Theodore of Mopsuestia

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Theodore the Interpreter (ca. 350 - 428), was bishop of Mopsuestia (modernYakapinar) from 392 to 428 C.E. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate. A representative of the middle Antiochene school of hermeneutics, he was considered by many to be the greatest biblical interpreter of his day. After his death, however, he became a major figure of controversy and his writing were condemned for the heresy of Nestorianism during the Three Chapters controversy.

After studying philosophy under the sophist teacher Libanius, Theodore was convinced by his fellow student John Chrysostom to became a monk in 369. Ordained as a priest in the early 380s, he became a prolific writer on biblical topics, and was elevated to the position of bishop of Mopsuestia c. 392. By the early 400s, he had become the best known spokesman of Antiochene school.

He rejected the allegorical interpretation used by the rival Alexandrian school, utilized a critical and historical approach that in some ways anticipated the methods of modern scholars.

Theodore's writings strongly influenced the churches of the Eastern Roman Empire many of which alligned themselves Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople, later condemned as a heretic at the Council of Ephesus (431). The Second Council of Chalcedon (553) condemned Theodore’s views during the so-called Three Chapters controversy. A number of eastern churches, as well as some in the west, refused to join in the condemnation.

Known as Theodore the Interpreter, he is still highly honored by the Assyrian Church of the East and other eastern churches which practice the East Syrian rite.

Life and work

Early years

Theodore was born to a wealthy family at Antioch, Syria where his father held an official position. His brother Polychronius became bishop of the metropolitan see of Apamea. According to Syrian sources, Theodore was the older cousin of Nestorius, with whom he would later be associated theologically.

Theodore first appears in the historical record as the early companion and friend of John Chrysostom in Antioch. There, Chrysostom and he attended the lectures of the noted Sophist and teacher of Greek rhetoric, Libanius (Socr. vi.3; Soz. viii.1). Chrysostom relates that Theodore was a diligent student, although he was not immune to the temptations of the luxurious life of upper-class Antiochan society. After Chrysostom had been converted to the monastic life of Basil of Caesarea, he convinced Theodore to likewise commit himself to an ascetic lifestyle. Together with their friend Maximus of Seleucia, they left the academy of Libanius and entered the monastic school of Diodore of Tarsus, to which Basil was already attached.

According to Chrysostom, Theodore had just assumed a celibate life when he became fascinated by a girl named Hermione and contemplated marriage, temporarily returning to his former manner of life (Soz. viii.2). His "fall" spread consternation through the small monastic community, and inspired Chrysostom to compose his earliest know literary compositions—two letters known as "to Theodore upon his lapse." These compositions may have helped convince Theodore to re-commit to his vows, which he soon did.

Scriptural studies and priesthood

Still barely 20, Theodore now devoted himself to study of the scriptures and to theological compositions. He seems to have remained as Diodore's pupil until the latter's elevation to the position of bishop of Tarsus in 378. The later years of this decade witnessed Theodore's first appearance as a writer. He began with a commentary on the Psalms, in which he showed a propensity for critical thinking and decided that most of the Psalms were not of Davidic origin.

Sometime in the early 380s, Theodore was ordained as a priest. He soon displayed a keen interest in the polemical theological discussions of the time, writing and preaching against the Origenists, Arians, Apollinarists, Julian the Apostate, and others. His versatile literary activity won him the name of "Polyhistor" (Sozomen, op. cit., VIII, ii).

Theodore apparently left Antioch before 392 to join Diodore at Tarsus (Hesychius Hier., op. cit., in Mansi, IX, 248). Theodore's great treatise on the Incarnation was reportedly written during this period, as well as several of his commentaries on the Old Testament.

Bishop of Mopsuetia

He remained in Tarsus until 392, when he was consecrated as bishop of Mopsuestia, probably through the influence of Diodorus. Mopsuestia lay on the Pyramus (Ceyhan) river, between Tarsus and Issus, some 40 miles from either and 12 miles from the sea. In the fourth century it was of some importance, famous for its bridge, which was built by Constantine I. He spent his remaining 36 years of life as bishop in this town.

In 394 Theodore attended a local synod at Constantinople, during which he preached before the Emperor Theodosius the Great. The sermon made a deep impression, and Theodosius, who had learned from both Ambrose of Milan and Gregory Nazianzus, declared that he had never met with such a teacher (John of Antioch, ap. Facund. ii.2). Theodosius II inherited his grandfather's respect for Theodore and often wrote to him.

During the controversies concerning John Chrysostom, who had offended the eastern empress Aelia Eudoxia and was accused of the heresy of Origenism, Theodore remained faithful to his old friend (cf. Chrysostom, "Epp.", cxii). Chrysostom (Ep. 204) thanked him profoundly for frequent though ineffectual efforts to obtain his release, and praised their friendship in glowing terms. The exiled patriarch stated that he "can never forget the love of Theodore, so genuine and warm, so sincere and guileless, a love maintained from early years, and manifested but now."

