Nestorian Christianity
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Nestorianism is the Christian doctrine that Jesus existed as two persons, the man Jesus and the divine Son of God, or Logos, rather than as a unified person. This doctrine is identified with Nestorius (386 - 451), Patriarch of Constantinople. This view of Christ was condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and the conflict over this view led to the Nestorian schism, separating the Assyrian Church of the East from the Byzantine Church.
The Assyrian Church of the East refused to drop support for Nestorius and denounce him as a heretic, and it has continued to be called "Nestorian" in the West, to distinguish it from other ancient Eastern churches. However, the Church of the East does not regard its doctrine as truly Nestorian, but rather teaches the view of Babai the Great, that Christ has two qnome (essences) which are unmingled and eternally united in one parsopa (personality). According to some interpretations, the origin of this confusion is mostly historical and linguistic: for example, the Greeks had two words for 'person', which translated poorly into Syriac, and the meanings of these terms were not even quite settled during Nestorius' lifetime.
Missionaries of the Assyrian Church of the East spread Nestorianism throughout Persia and Central and East Asia. "Nestorian" Christianity reached China by 635, and penetrated Mongolia and Korea. Its relics can still be seen in Chinese cities such as Xi'an.
Origins of Nestorianism
Nestorianism originated in the Church during the fifth century as an attempt to rationally explain and understand the incarnation of the divine Logos, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, as the man Jesus Christ. Nestorianism taught that the human and divine essences of Christ are separate and that there are two persons, the man Jesus Christ and the divine Logos, which dwelt in the man. In consequence, Nestorians rejected such terminology as "God suffered" or "God was crucified," because the human aspect of Jesus Christ which suffered was separate from his divinity. They rejected the term Theotokos (Giver of birth to God/Mother of God) for the Virgin Mary, suggesting instead the title Christotokos (Giver of birth to Christ/Mother of Christ), because in their opinion Mary gave birth to only the human person of Jesus and not the divine.
Nestorius
Nestorius (386 - 451) was a pupil of Theodore of Mopsuestia in Antioch, Syria, and became Patriarch of Constantinople in 428. In 428 he began to preach against the use of the title Mother of God (Theotokos) for the Virgin Mary, suggesting that she should instead be called Mother of Christ (Christotokos). He distinguished between the human aspect and the divine aspect (Logos) of Christ, and argued that God could not suffer on the cross, because he is omnipotent. Therefore, the human aspect of Christ died on the cross, but not the divine. Political rivals of Nestorius, including Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, seized on the opportunity and accused him of implying that Christ was two separate persons with separate experiences. Nestorius responded that he believed that Christ was indeed one person (Greek: prosopon).
Cyril of Alexandria recommended that Pope Celestine I condemn Nestorius, and had him deposed and declared a heretic at the Council of Ephesus in 431. The Council affirmed that Christ was one person, and that the Virgin Mary was the mother of God. In 435, Emperor Theodosius II issued an edict exiling Nestorius to a monastery in the Great Oasis of Hibis (al-Khargah), in Egypt, securely within the diocese of Cyril, and condemning all of his writings to be burned.
The condemnation of the Council of Ephesus resulted in the Nestorian schism and the separation of the Assyrian Church of the East from the Byzantine Church. The Assyrian Church of the East refused to drop support for Nestorius and denounce him as a heretic, and it has continued to be called "Nestorian" in the West, to distinguish it from other ancient Eastern churches. The Byzantine Church was soon divided again over the question of whether Christ had one or two natures, leading to the Council of Chalcedon and the Chalcedonian schism.
Christological Implications
From the point of view of the Chalcedonian theology which is held by most Western and Orthodox churches, the teaching of Nestorius has important consequences relating to soteriology and the theology of the Eucharist.
During the Protestant Reformation, some groups were accused of reviving the schism of Nestorius when they denied the “Real Presence.” The “Real Presence” is the term various Christian traditions use to express their belief that, in the Eucharist, Jesus the Christ is really (and not merely symbolically, figuratively or by his power) present in what was previously just bread and wine.
The Involvement of the Assyrian Church
After the Council of Ephesus, a strong Nestorian party developed in eastern Syria centering on the School of Edessa. In 433 a theological reconciliation took place between Cyril of Alexandria and John of Antioch, and a number of dissenting bishops affiliated themselves with the Syrian Church of Persia, which held the teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia in high esteem. The Sassanid Persian kings, who were at constant war with Byzantium, saw the opportunity to assure the loyalty of their Christian subjects and supported the Nestorian schism. They granted protection to Nestorians in 462, and executed the pro-Byzantine Catholicos Babowai who was then replaced by the Nestorian Bishop of Nisibis Bar Sauma (484). Nestorianism was officially adopted at the Synod of Seleucia in 486. The Nestorians were expelled from Edessa in 489 by the Emperor Zeno and emigrated to Persia. The Persians allowed the transfer of the school of Edessa, to the Persian city Nisibis, where it became even more famous than at Edessa.
