428–431

Nestorius and the dispute over the title "Theotokos"

In 428 the Antiochene Nestorius, a disciple of Theodore of Mopsuestia, became bishop of Constantinople and spoke out against the title "Theotokos" for Mary: the man Jesus was born of Mary, but not God the Word, and she may be called "Christotokos". For Nestorius the union of natures is a "conjunction" in which each keeps its own predicates, so he did not accept the exchange of properties and saw in "Theotokos" a mixing of the natures. Cyril of Alexandria held that denying the title destroys the incarnation and redemption; opponents declared that Nestorius, like Paul of Samosata, made Christ an ordinary man. The Book of Heraclides, found in the 20th century, led to a reassessment: according to Hall, most 20th-century theologians recognized Nestorius as orthodox and his teaching as consistent with Chalcedon.