Although he was later criticized for anticipating the "heresy" of Nestorius, during his lifetime Theodore was regarded as orthodox and as a prominent ecclesiastical author. Little in his writings speak directly to the Christological teaching for which he was condemned. However, like several figures in the early Church, Theodore was a universalist, believing that all people would eventually be saved.

In his confession of faith he wrote that Christ "will restore us all into communion with himself. For the apostle says: 'The first man was of the earth earthly, the second man is the Lord from heaven,' that is, who is to appear hereafter thence, that he may restore all to the likeness of himself."

Later (about 421) Theodore received hospitably certain members of the Pelagian party, and is thought by some to have been influenced by their theology. However, he later associated himself with the condemnation of Pelagianism at a synod in Cilicia.

He died in 428, the year in which Nestorius succeeded to the episcopal see of Constantinople.

Legacy

The popularity—and later the criticism—of Theodore increased following his death. "We believe as Theodore believed; long live the faith of Theodore!" was a cry often heard in the churches of the East (Cyril of Alexandria, Ep. 69). "We had rather be burnt than condemn Theodore," was the reply of the bishops of Syria to those who criticized his views (Ep. 72). Theodoret regarded him as a "doctor of the universal church."

Yet, as early perhaps as 431 Marius Mercator denounced him as the real author of the Pelagian heresy (Lib. subnot. in verba Juliani, praef) and the precursor of Nestorianism. The Council of Ephesus, however condemned Theodore's creed without mentioning him by name, while and the Nestorian party often appealed to Theodore words as affording the best available exposition of their views (Liberat. Brev. 10). Patriarch Proclus of Constantinople demanded from the bishops of Syria a condemnation of certain propositions supposed to have been drawn from the writings of Theodore. Cyril of Alexandria, who had once spoken favorably of some of Theodore's works (Facund. viii.6), now wrote to the emperor (Ep. 71), that Diodorus and Theodore were the parents of the "blasphemy" of Nestorius.

The ferment then subsided for a time. However Bishop Ibas, who succeeded Rabbula in 435, restored the school of Edessa, and it continued to teach Theodore's theology till suppressed by Zeno in 489. Barsumas of Nisibis, however, provided a new home for the school. The Persian kings, meanwhile favored the movement. Among the Nestorians of Persia the writings of Theodore were regarded as the standard both of doctrine and of interpretation.

The sixth century witnessed another and final outbreak of hatred against Theodore. In an effort to make peace with the Monophysites, Second Council of Constantinople (553), under the influence of the emperor Justinian I, condemned certain writings of Theodore—together with those of Theodoret and Ibas— leading to the to the Three-Chapter Controversy. The council was criticized for reopening previously resolved issues and was strongly resisted in the west as an example of ceasaropapaism. However, it was eventually accepted, after which the name of Theodore, disappeared almost entirely from Western church literature after the sixth century. It was scarcely before the nineteenth century that justice was done by Western writers to the importance of the great Antiochene as a theologian, expositor, and a precursor of later thought.

The Nestorian churches of the east continued to hold him in high regard, however, and his liturgy is still used by the many of the Christian churches of Iraq and Iran.

By considering the historical circumstances in which the biblical books were written, he anticipated the modern view that many of the Psalms belong to the 2nd century B.C.E. and rejected as uncanonical such books as Chronicles, Esdras, and the Catholic Letters.

Surviving writers

Theodore's commentary on the minor prophets has been preserved and was published in Rome in the early nineteenth century. It is a considerable monument of his expository power and is considered the best surviving illustration of the Antiochene method of interpreting Old Testament prophecy. A complete Latin translation of the his commentary on Galatians and other Pauline letters was published by Cambridge University Press, 1880-1882. His commentaries on the rest of the Bible have survived only in quotations and excerpts.

Substantial fragments of his commentaries on the Psalms, demonstrate his anticipation of the historical-critical method of biblical interpretation. He considered many of the Psalms to be of later origin and disagreed with usual the interpretation of Christian interpreters to see them as referring to Christ.

Fragments have also been preserved of his major work on the Incarnation, directed against the Apollinarians and Eunomians, and written while he was still a presbyter at Antioch. The work was temporarily recovered in 1905 in a Syriac translation at a Nestorian monastery in the mountains of northern Iraq. Unfortunately it was again lost in the destruction of that library by Turkish troops during the massacres of Christians 1915.

References

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This article uses text from A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century C.E., with an Account of the Principal Sects and Heresies by Henry Wace.

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Theodore of Mopsuestia