Council of Ephesus
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- This article covers the Ecumenical council of 431. For the council of 449, see Second Council of Ephesus.
| Council of Ephesus | |
| Date | 431 |
|---|---|
| Accepted by | Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Lutheranism |
| Previous council | First Council of Constantinople |
| Next council | Council of Chalcedon |
| Convoked by | Emperor Theodosius II |
| Presided by | Cyril of Alexandria |
| Attendance | 200-250 (papal representatives arrived late) |
| Topics of discussion | Nestorianism, Theotokos, Pelagianism |
| Documents and statements | Nicene Creed confirmed, condemnations of heresies, declaration of "Theotokos" |
| Chronological list of Ecumenical councils | |
The Council of Ephesus was held in 431 at the Church of Mary in Ephesus, Asia Minor. The council was called due to the contentious teachings of Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople. St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, appealed to Pope Celestine, charging Nestorius with heresy. The Pope agreed and gave Cyril his authority to serve a notice to Nestorius to recant his views or else be excommunicated. Before the summons arrived, Nestorius convinced the Emperor Theodosius II, to hold a General council, a platform to argue their opposing views. Approximately 200 bishops were present. The proceedings were conducted in a heated atmosphere of confrontation and recriminations. It is counted as the Third Ecumenical Council, and was chiefly concerned with Nestorianism.
Nestorianism emphasized the dual natures of Christ. Patriarch Nestorius tried to answer a question considered unsolved: "How can Jesus Christ, being part man, not be partially a sinner as well, since man is by definition a sinner since the Fall". To solve that he taught that Mary, the mother of Jesus gave birth to the incarnate Christ, not the divine Logos who existed before Mary and indeed before time itself. The Logos occupied the part of the human soul (the part of man that was stained by the Fall). But wouldn't the absence of a human soul make Jesus less human? No, Nestorius answered because the human soul was based on the archetype of the Logos only to become polluted by the Fall, therefore Jesus was "more" human for having the Logos and not "less". Consequently, Mary should be called Christotokos, Greek for the "Christ-Bearer" and not Theotokos, Greek for the "God-Bearer." Cyril argued that Nestorianism split Jesus in half and denied that he was both human and divine. This was essentially a Christological controversy.
At the urging of its president, Cyril of Alexandria, the Council denounced Nestorius' teaching as erroneous and decreed that Jesus was one person, not two separate people: complete God and complete man, with a rational soul and body. The Virgin Mary was to be called Theotokos because she bore and gave birth to God as a man. This council was originally disputed, however, because Cyril started the council prematurely, without all the legates and bishops present. This caused the Eastern bishops, led by John of Antioch, to hold a competing council where they disputed Cyril's council. Over time, Cyril would eventually triumph. This did not resolve the debate over the union of the two natures of Christ, and related issues were debated at the Council of Chalcedon.
The Council of Ephesus declared it "unlawful for any man to bring forward, or to write, or to compose a different (ἑτέραν) Faith as a rival to that established by the holy Fathers assembled with the Holy Ghost in Nicæa",[1] It did not specify whether it meant the Nicene Creed as adopted by the First Council of Nicaea in 325, or as added to and modified by the First Council of Constantinople in 381.
In addition, it condemned Pelagianism.[2]
Eight canons[3] were passed:
- Canon 1-5 condemned Nestorius and Caelestius and their followers as heretics
- Canon 6 decreed deposition from clerical office or excommunication for those who did not accept the Council's decrees
- Canon 7 condemned any departure from the creed established by the First Council of Nicaea, in particular an exposition by the priest Charisius.
- Canon 8 condemned interference by the Bishop in affairs of the Church in Cyprus and decreed generally, so that no bishop was to "assume control of any province which has not heretofore, from the very beginning, been under his own hand or that of his predecessors ... the Canons of the Fathers be transgressed".[4]
[edit] References
[edit] Sources
Bellitto, Christopher M. The General Councils: a History of the Twenty-One Church Councils From Nicaea to Vatican II. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist P, 2002. 22-25.
[edit] External links
- Eight canons promulgated by the Council of Ephesus
- Medieval Sourcebook: Documents and letters concerning the Council of Ephesus
- Extracts from the Acts of the council
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Ephesus, Council of
- Michael J. Svigel, "The Phantom Heresy:Did the Council of Ephesus (431) Condemn Chiliasm?"
- Council of Ephesus
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