Theodore of Mopsuestia
Bishop of Mopsuestia, leading Antiochene exegete and teacher of Nestorius. Posthumously condemned at the Second Council of Constantinople (553).
Why Theodore matters
Theodore was the greatest exegete of the Antiochene school — the tradition that read scripture historically and grammatically, against the Alexandrian habit of allegorising everything. He insisted on the real humanity of Christ, the literal sense of the Old Testament, and a clean separation between the testaments. The Council of Constantinople in 553 condemned some of his writings posthumously because they were read as the seed of Nestorianism. But the Church of the East still reveres him as 'the Interpreter,' and modern biblical scholarship — historical, grammatical, contextual — is closer to Theodore than to Origen.
Chain to Jesus
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Common questions
- Who was Theodore of Mopsuestia?
- Theodore of Mopsuestia (350–428) — Bishop of Mopsuestia, leading Antiochene exegete and teacher of Nestorius. Posthumously condemned at the Second Council of Constantinople (553).
- Who taught Theodore of Mopsuestia?
- Diodore of Tarsus.
- Who did Theodore of Mopsuestia teach?
- Nestorius.
Sources for biography
- Theodore of Mopsuestia, Catechetical Homilies primary
- Socrates Scholasticus, Hist. Eccl. 6.3 primary
documented connections(2)
- taught by Diodore of TarsusTheodore studied alongside Chrysostom under Diodore.Socrates Scholasticus, Hist. Eccl. 6.3
- cited (incoming) Theodoret of CyrusTheodoret defended Theodore's writings.Theodoret, Eranistes
tradition connections(1)
- taught by (incoming) NestoriusNestorius is traditionally counted as a pupil of Theodore at Antioch.Socrates Scholasticus, Hist. Eccl. 7.29