The translation of St. Cyril of Alexandria's synodical letter against Nestorius, and some other works long attributed to Dionysius are now acknowledged to be earlier and are assigned to Marius Mercator.

Some years earlier Nestorius, the exiled ex-patriarch of Constantinople, had died at an old age in the neighborhood of Akhmim.

Nestorius ' writings survive mainly in Syriac.

To Proclus the matter appeared so serious that towards the close of 437 he wrote to John I of Antioch, as the leading prelate of the East, though really having no canonical jurisdiction over Osrhoene, begging him to persuade Ibas, if innocent, to remove the scandal by condemning publicly certain propositions chiefly drawn from Theodore's writings against the errors of Nestorius.

" He had anathematized Nestorius already in his writings, and would do so again ten thousand times, together with Eutyches and all who teach the One Nature, and would accept all that the council holds as truth.

A controversy concerning his letter to Maris arose in the next century, in the notorious dispute about the " Three Chapters ," when the letter-was branded as heterodox ( together with the works of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Theodoret's writings in favour of Nestorius ) in the edict of Justinian, and was formally condemned in 553 by the fifth general council, which pronounced an anathema, in bold defiance of historical fact, against all who should pretend that it and the other documents impugned had been recognized as orthodox by the council of Chalcedon.

The writings of Nestorius himself were added to the curriculum only about 530.

" Nestorius however, still would not repent and so this led to the convening of the First Ecumenical Council of Ephesus ( 431 ), over which Cyril presided.

Cyril, however, used the opportunity to further attack Nestorius, who pleaded with Emperor Theodosius II to call a council so that all grievances could be aired.

Eusebius, a layman who later became the bishop of the neighbouring Dorylaeum was the first to accuse Nestorius of heresy but his most forceful opponent however was Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria.

" Nestorius however, still would not repent.

McGuckin, however, suggests that Candidian may have favored Nestorius from the start.

A number of bishops, who were undecided between Nestorius and Cyril, did not want to give Cyril, as one party in the dispute, the right to chair the meeting and decide the agenda ; however, they began to take Cyril's side for various reasons.

Eusebius, a layman who later became the bishop of the neighbouring Dorylaeum was the first to accuse Nestorius of heresy but his most forceful opponent however was Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria.

The council of Ephesus, however, while it condemned Nestorius by name, contented itself with condemning Theodore's creed without mentioning Theodore ; and the Nestorian party consequently fell back upon the words of Theodore, and began to circulate them in several languages as affording the best available exposition of their views ( Liberat.

The enterprise, however, proved difficult, owing to the hostility of Patriarch Nestorius and Emperor Theodosius II.

The papal legates refused to attend the second session at which several more orthodox bishops were deposed, including Ibas of Edessa, Irenaeus of Tyre ( a close personal friend of Nestorius ), Domnus of Antioch, and Theodoret.

Though Nestorius had been condemned by the church, including by Syrians, there remained a faction loyal to him and his teachings.

At Easter 429 A. D., Cyril wrote a letter to the Egyptian monks warning them of Nestorius ' views.

A copy of this letter reached Constantinople where Nestorius preached a sermon against it.

Pope Cyril I of Alexandria, supported by the entire See, sent a letter to Nestorius known as " The Third Epistle of Saint Cyril to Nestorius.

Cyril sent a letter to Nestorius known as " The Third Epistle of Saint Cyril to Nestorius.

Philip, as papal legate, opened the proceedings by commenting that the present question regarding Nestorius had already been decided by Pope Celestine as evidenced by his letter which had been read to the assembled bishops in the first session.

The council sent a letter to Theodosius indicating that the condemnation of Nestorius had been agreed upon not only by the bishops of the East meeting in Ephesus but also of the bishops of the West who had convened at a synod in Rome convened by Celestine.

This is due to the fact that the Second Council of Constantinople of AD 553 confirmed the validity of the condemnation of Nestorius, refuting the impius letter of Iba that affirms that Nestorius was condemned without the due inquiry.

Harmony being restored, John of Antioch and the other Eastern bishops wrote Maximian a letter of communion indicating their consent to his election and to the deposition of Nestorius.

