Section 1311

purpose of enlisting the influence of the court for them- selves, and at length they succeeded in prevailing upon the fiicble and vacillating emperor, through the inter- vention of Theophilus's si.-^ter, to confirm the deposition of Xestorius, although he liad agreed to withdraw his objection to the word " theotokos," mother of God, Thus, linally forsaken by the court, which liad so long protected him against his numerous and powerful ene- mies, Nestorius saw himself deserted by many of the Ijishops of liis party ; and though John of Antioch and a number of tlie Eastern bishops stood firm for a time, Jolni and Cyril were ultimately brought to an agree- ment, and both retained tlieir sees. The comi)romise wliiih was effected between the two prelates and the emperor was brought al)oiit raaiidy by tiie following steps. John of Antioch sent the aged bishop Paul of Emesa a messenger to Alexandria with a creed which he had already, in a shorter form, laid before the em- peror, and which broke the doctrinal antagonism by asserting the duality of the natures against Cyril, and the predicate mother of God against Nestorius (Mansi, V, 3O.0; Hefele, ii, 24G; Gieseler, I, ii, 150). " We con- fess," says this sj-mbol, which was composed by Theodo- ret, "that our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, is perfect God and perfect man, of a reason- able soul and body subsisting (^tov HXtiov Kcii m'^pw- TTov Ts\tioi> tK i//i'Y/;c AoyiKj/g [against Apollinaris] Kai (Tw/tarof) ; as to his Godhead Ijegotten of the Fa- ther before all time, but as to his manhood born of tlic Virgin Mary in the end of the days for us and for our salvation; of the same essence with the Father as to his Godhead, and of tlie same substance with us as to his manhood {hjioovaiov np irarpl Kara ti)v SrtornTa, Kai ujnooicnov yplv Kara rrjv di'ipojrrortjra. Here homoousios, at least in the second clause, evidently does not imply numerical unity, but only generic unity) ; for two natuTL'S ara united with one another {cvo yup <pv- anuv fVixKJtt; ykyovi, in opposition to the fxia (^v/ni; of Cyril). Therefore we confess one Christ, one Lord, and one Son. By reason of this union, which yet is tcMouf confusion ((cwra tuvtijv tijv r/yt; dc!vy\vTov [against CyrilJ tvioffewQ ivvoiav), wo also confess that the holy Virgin is mothei- of God, because God the Logos was made flesh and man, and united with himself the temple [humanity] even from the conception; wliich tem|)le he took from the Virgin. But concerning the words of the (iospel and Epistles respecting Christ, we know that theologians apply some which refer to the one person to the two natures in common, but separate others as referring to the two natures, and assign the expressions which become God to the (Jodhead of Ciirist, but tlie expressions of humiliation to his manhood"' (kui TUij fi'tv ^toTTpiTnli' Kara t))v BioTrjTa tov Xpiarov, rar Ji rairtwuc: kotu. t))v dv^puj-oTtjTa anrov irapa- (iCi'iv-ac). This compromise of princii)le with which Jolm of Anti(jcli was thus made chargeable roused a large party in his own diocese, and many of the Syrian bishops witlidrew from all fellowship with him. A scliism followed in various parts of the Eastern Church. Nestorius, on tlie other hand, at his own request, was assigned to his former cloister at Antioch, and on Oct. 25, 4;>1, Maximian was nominated as his successor in Constantinople. Upon the death of this patriarch in A.D. 1:J:J, however, a large party at Constantino] )le de- manded the restoration of Nestorius, threatening that if their wish was refused they would set fire to the pa- triarchal cliurch ; but so strong was the intluence exer- cised by the opponents of the deposed patriarch that the vacant dignity was conferred upon his early advcr- .sary, I'roclus. Cyril, seeing the strength of Nestorius's friends, determined now that his opponent should be forever removed beyond the possibility of exercising any longer any influence in the Church; and the Anli- ochians, having saved the doctrine of two natures, were gradually won over by i)ersuasivcs in various forms to consent to the sacrifice of the person of Nestorius for the sake of the unity of the Church. Finally, in A.D. 135, 1