Nestorius and Nestorianism

Abstract

Abstract This paper has three parts. The first outlines the history of Nestorianism. From the end of the fifth century all the way into the thirteenth century (c.e.), quite a large population—in fact most Christians in Asia—belonged to branches of the Nestorian church. The second part provides a brief biography of Nestorius, after whom this church was named. The third part explores two elements of Nestorius’s christology, as they are found in his posthumously discovered theological writings. (1) Does Christ have one nature or two (both human and divine), and if two, how can one person have two natures? (2) To what extent was Adam, the first man, created for a role that Christ eventually fulfilled?