In the letter, Nestorius is severely censured for refusing the title Theotokos to the Virgin Mary, and Ibas accuses Cyril of Apollinarianism, and denounces the heresy of his 12 chapters, charging him with maintaining the perfect identity of the manhood and Godhead in Christ, and denying the Catholic doctrine of the union of two Natures in One Person.

But in a letter to Nestorius ( ibid.

Nothing is known of his life, save what he tells us himself in the last of the biographies he wrote: " I, Gennadius, presbyter of Massilia, wrote eight books against all heresies, five books against Nestorius, ten books against Eutyches, three books against Pelagius, a treatise on the thousand years of the Apocalypse of John, this work, and a letter about my faith sent to blessed Gelasius, bishop of the city of Rome ".

Soon afterwards, a letter was posted in Constantinople that correlated Nestorius ’ teachings with that of Paul of Samosata, an heretical figure from the previous century that had also denied or otherwise challenged the divine nature in Christ.

About the same time John Cassian dedicated to him the treatise against Nestorius written at his request.

In 1895, a 16th-century book manuscript containing a copy of a text written by Nestorius was discovered by American missionaries in the library of the Nestorian patriarch in the mountains at Konak, Hakkari.

In the Bazaar, written towards the end of his life, Nestorius denies the heresy for which he was condemned and instead affirms of Christ " the same one is twofold " – an expression that some consider similar to the formulation of the Council of Chalcedon.

Evolution Publishing, ISBN 978-1-889758-88-6. http :// www. evolpub. com / CRE / CREseries. html # CRE5 — includes an account of the exile and death of Nestorius, along with correspondence purportedly written by Nestorius to Theodosius II.

Meanwhile Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, had publicly condemned Nestorius and had written doctrines to convince the imperial court that his doctrine of the Theotokos was correct.

The normative Christology of the Assyrian church was written by Babai the Great ( 551 – 628 ) and is clearly distinct from the accusations directed toward Nestorius.

The normative Christology of the Assyrian church was written by Babai the Great ( 551 – 628 ) and is clearly distinct from the accusations directed toward Nestorius: his main christological work is called the ' Book of the Union ', and in it Babai teaches that the two qnome ( essences, or hypostases ) are unmingled but everlastingly united in the one parsopa ( personality ) of Christ.

His third book, On the Incarnation of the Lord, was a defense of orthodox doctrine against the views of Nestorius, and was written at the request of the Archdeacon of Rome, later Pope Leo I.

In response to Nestorius ' attack on giving the title of Theotokos to the Virgin Mary, the Byzantines increased the use of the term in the liturgy, and now almost every string of hymns ends with one in her honour, called a Theotokion.

Cyril was able to completely control the proceedings, completely neutralizing Candidian who favored Cyril's antagonist, Nestorius.

Theodoret shared in the petition of John I of Antioch to Nestorius to approve of the term theotokos (" mother of God "), and upon the request of John wrote against Cyril's anathemas.

Irenaeus the friend of Nestorius, with the cooperation of Theodoret, became bishop of Tyre, in spite of the protests of Dioscorus, Cyril's successor, who now turned specially against Theodoret ; and, by preferring the charge that he taught two sons in Christ, he secured the order from the court confining Theodoret to Cyrrhus.

Despite three separate summons, Nestorius refused to acknowledge Cyril's authority to stand in judgment of him and considered the opening of the council before the arrival of the Antiochene contingent as a " flagrant injustice ".

Cyril's group was unable to communicate with the emperor because of interference from supporters of Nestorius both at Constantinople and at Ephesus.

Although Emperor Theodosius had long been a staunch supporter of Nestorius, his loyalty seems to have been shaken by the reports from Cyril's council and caused him to arrive at the extraordinary decision to ratify the depositions decreed by both councils.

The factions that supported John of Antioch acquiesced in the condemnation of Nestorius and, after additional clarifications, accepted the decisions of Cyril's council.

Wary of monophysitism, Nestorius rejected Cyril's theory of a hypostatic union, proposing instead a union of will.

On the influence of Pulcheria, Theodosius ruled in favor of Cyril that the title of Theotokos was orthodox, " Under such public pressure Theodosius succumbed to Pulcheria's demands and had Cyril's decree deposing Nestorius read in the Great Church.