Council of Ephesus

The Council of Ephesus is the third general Council of the Church (Third Ecumenical Council ). It was held from 22 June to 31 July 431 AD in the Asia Minor city of Ephesus in Our Lady's church. It was convened by the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. In attendance were some 250 clergymen.

Topic of the Council 431 AD

The central theme of the council was the quarrel between two catechists schools. The Alexandrian school was based on Plato and put the Bible allegorically, while the Antiochene school appealed to Aristotle and a rationalistic biblical exegesis operation.

Were exacerbated tensions by the rivalries between the Patriarch of Alexandria, Cyril of Alexandria, and the Opel of Constantinople, Nestorius, the primacy in the East, where Nestorius to Cyril appealed to the Emperor Constantine seat Opel to the Bishop of Rome. Nestorius came from the Antiochene school and defended the thesis that Christ's humanity is connected only morally with his deity and that it followed that only Christ- Mary, Mother of God, but was not.

History and decisions

Before the opening of Nestorius was asked three times to appear before the council. Nestorius replied that not all ambassadors, including the Roman legate, and John I., the Patriarch of Antioch, had arrived. Nevertheless, Cyril hurried and opened the council. In the first session Nestorius was deposed and excommunicated from his office. The later Roman embassy arrived from Celestine I was involved in the assembly part of Cyril.

The Council condemned Nestorius and his followers, but not the Antiochian school as a whole.

After John I. had arrived from Antioch, in Ephesus ( probably four days later ), he convened a counter council. In this meeting, he excommunicated Cyril and the Bishop of Ephesus. The Emperor Theodosius II canceled the opening decision, and he did because of the seemingly hopeless strife Nestorius and Cyril imprison, where Cyril could still return to Alexandria in the same year.

Subsequent negotiations the Council of Ephesus

In the year 433 it came after extensive negotiations between representatives of the two theological directions ultimately to an agreement. The Union formula of 433, a mediating creed, referred to Christ as " perfect God and perfect man " ( the same substance with the Father and with the people ), reaffirms the " unification of two natures " and " unmixed agreement " in Christ. In the context of this christological statements, the Union recognizes formula Mary as " Theotokos " ( God-bearer ). For the creation of this dogmatic formulation Bishop Theodoret of Kyrrhos should be responsible, even if he was the Union long time joined.

The Council of Ephesus led to the elimination of the Assyrian Church of the East, which did not recognize the resolutions of the council, as Antiochene bishops who were more followers of Nestorius, were prevented by armed Monophysite monks to attend. In contrast to the " Robber Synod " but influenced the gunmen not the assembled council participants (next Monophysites also Dyophysiten the later chalzedonensischen direction ) itself

Crossing of the Persian Church " Nestorians "

484 decided the Synod of the Persian Christians ( Catholicos of Seleucia- Ctesiphon, today Assyrian Church of the East) in Beth- Lapat ( confirmed in Seleucia- Ctesiphon 498 ), to accept the teachings of Nestorius condemned 431 as binding for their church. This was, inter alia, probably due to the fact that the Persian Church wanted to show as loyal to the Persian state, which often was with Ostrom at war. The " Nestorian " Catholicos of the East as a missionary of Persia and Mesopotamia in the following centuries to India and in the Chinese Empire.

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