Underestimating Pulcheria's power, Nestorius propelled a smear campaign against Pulcheria, " Nestorius took specific action against Pulcheria.

i. 2 ) that Nestorius, on his way from Antioch to Constantinople ( AD 428 ), took counsel with Theodore and received from him the seeds of heresy which he shortly afterwards scattered with such disastrous results.

The Acoemetae took a prominent part — and always in the sense of orthodoxy — in the Christological discussions raised by Nestorius and Eutyches, and later, in the controversies of the Icons.

McGuckin ascribes Nestorius ' importance to his being the representative of the Antiochene tradition and characterizes him as a " consistent, if none too clear, exponent of the longstanding Antiochene dogmatic tradition.

McGuckin points out that other representatives of the Antiochene tradition such as John of Antioch, Theodoret and Andrew of Samosata were able to recognize " the point of the argument for Christ's integrity " and concede the " ill-advised nature of Nestorius ' immoveability.

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 ".

Nestorius, before becoming Patriarch of Constantinople, had been a monk at Antioch and had there become imbued with the principles of the Antiochene theological school.

Nestorius, a student of the Antiochene school of theology, taught that in the incarnation two distinct hypostases (" substances " or, as Nestorius ' critics such as John Cassian and Cyril of Alexandria employed the term, " persons ") were conjoined in Jesus Christ — one human ( the man ) and one divine ( the Word ).

Cyril is well-known due to his dispute with Nestorius and his supporter Patriarch John of Antioch, whom Cyril excluded from the Council of Ephesus for arriving late.

Christ, according to Nestorius, was the conjunction of the Godhead with his " temple " ( which Nestorius was fond of calling his human nature ).

" However, Nestorius claimed that the Son of God was altogether incapable of suffering, even within his union with the flesh.

Another theological dispute in the 5th century occurred over the teachings of Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople who taught that God the Word was not hypostatically joined with human nature, but rather dwelt in the man Jesus.

When reports of this reached the Apostolic Throne of Saint Mark, Pope Saint Cyril I of Alexandria acted quickly to correct this breach with orthodoxy, requesting that Nestorius repent.

Nestorius ' teachings brought him into conflict with some other prominent church leaders, most notably Cyril of Alexandria, who criticized especially his rejection of the title Theotokos (" Bringer forth of God ") for the Virgin Mary.

Nestorius and his teachings were eventually condemned as heretical at the First Council of Ephesus in 431 and the Council of Chalcedon in 451, leading to the Nestorian Schism in which churches supporting Nestorius broke with the rest of the Christian Church.

Afterward many of Nestorius ' supporters relocated to Sassanid Persia, where they affiliated with the local Christian community, known as the Church of the East.

However, not all churches affiliated with the Church of the East appear to have followed Nestorian Christology ; indeed, the modern Assyrian Church of the East, which reveres Nestorius, does not follow all historically Nestorian doctrine.

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.

However, a number of churches, particularly those associated with the School of Edessa, supported Nestorius – though not necessarily his doctrine – and broke with the churches of the West.

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.

Originally the church of Sassanid Persia, the Church of the East declared itself independent of other churches in 424 and over the next century became affiliated with Nestorianism, a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428 to 431, which had been declared heretical in the Roman Empire.

The Church of the East was associated with the doctrine of Nestorianism, advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428 – 431, which emphasized the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus.

Nestorius ' doctrine, Nestorianism, which emphasized the disunity between Christ's human and divine natures, had brought him into conflict with other church leaders, most notably Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria.

Nestorius ' dispute with Cyril had led the latter to seek validation from Pope Celestine I, who authorized Cyril to request that Nestorius recant his position or face excommunication.

Nestorius pleaded with Roman Emperor Theodosius II to call a council in which all grievances could be aired, hoping that he would be vindicated and Cyril condemned.

If such a union of human and divine occurred, Nestorius believed that Christ could not truly be con-substantial with God and con-substantial with us because he would grow, mature, suffer and die ( which Nestorius argued God cannot do ) and also would possess the power of God that would separate him from being equal to humans.

The council accused Nestorius of heresy, and deposed him as patriarch.

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

For example, John of Antioch wrote to Nestorius urging him to submit to the Pope's judgment and cease stirring up controversy over a word that he disliked ( Theotokos ) but which could be interpreted as having an orthodox meaning especially in light of the fact that many saints and doctors of the church had sanctioned the word by using it themselves.

In view of the verdict of Rome against Nestorius, Memnon refused to have communion with Nestorius, closing the churches of Ephesus to him.

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.

If such a union of human and divine occurred, Nestorius believed that Christ could not truly be con-substantial with God and con-substantial with us because he would grow, mature, suffer and die ( which he said God cannot do ) and also would possess the power of God that would separate him from being equal to humans.

The council deposed Nestorius and declared him a heretic.

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

Nestorius ' earlier surviving writings, however, including his letter written in response to Cyril's charges against him, contain material that suggest that at that time he held that Christ had two persons.

One famous example is Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople who so vigorously defended Jesus ' humanity that he undermined Jesus ' divinity ; A brief definition of Nestorian Christology can be given as: " Jesus Christ, who is not identical with the Son but personally united with the Son, who lives in him, is one hypostasis and one nature: human .".

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.

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 engaged to publicly anathematize Nestorius and all who thought with him on his return, and declared the identity of his doctrine with that agreed upon by John and Cyril, and that he accepted the decrees of Ephesus equally with those of Nicaea as due to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The conflict between the two bishops is described by historian Averil Cameron, " The issue was whether, and, if so, how, Christ had two natures ; the Monophysites held that he had only a divine nature, while Nestorius, and ' Nestorians ' after him, emphasized the human " Nestorius was an advocate of diminishing the influence of the Mother of God, or Theotokos, from the Church.

He dispatched epistolae tractoriae through the churches subject to him as metropolitan, requiring the signatures of the bishops to Pope Leo's famous Tome and to another document condemning both Nestorius and Eutyches.

Maximus's zeal for the orthodox faith receives warm commendation from Leo, who exhorts him as consors apostolicae sedis to maintain the doctrine founded by St. Peter speciali magisterio in the cities of Antioch and Rome, against the erroneous teaching both of Nestorius and Eutyches, and to watch over the churches of the East generally and keep Leo informed about events.