Council of Ephesus (431 AD)

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Background

By the fifth century the question had moved from "Is Christ God?" to "How are His divinity and humanity related?" Two great theological schools offered different emphases. Alexandria stressed the unity of Christ. Antioch stressed the distinction of His two natures.

In 428, Nestorius, the new bishop of Constantinople, objected to calling Mary Theotokos, "God-bearer." He preferred Christotokos, "Christ-bearer," fearing the older title implied that God's nature had a mother. His critics heard something more dangerous: that the Son of God and the man born of Mary were two separate subjects. Cyril of Alexandria led the opposition [4].

The Council

Emperor Theodosius II called the council to meet at Ephesus in 431, in the church dedicated to Mary. Cyril opened the sessions before the Antiochene bishops, led by John of Antioch, arrived, and Nestorius was deposed. When John's party arrived, they held a rival council and deposed Cyril. The emperor eventually imprisoned leaders on both sides, and the dispute was patched together by the Formula of Reunion in 433 [4].

What Was Decided

• Christ is one person (prosopon / hypostasis), the eternal Son, who truly was born of Mary in His humanity.
• Mary is rightly called Theotokos, not to exalt her above Christ but to guard the truth that the one she bore is God the Son.
• Nestorius's teaching was condemned.
• The council forbade any addition to the Nicene Creed.
• The teachings of Pelagius and Caelestius, who denied inherited sin and the necessity of grace, were also rejected [4].

Scripture Behind the Decision

• One subject, divine and human. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). The Word is the subject of the verb "was made."
• Mary's child is Lord. Elizabeth said, "Whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43).
• Born of a woman, yet God's Son. "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law" (Galatians 4:4).
• The one who died was the Lord of glory. "Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8). Paul can say this because Christ is one person.
• God's blood. "Feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28).

Heresy Spotlight: Nestorianism

Historians still debate how far Nestorius himself held the position condemned in his name. The position, that there are in Christ two persons loosely joined, undermines salvation: if the one who suffered was merely a man, the cross is merely a martyrdom. The Church of the East (sometimes called "Nestorian") rejected Ephesus and continued as a separate body, once spreading across Persia, India, and China [5].

CHAPTER 4