Nestorius
c. 386 – c. 451 · Bishop of Constantinople
Nestorius is on this site because he lost the argument that named a heresy. Patriarch of Constantinople from 428, he objected to calling Mary 'Theotokos' (God-bearer), preferring 'Christotokos' (Christ-bearer), because he wanted to keep the human and divine natures of Christ from blurring into each other. Cyril of Alexandria attacked him hard, the Council of Ephesus in 431 deposed him, and he died in exile. Whether he actually taught what 'Nestorianism' came to mean is debated — his own Bazaar of Heracleides, found in 1895, suggests he was closer to Chalcedonian orthodoxy than his enemies allowed. The Church of the East, still living today across Iraq, Iran, and India, is his lineage.
Primary source for this figure.
— Nestorius, Liber Heraclidis (Bazaar of Heracleides)
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