Nestorianism: History, Definition, & Beliefs (Heresy Series)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

In the long and complex history of Christian theology, few controversies have left as enduring a legacy as Nestorianism. Labeled a heresy, Nestorianism arose from deep questions about the nature of Jesus Christ—questions that not only divided the church but also shaped the course of Christian doctrine for centuries to come.

This article explores the origins, teachings, and the enduring vestiges of Nestorianism beliefs—tracing its journey from the heart of the Roman Empire to the far reaches of Asia. Along the way, we'll examine why the controversy over Christ’s nature was so explosive, how the church responded, and what Nestorianism’s long afterlife tells us about the nature of heresy itself.

Nestorianism Definition and History

Like many theological movements later deemed heretical (Marcionism, Valentinianism), Nestorianism was named after its founder, Nestorius. Also like those movements, the name “Nestorians” came from the movement’s enemies; Nestorians did not call themselves Nestorians. However, to understand Nestorianism’s beliefs, we’ll start with the life and teachings of Nestorius himself.

Nestorius was born around 386 CE in a city called Germanicia in the Roman Province of Syria (the city is now called Kahramanmaraş in modern-day Turkey). We don’t know much about his early life except that his first language was apparently Greek, since his sermons and letters were written originally in that language. Greek was the common language of people in that region in the 4th century.

Nestorius later became a priest-monk, or hieromonk, under the tutelage of famed Syrian bishop and theologian Theodore of Mopsuestia. Like Nestorius, Theodore was a controversial theological figure. Some of his ideas would be condemned by the church, although not until after his death. One ancient source, Church History written by Evagrius Scholasticus, says tha

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While Nestorius certainly must have learned much from Theodore, there is not enough decisive evidence to prove that his most controversial idea came directly from him. However, we do know that while living as a hieromonk in a monastery outside Antioch, Syria, Nestorius became a very popular preacher, so much so that the Roman Emperor Theodosius II made him archbishop of Constantinople in 428 CE. This was a huge deal, as Constantinople had by then become the capital city of the Roman Empire.

Nestorius didn’t get much of a chance to rest on his laurels, however. Almost as soon as he arrived in Constantinople, he was thrown into a theological controversy between two factions with contradictory Christologies (Christology is the theology about the nature and role of Christ), forcing Nestorius to try to find a compromise that would satisfy both sides.

According to Bruce Shelley’s Church History in Plain Language, one of these factions insisted that since Christ was God who had been born as a human being, the Virgin Mary should be called “God-bearer” (Greek: Theotokos). The opposing group refused to use that title since God, as an everlasting being, could not have been born.

From this controversy about whether Mary could have given birth to God developed the Christological question that Nestorius would attempt to answer: did Jesus have one nature that included both the divine and the human or two separate natures, one divine and one human, instead?

Nestorius’ solution was to say that Jesus consisted of two distinct persons or “hypostases” in Greek, one human and the other divine. He went on to say that these two were not entirely united into one single nature, although they were connected within the person of Jesus. This idea came to be known as the prosopic union (prosopon is one Greek word for “person”). For Nestorius, these two natures or persons were together within Jesus but did not mix.

Opponents of Nestorius became outraged, accusing him of making Jesus into two persons in one body, which they said amounted to a denial of the reality of the Incarnation. Interestingly enough, most scholars today don’t believe that this is what Nestorius really taught. For example, in his book The Nestorian Churches, Aubrey Vine writes

Nevertheless, this idea of Christ as two separate persons in one body has ever since become the definition of Nestorianism.

Soon after Nestorius’ proposed solution to the Christological controversy, bishops of the church convened the Council of Ephesus in 431 CE. At this council, Nestorianism was officially anathematized or condemned. The archbishop of Alexandria, Cyril, wrote 12 anathemas or official condemnations of the Nestorianism heresy. These are the first two:

In his book Christology and the Council of Chalcedon, Fr. Shenouda M. Ishak writes that on the orders of Pope Celestine 1 of Rome, Cyril of Alexandria took over the Council of Ephesus which then condemned Nestorius as a heretic and ordered him removed as archbishop of Constantinople. Interestingly, the followers of Nestorius, angry at how he had been treated at Ephesus, then convened their own council at which they declared Cyril a heretic and had him removed as archbishop!

When both sides went to the emperor to adjudicate the matter, the emperor initially said both should be deposed. Nestorius was sent back to his monastery at Antioch. However, according to Cyril’s letters, he was eventually allowed to resume his role as archbishop of Alexandria after bribing the right people in the government.

In 451, the Council of Chalcedon was held. One of its main conclusions merely affirmed the condemnation of Nestorianism:

Nestorius himself was eventually removed from his monastery in Antioch by an imperial edict and placed in one in Egypt which was under Cyril of Alexandria’s see. He died soon after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE.

Nestorianism’s Legacy

Historically speaking, when heresies are defined and condemned, they don’t usually disappear overnight. This was true, for example, of Arianism, a heresy condemned at the Council of Nicaea. Despite its condemnation, Arian Christians continued to exist for centuries. The same, it turns out, is true of Nestorianism, although Nestorian Christians lasted much longer. In fact, they continue to exist.

By the way, if you’re interested in the history of early Christian heresies, check out Bart Ehrman’s course on the subject at  https://courses.bartehrman.com/tc-wgqvp-heresies/.

Following the Council of Chalcedon, many Nestorian Christians were persecuted and forced to flee their homes in places such as Syria and relocate to the Persian Empire in modern-day Iran. In this new location, these churches, though often persecuted by the majority, who were of the Zoroastrian faith, continued to exist and spread. In fact, Nestorian Christian artifacts have been found by archeologists in such places as China, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan.

Today, Nestorianism continues to exist in what is known as the Church of the East. The World Council of Churches notes that

While the church still exists in many different areas of the world, it is a distinct minority. The liturgical language of the church continues to be Syriac, a language hardly spoken any more. Syriac is spoken during church rites and is the language in which the Scriptures are read.

Conclusion: The Nestorianism Heresy

Nestorius started out as a popular priest-monk in a monastery outside of Antioch, Syria, one of the main centers for early Christianity. We have to wonder if he would have been happier had he stayed there.

Instead, due to the popularity of his preaching, he was elevated by the emperor himself to the position of archbishop or patriarch of the city of Constantinople. In dealing with a Christological conflict between two groups there, Nestorius formulated an opinion concerning the nature of Christ that would become a lightning rod of controversy.

While Nestorius agreed that Christ was both God and human, he interpreted this as meaning that there were essentially two persons—one divine, the other human—within the one body of Jesus. Vehement opposition to this idea would lead to his and his doctrine’s condemnation, first at the Council of Ephesus in 431 CE, and later at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE. As a result, Nestorius would be deposed and returned to the monastery in infamy.

However, unlike Nestorius himself, the Nestorian doctrine refused to die. Those who believed in Nestorianism continued to form their own churches, initially in the Persian Empire but then further into the Near East and Asia in later years. In fact, Nestorian Christian communities still exist, although in smaller and smaller numbers. Heresies, even when officially condemned, have a way of sticking around.