FATHERS OF THE THIRD ECUMENICAL COUNCIL

The Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus formally prohibited the formulation of new Creeds, as well as additions to existing written confessions. This very argument subsequently served as the basis for the rejection of the Fourth Council of Chalcedon in 451 by the Churches of Alexandria and Antioch, and, half a millennium later, for the epochal division between the Churches of the East and West, which eventually received the names “Orthodox” and “Catholic.”

1 On September 22, the Church celebrates the memory of the Fathers of the Third Ecumenical Council. The Council was held from June 22 to July 31, 431, in the city of Ephesus. The venue was the Church of the Holy Virgin. According to various estimates, between two hundred and two hundred and fifty bishops took part in the meeting. The Council was convened by Emperor Theodosius II the Younger (408-450) from all corners of the Roman Empire. The liturgical commemoration of the Council of Ephesus is not the commemoration of all its participants, canonized by the Church as saints, but a celebration in honor of this event, as an example of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and His dogmatic inspirations in the historical life of the Church.

2 The reason for convening the Ecumenical Council was the teaching of the then Bishop of Constantinople, Nestorius (428-431), who claimed in his sermons that it was impossible to call Mary “Mother of God” because the One who was born of her was a man. The divine personality, Nestorius argued, was “given” to Jesus only later, as a kind of superstructure to the unity of the divine and human natures and personalities of the incarnate Word of God that had been accomplished at the moment of conception. Therefore, Nestorius called Mary “Christ-bearer.” Since, in asserting this, Nestorius ‘managed’ to support the theological and moral movement of Pelagius and his disciples, who denied the necessity of grace for salvation, “Pelagianism” also became the subject of discussion at the Council.

3 Since Nestorius was the bishop of Constantinople, and Constantinople, as an ecclesiastical diocese, was rapidly rising above all other ecclesiastical metropolises, at the expense of the ancient apostolic sees, chief among which in the Orthodox East was Alexandria, Archbishop Cyril of the Egyptian capital intervened in the matter. Cyril of Alexandria presided over the Council of Ephesus, directed its proceedings, and shaped its decisions on dogmatic issues. Nestorius was deposed and condemned as a heretic. The teachings of Pelagianism were condemned as well. The Church proclaimed that Mary is truly Theotokos, the Mother of God, and that Jesus was one and only person, and that this person was divine from the beginning. According to the teaching of the Fathers of Ephesus, there was no separate, even conditional or virtual, human persons of Jesus. To assert the contrary was henceforth considered heresy. It should be remembered that the Greek word used in the Council’s decrees is “hypostasis,” while the Latin uses “persona.” These concepts are not identical to modern theological, philosophical, or psychological notions of the human person. This is the main difficulty in adapting the Council’s decrees to modern times.

4 Nestorius himself came from Antioch. His teachings largely reproduced the theology accepted there. Since there was no original malicious intent in his sermons, and heresy, in the classical sense, is primarily theological malice, the Church of Antioch sided with Nestorius. A severe crisis ensued, which Cyril and his supporters managed to resolve only years after Ephesus. Alexandria was an episcopal see of apostolic origin, and Cyril was extremely authoritative, his theology was powerful. A very large disproportion was forming in the life of the Church, which no one was able to notice at the time. Not all contradictions were resolved; moreover, some remained forever.

5 History knows no subjunctive mood. But the true genius of reconciliation was Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430). He was the only Father of the Church at that time who already had experience in resolving controversies similar to Nestorius’s question. A certain theologian named Leporius had already taught similarly to Nestorius, and Augustine persuaded him peacefully, without any excommunication. Augustine was also invited by Emperor Theodosius to the Ecumenical Council. But the invitation to the Ecumenical Council arrived late in Augustine’s diocese, in the fall of 430. By that time, Augustine had already died. When philosopher Derrida was reproached for never having entered dialogue with philosopher Gadamer during his lifetime, Derrida replied, “I was simply accustomed to him being alive.” It is evident that long before this statement, the Church of that time had become too accustomed to Augustine being alive as well. Like Basil the Great, Ambrose of Milan, and John Chrysostom, Augustine was destined to become a Father of the Church without ever having participated in an Ecumenical Council.