The Christological controversy between Nestorius of Constantinople and Cyril of Alexandria

Resumo: Esse artigo analisa a atuação do imperador Teodósio II (408-450) no conflito teológico que emergiu durante o seu governo e ficou conhecido pela historiografia como Controvérsia Nestoriana. Tal conflito foi protagonizado pelos bispos Cirilo de Alexandria e Nestório de Constantinopla, que divergiam acerca do relacionamento estabelecido entre as naturezas divina e humana do Cristo encarnado. Uma vez que formulações teológicas dessa natureza, na Antiguidade Tardia, serviam de suporte para formulações ideológicas de sustentação e unidade do poder imperial, pretendemos destacar o papel de centralidade do imperador como mediador desse conflito.Palavras-chave: Antiguidade Tardia – Conflito político-religioso-administrativo – Controvérsia Nestoriana. Abstract: This article analyzes the performance of the Emperor Theodosius II (408-450) at the theological conflict that emerged during his government and got notorious by historiography as Nestorian Controversy. Such a conflict was led by the bishops Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius of Constantinople, who diverged about the relationship established between the divine and human natures of the incarnate Christ. Since theological formulations of such nature were used in Late Antiquity to support ideological formulations of sustaining and unity of the imperial power, we aim to highlight the role of centrality of the Emperor as a mediator in this conflict.Keywords: Late Antiquity – Political, religious and administrative Conflict – Nestorian Controversy.

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Antioch and Alexandria

10.1093/oso/9780199281336.003.0007 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Brian E. Daley, SJ

Keyword(s):

Spiritual Meaning ◽

Cyril Of Alexandria ◽

Theodore Of Mopsuestia ◽

Didymus The Blind ◽

Nestorius Of Constantinople ◽

Theodoret Of Cyrus ◽

The Church

The opposition between theologians centered in Antioch and those centered in Alexandria, both in their ways of interpreting Scripture and in their understandings of Christ’s person, is well known, if often somewhat exaggerated by modern scholars. Antiochene exegetes tended to insist more than their Alexandrian counterparts on the importance of seeing each biblical passage in its context within the longer narrative of Israel’s history, and to search for practical, moral applications, while Alexandrian interpreters tended to be more interested in the theological and spiritual meaning. More importantly, Antiochene theologians tended to see the fullness of salvation as eschatological, Alexandrians as present and accessible in the Church; as a result, Antiochenes tended to emphasize more the boundaries between God’s life and creation. The chapter looks at works of Diodore of Tarsus, his pupil Theodore of Mopsuestia, Nestorius of Constantinople, Theodoret of Cyrus, Didymus the Blind, and Cyril of Alexandria.

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St. Cyril of Alexandria, A New Testament Exegete

10.31826/9781463212599 ◽

2007 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lois M. Farag

Keyword(s):

New Testament ◽

Cyril Of Alexandria

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Cyril of Alexandria

10.1093/oso/9780198824534.003.0004 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Hauna T. Ondrey

Keyword(s):

Old Testament ◽

Primary Role ◽

Positive Role ◽

Cyril Of Alexandria ◽

Preliminary Comparison ◽

Mosaic Law

Chapter 3, “Cyril of Alexandria: The Twelve within the First Covenant,” identifies the primary role Cyril assigns the Twelve Prophets in their ministry to Old Testament Israel as summoning Israel to adherence to the Mosaic law and educating Israel regarding God’s nature. While Cyril finds the prophetic oracles replete with christological content, a careful reading of his Commentary on the Twelve reveals that he holds the typological value of these oracles only retrospectively accessible. Isolating Cyril’s view of the prophetic ministry to ante Christum Israel limits the prospective christological revelation of the prophets and reveals the positive role Cyril ascribes the Mosaic law prior to Christ’s advent. A preliminary comparison of Chapters 2 and 3 concludes this chapter.

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The Minor Prophets as Christian Scripture in the Commentaries of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Cyril of Alexandria

10.1093/oso/9780198824534.001.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hauna T. Ondrey

Keyword(s):

Old Testament ◽

Full Range ◽

Positive Role ◽

Cyril Of Alexandria ◽

Theodore Of Mopsuestia ◽

Positive Account ◽

Mosaic Law ◽

Recent Tendency ◽

The Church ◽

Minor Prophets

This work compares the Minor Prophets commentaries of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Cyril of Alexandria, isolating the role each interpreter assigns the Twelve Prophets in their ministry to Old Testament Israel and the texts of the Twelve as Christian scripture. It argues that Theodore does acknowledge christological prophecies, as distinct from both retrospective accommodation and typology. A careful reading of Cyril’s Commentary on the Twelve limits the prospective christological revelation he ascribes to the prophets and reveals the positive role he grants the Mosaic law prior to Christ’s advent. Exploring secondly the Christian significance Theodore and Cyril assign to Israel’s exile and restoration reveals that Theodore’s reading of the Twelve Prophets, while not attempting to be christocentric, is nevertheless self-consciously Christian. Cyril, unsurprisingly, offers a robust Christian reading of the Twelve, yet this too must be expanded by his focus on the church and concern to equip the church through the ethical paideusis provided by the plain sense of the prophetic text. Revised descriptions of each interpreter lead to the claim that a recent tendency to distinguish the Old Testament interpretation of Theodore (negatively) and Cyril (positively) on the basis of their “christocentrism” obscures more than it clarifies and polarizes no less than earlier accounts of Antiochene/Alexandrian exegesis. The Conclusion argues against replacing old dichotomies with new and advocates rather for an approach that takes seriously Theodore’s positive account of the unity and telos of the divine economy and the full range of Cyril’s interpretation.

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