Nestorius and the Third Ecumenical Council

Established chronology

1. 428Nestorius becomes archbishop of Constantinople.
2. 429 to 430Controversy over the title Theotokos; St Cyril of Alexandria writes against him.
3. 431The Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus condemns and deposes Nestorius.

Synodal decisions

• Ephesus deposed Nestorius and affirmed Theotokos and the single subject of the incarnate Word.

Actions of the saints

• St Cyril led the doctrinal opposition; the council addressed Nestorius as a bishop up to the moment of his synodical deposition.

Competing interpretations

• Some read the case as showing that a heretic's acts are void from the moment of his error; others, that he remained a true bishop until the council deposed him, the reading this library follows and which the conciliar acts support.