which Christ is asserted to have had distinct human and divine persons."[3]
Original Nestorianism is attested primarily by works of Nestorius, and also by other theological and historical sources that are related to his teachings in the fields of Mariology and Christology. His theology was influenced by teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia (d. 428), the most prominent theologian of the Antiochian School. Nestorian Mariology rejects the title Theotokos ('God-bearer') for Mary, thus emphasizing distinction between divine and human aspects of the Incarnation. Nestorian Christology promotes the concept of a prosopic union of two persons (divine and human) in Jesus Christ,[4] thus trying to avoid and replace the concept of a hypostatic union of two natures. The distinction is between 'two persons in one' and 'two natures in one person'. This Christological position is defined as radical dyophysitism,[5] and differs from orthodox dyophysitism, that was reaffirmed at the Council of Chalcedon (451).[6] Such teachings brought Nestorius into conflict with other prominent church leaders, most notably Cyril of Alexandria, who issued 12 anathemas against him (430). Nestorius and his teachings were eventually condemned as heretical at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and again at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. His teachings were considered as heretical not only in Chalcedonian Christianity, but even more in Oriental Orthodoxy.[6]
After the condemnation, some supporters of Nestorius, who were followers of the Antiochian School and the School of Edessa, relocated to the Sasanian Empire, where they were affiliated with the local Christian community, known as the Church of the East. During the period from 484 to 612, gradual development led to the creation of specific doctrinal views within the Church of the East.[7] Evolution of those views was finalized by prominent East Syriac theologian Babai the Great (d. 628) who was using the specific Syriac term qnoma (ܩܢܘܡܐ) as a designation for dual (divine and human) substances within one prosopon (person or hypostasis) of Christ. Such views were officially adopted by the Church of the East at a council held in 612.[8] Opponents of such views labeled them as "Nestorian" thus creating the practice of misnaming the Church of the East as Nestorian.[9] For a long time, such labeling seemed appropriate, since Nestorius is officially venerated as a saint in the Church of the East.[10] In modern religious studies, this label has been criticized as improper and misleading.[11] As a consequence, the use of Nestorian label in scholarly literature, and also in the field of inter-denominational relations, is gradually being reduced to its primary meaning, focused on the original teachings of Nestorius.[12]
Nestorian Evangelion Nestorianism and the church in India Christian influences in Islam Brock 2006, p. 177. Baum & Winkler 2003, p. 4. "Nestorianism"...
Sassanid Persia, to become known as the Nestorian Church, as it took the side of Nestorius. The doctrine of Nestorianism is associated with Nestorius, the Patriarch...
Nestorius and became accused of Nestorianism, a heresy attributed to Nestorius. It was therefore called the Nestorian Church by all the other Eastern...
Nestorian headstone Nestorian cross found in China Nestorian cross found in China Two Nestorian crosses found in China The cross from the Nestorian Stele...
alongside Nestorianism, and to accuse a church of being monophysite is to accuse it of falling into the opposite extreme from Nestorianism. However, the...
The Nestorian Evangelion (French: Évangéliaire nestorien, also known as Vie de Jésus-Christ ['Life of Jesus Christ']; Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de...
The Church of the East (also known as the Nestorian Church) historically had a presence in China during two periods: first from the 7th through the 10th...
of the East, which for this reason has been pejoratively labelled the "Nestorian Church" by its theological opponents. When the Portuguese Inquisition...
century, Nestorian Christianity nearly disappeared from the region. There are only very few archeological traces of the prospering of Nestorianism among...
The Nestorian pillar of Luoyang is a Tang Chinese pillar erected in 814–815 CE, which contains inscriptions related to early Christianity in China, particularly...
Empire in 1917. Black = Bulgars and Turks, Red = Greeks, Light yellow = Armenians, Blue = Kurds, Orange = Lazes, Dark Yellow = Arabs, Green = Nestorians...
of unity. Dyophisitism has also been used to describe some aspects of Nestorianism, the doctrines ascribed to Nestorius of Constantinople. It is now generally...
called the council to settle the christological controversy surrounding Nestorianism. Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, opposed use of the term Theotokos...
Catholic Church after the Great Schism of 1054 (as well as the earlier Nestorian Schism and Chalcedonian Schism), 23 autonomous particular churches of...
definition as verging on Nestorianism and instead adhered to the wording of Cyril of Alexandria, the chief opponent of Nestorianism, who had spoken of the...
Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox (Miaphysite) Church of the East (Nestorian) Eastern Catholic Restorationist Jehovah's Witnesses Latter Day Saint...
their attitude regarding the Council of Ephesus (431), which condemned Nestorianism, and the Council of Chalcedon (451), which condemned Monophysitism. Those...
and scholars of the medieval Islamic world (particularly Jacobite and Nestorian Christians) contributed to the Arab Islamic civilization during the reign...
hypostatic union, proposing instead a much looser concept of prosopic union. Nestorianism has come to mean radical Dyophysitism, in which Christ's two natures...
split with the West and its adoption of a theology that some called Nestorianism, the Church of the East expanded rapidly in the medieval period due to...
Catholicism Latin Eastern Eastern Orthodoxy Church Oriental Orthodoxy Nestorianism Ancient Assyrian Proto-Protestantism Hussites/Moravians Waldensians Protestantism...
other churches in 424 and over the next century became affiliated with Nestorianism, a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople...
Demonstrations of resistance by local Christians, comprising Armenians, Nestorians, Syriacs, and Assyrians, led Ottoman forces to massacre civilians and...
Yas Island and which dates back to the seventh century. Thought to be Nestorian and built in 600 CE, the church appears to have been abandoned peacefully...
(Χριστοτόκος, "Christ-bearer"), but he did not find acceptance on either side. "Nestorianism" refers to the doctrine that there are two distinct hypostases in the...
birth to Christ. Less literal translations include Mother of Christ. Nestorianism Theotokos Hall, Christopher Alan (2002). Learning Theology With the Church...