The main theological authorities of the school had always been Theodore of Mopsuestia and his teacher Diodorus of Tarsus. Unfortunately, few of their writings have survived. The writings of Nestorius himself were only added to the curriculum of the school of Edessa-Nisibis in 530, shortly before the Fifth Ecumenical Council in 553 condemned Theodore as Nestorius's predecessor.
At the end of the 6th century the school went through a theological crisis when its director Henana of Adiabene tried to replace the teachings of Theodore with his own doctrine, which followed Origen. Babai the Great (551 - 628), the unofficial head of the Church at that time who revived the Assyrian monastic movement, refuted him and wrote the normative Christology of the Assyrian Church, based on Theodore of Mopsuestia.
The Book of Union is Babai’s principal surviving work on Christology. In it he explains that Christ has two qnome (essences), which are unmingled and eternally united in one parsopa (personality). This, and not strict Nestorianism, is the teaching of the Assyrian Church. However, the Assyrian Church has continued to be called "Nestorian" in the West to distinguish it from other ancient Eastern churches, despite the fact that Babai's Christology is basically the same as that of Catholicism and Orthodoxy; the Baltimore Catechism teaches that Christ is one "person" (like Babai's parsopa) but has two "natures" (Babai's qnome).
The Spread of Assyrian "Nestorianism"
The Assyrian Church produced many zealous missionaries, who traveled and preached throughout Persia and Central and East Asia during the seventh and eighth centuries. During the same period many Nestorian scholars, having escaped the Byzantines, settled in Gundishapur, Persia and Muharraq in Bahrain, bringing with them many ancient Greco-Roman philosophical, scientific, and literary texts. "Nestorian" Christianity reached China by 635, and its relics can still be seen in Chinese cities such as Xi'an. Around this same time, Nestorian Christianity penetrated into Mongolia, eventually reaching as far as Korea. The Nestorian Stele, set up on January 7, 781, at the then-capital of Chang'an, describes the introduction of Christianity into China from Persia in the reign of Tang Taizong.
The Christian community later faced persecution from Emperor Wuzong of Tang (reigned 840 - 846). He suppressed all foreign religions, including Buddhism and Christianity, which then declined sharply in China. A Syrian monk visiting China a few decades later described many churches in ruins.
Nestorianism was particularly active in the 12th century, being a state religion of Kidans in the times of Elyui Dashi. It was also one of the widespread religions in the empire of Ghenghis Khan.
The Church experienced a significant revival during the Yuan dynasty. Marco Polo in the 1200s and other medieval Western writers testify that many Nestorian communities remained in China and Mongolia; however, they clearly were not as vibrant as they had been during Tang times. The communities seem to have diminished due to hostility from the Ming dynasty. The legacy of the missionaries remains in the Assyrian churches still to be found in Iraq, Iran, and India.
There is evidence from within the hadith that Muhammad had contact with Nestorian Christians. Particularly of interest are the similarities between Muslim raka'ah, or ritual prayer, and the genuflections performed by Nestorians during Lent.
Modern Nestorianism
The Assyrian Church of the East and the "Nestorian" Church of the East & Abroad" represent a historical continuity with the Nestorian Christianity, though it is debated whether their doctrine is actually Nestorian.
Some Protestant and Reformed church organizations have been accused at times of Nestorianism. However, it should be noted that Protestants join Roman Catholics and the Eastern Church in affirming the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon, which repudiate both Nestorian theology and monophysite theology.
The New Age metaphysical system of Theosophy teaches a Nestorian doctrine regarding Jesus Christ.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Armstrong, Karen. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Gramercy, 2004
- Baum, Wilhelm and Winkler, Dietmar W (1 January 2003). The Church of the East: A Concise History. London: Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0-415-29770-2.
- Gumilev, Lev N. . Poiski vymyshlennogo tsarstva (in Russian, "Looking for the mythical kingdom"). Moscow, Onyx Publishers, 2003. ISBN 5-9503-0041-6.
- Ware, Timothy. The Orthodox Church: New Edition.Penguin (Non-Classics); 2nd edition, 1993
- Lossky, Vladimir. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church .
St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997
- Moreland, J.P.. Craig, William Lane.Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview .InterVarsity Press, 2003
External Links
- Nestorius and Nestorianism at the Catholic Encyclopedia
- Nestorian.org - Uofficial Web Site of the “Church of the East”
See also
- Nestorius
- Christology
- Assyrian Church of the East
- Church of the East & Abroad
- Babai the Great
- Nestorianism in China
- Alopen
- Johannite
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