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Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian Nestorius, who promoted specific doctrines in the fields of Christology and Mariology. The second meaning of the term is much wider, and relates to a set of later theological teachings, that were traditionally labeled as Nestorian, but differ from the teachings of Nestorius in origin, scope and terminology. The Oxford English Dictionary defines Nestorianism as "The doctrine of Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople, by which Christ is asserted to have had distinct human and divine persons."
Ctesiphon was an ancient Iranian city, located on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of present-day Baghdad. Ctesiphon served as a royal capital of the Iranian empire in the Parthian and Sasanian eras for over eight hundred years. Ctesiphon was capital of the Sasanian Empire from 226–637 until the Muslim conquest of Persia in 651 AD.
Babai the Great was an early church father of the Church of the East. He set several of the foundational pillars of the Church, revived the monastic movement, and formulated its Christology in a systematic way. He served as a monastic visitor and coadjutor with Mar Aba as unofficial heads of the Church of the East after Catholicos Gregory until 628 AD, leaving a legacy of strong discipline and deep religious Orthodoxy. He is revered in the modern Assyrian Church of the East.
The Synod of Beth Lapat was a local council of the Church of the East, that was held in 484, in the Persian city of Gundeshapur. The council was headed by Metropolitan Barsauma of Nisibis, who was involved in a long conflict with Patriarch Babowai of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. No acts of this synod have been preserved, but fragmentary data from other sources suggest that various ecclesiological issues had been discussed, and that disciplinary canons against simony were adopted. Since Metropolitan Barsauma was involved in christological disputes, it is believed that several doctrinal questions were also discussed, and some later sources suggest that synod of 484 adopted a resolution in support of theological teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia. Since no creeds or theological decisions of this council have been preserved, its outcome has been the subject of various assumptions among scholars.
Barsauma, nicknamed Bar Sawma, "son of the Lent" in Syriac, was Metropolitan of Nisibis in the 5th century, and a major figure in the history of the Church of the East. Under his leadership the church moved away from Roman loyalties and became increasingly aligned with the Nestorian movement.
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek καθολικός, pl. καθολικοί, derived from καθ' ὅλου from κατά and ὅλος, meaning "concerning the whole, universal, general"; it originally designated a financial or civil office in the Roman Empire. The name of the Catholic Church comes from the same word—however, the title "Catholicos" does not exist in its hierarchy.
The Council of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, also called the Council of Mar Isaac, met in AD 410 in Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of the Persian Sassanid Empire. Convoked by King Yazdegerd I (399–421), it organized the Christians of his empire into a single structured Church, which became known as the Church of the East. It is often compared to Constantine's Edict of Milan, approximately a century earlier.
The Patriarchal Province of Seleucia-Ctesiphon was an ecclesiastical province of the Church of the East, with see in Seleucia-Ctesiphon. It was attested between the fifth and thirteenth centuries. As its name entails, it was the province of the patriarch of the Church of the East. The province consisted of a number of dioceses in the region of Beth Aramaye, between Basra and Kirkuk, which were placed under the patriarch's direct supervision at the synod of Yahballaha I in 420.
Babowai was Catholicos of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and Patriarch of the Church of the East from 457 to 484, during the reign of the Sassanid King Peroz I. Babowai was known for his pro-Byzantine leanings, for which he was often in conflict with other members of the anti-Byzantine Church of the East. He was executed in 484.
The Church of the East or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church or the Nestorian Church, was an Eastern Christian church of the East Syriac Rite, based in Mesopotamia. It was one of three major branches of Eastern Christianity that arose from the Christological controversies of the 5th and 6th centuries, alongside the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Chalcedonian Church. During the early modern period, a series of schisms gave rise to rival patriarchates, sometimes two, sometimes three. Since the latter half of the 20th century, three churches in Iraq claim the heritage of the Church of the East. Meanwhile, the East Syriac churches in India claim the heritage of the Church of the East in India.
Papa bar Aggai was Bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the capital of Sassanid Persia, in the late 3rd and early 4th century. An important figure in the early history of the Church of the East, he was first in the generally recognized line of Bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, who would later become the acknowledged head of the church. He was the first bishop to be given the title of Catholicos, or universal leader, and set about restructuring the previously disorganized Persian church. Some historians describe him as the founding figure of the Church of the East, though according to Syriac tradition, he was simply continuing a line of leaders, such as Mar Mari, that stretched back to Thomas the Apostle.
Diocese of Kashkar, sometimes called Kaskar, was the senior diocese in the Church of the East's Province of the Patriarch. It see was in the city of Kashkar. The diocese is attested between the fourth and the twelfth centuries. The bishops of Kashkar had the privilege of guarding the patriarchal throne during the interregnum between the death of a patriarch and the appointment of his successor. As a result, they are often mentioned by name in the standard histories of the Nestorian patriarchs, so that a relatively full list of the bishops of the diocese has survived.
The Patriarch of the Church of the East is the patriarch, or leader and head bishop of the Church of the East. The position dates to the early centuries of Christianity within the Sassanid Empire, and the Church has been known by a variety of names, including the Church of the East, Nestorian Church, the Persian Church, the Sassanid Church, or East Syrian.
Qayyoma was bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and primate of the Church of the East during the final decades of the fourth century. He is traditionally believed to have sat from 377 to 399, though these dates have been disputed by some modern scholars. Like several other early bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, he is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.
Elishaʿ was Patriarch of the Church of the East during a period of schism from 524 to 537. Unlike his opponent Narsai, who was also consecrated as catholicus but has traditionally been considered an anti-patriarch, Elishaʿ is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.
Isaac was bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, grand metropolitan and primate of the Church of the East from 399 to 410. He is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.
Maʿna served briefly as bishop of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, grand metropolitan and primate of the Church of the East in 420. Like several other early bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, he is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.
Acacius was Catholicos of Seleucia-Ctesiphon and Patriarch of the Church of the East from 485 to 496. His tenure was marked by internal christological and ecclesiological disputes. He struggled to prevent the Church of the East from aligning itself with the 'Nestorian' doctrine espoused by the metropolitan Barsauma of Nisibis. He is included in the traditional list of patriarchs of the Church of the East.
Mar Dadishoʿ was Catholicose of the East from 421 AD to 456 AD. During his reign as Catholicos, in 424 AD, the Church of the East declared itself independent of all other churches, resulting in Mar Dadishoʿ taking the title of Patriarch, becoming the first Catholicos-Patriarch of Seleucia-Ctesiphon.
References
- ↑ Wigram 1910, p. 175.
- ↑ "Nestorian". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
