a denomination which arose in the fifth century, from
Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople; a man of considerable learning and
eloquence, and of an independent spirit. The Catholic clergy were fond
of calling the Virgin Mary Mother of God,” to which Nestorius objected,
as implying that she was mother of the divine nature, which he very
properly denied; and this raised against him, from Cyril and others, the
cry of heresy, and perhaps led him into some improper forms of
expression and explication. It is generally agreed, however, by the
moderns, that Nestorius showed a much better spirit in controversy than
his antagonist, St. Cyril. As to the doctrine of the trinity, it does
not appear that Nestorius differed from his antagonists, admitting the
coëquality of the divine Persons; but he was charged with maintaining
two distinct persons, as well as natures, in the mysterious character of
Christ. This, however, he solemnly and constantly denied; and from this,
as a foul reproach, he has been cleared by the moderns, and particularly
by Martin Luther, who lays the whole blame of this controversy on the
turbulent and angry Cyril. (See HYPOSTATIC UNION.) The discordancy not
only between the Nestorians and other Christians, but also among
themselves, arose, no doubt, in a great measure, from the ambiguity of
the Greek terms _hypostasis_ and _prosopon_. The councils assembled at
Seleucia on this occasion decreed that in Christ there were two
_hypostases_. But this word, unhappily, was used both for person and
subsistence, or existence; hence the difficulty and ambiguity: and of
these _hypostases_ it is said the one was divine, and the other
human;--the divine Word, and the man Jesus. Now of these two
_hypostases_ it is added, they had only one _barsopa_, the original term
used by Nestorius, and usually translated by the Greeks, person;” but to
avoid the appearance of an express contradiction, Dr. Mosheim translates
this barbarous word aspect,” as meaning a union of will and affection,
rather than of nature or of person. And thus the Nestorians are charged
with rejecting the union of two natures in one person, from their
peculiar manner of expressing themselves, though they absolutely denied
the charge.
In the earliest ages of Nestorianism, the various branches of that
numerous and powerful sect were under the spiritual jurisdiction of the
Catholic patriarch of Babylon,--a vague appellation which has been
successively applied to the sees of Seleucia, Ctesiphon, and
Bagdad,--but who now resides at Mousul. In the sixteenth century the
Nestorians were divided into two sects; for in 1551 a warm dispute arose
among them about the creation of a new patriarch, Simeon Barmamas, or
Barmana, being proposed by one party, and Sulaka, otherwise named Siud,
earnestly desired by the other; when the latter, to support his
pretensions the more effectually, repaired to Rome, and was consecrated
patriarch in 1553, by Pope Julius III., whose jurisdiction he had
acknowledged, and to whose commands he had promised unlimited submission
and obedience. Upon this new Chaldean patriarch’s return to his own
country, Julius sent with him several persons skilled in the Syriac
language, to assist him in establishing and extending the papal empire
among the Nestorians; and from that time, that unhappy people have been
divided into two factions, and have often been involved in the greatest
dangers and difficulties, by the jarring sentiments and perpetual
quarrels of their patriarchs. In 1555, Simeon Denha, archbishop of Gelu,
adopted the party of the fugitive patriarch, who had embraced the
communion of the Latin church; and, being afterward chosen patriarch
himself, he fixed his residence in the city of Van, or Ormia, in the
mountainous parts of Persia, where his successors still continue, and
are all distinguished by the name of Simeon; but they seem of late to
have withdrawn themselves from their communion with the church of Rome.
The great Nestorian pontiffs who form the opposite party, and who have,
since 1559, been distinguished by the general denomination of Elias, and
reside constantly at Mousul, look with a hostile eye on this little
patriarch; but since 1617 the bishops of Ormus have been in so low and
declining a state, both in opulence and credit, that they are no longer
in a condition to excite the envy of their brethren at Mousul, whose
spiritual dominion is very extensive, taking in great part of Asia, and
comprehending within its circuit the Arabian Nestorians, as also the
Christians of St. Thomas, who dwell along the coast of Malabar.
Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople; a man of considerable learning and
eloquence, and of an independent spirit. The Catholic clergy were fond
of calling the Virgin Mary Mother of God,” to which Nestorius objected,
as implying that she was mother of the divine nature, which he very
properly denied; and this raised against him, from Cyril and others, the
cry of heresy, and perhaps led him into some improper forms of
expression and explication. It is generally agreed, however, by the
moderns, that Nestorius showed a much better spirit in controversy than
his antagonist, St. Cyril. As to the doctrine of the trinity, it does
not appear that Nestorius differed from his antagonists, admitting the
coëquality of the divine Persons; but he was charged with maintaining
two distinct persons, as well as natures, in the mysterious character of
Christ. This, however, he solemnly and constantly denied; and from this,
as a foul reproach, he has been cleared by the moderns, and particularly
by Martin Luther, who lays the whole blame of this controversy on the
turbulent and angry Cyril. (See HYPOSTATIC UNION.) The discordancy not
only between the Nestorians and other Christians, but also among
themselves, arose, no doubt, in a great measure, from the ambiguity of
the Greek terms _hypostasis_ and _prosopon_. The councils assembled at
Seleucia on this occasion decreed that in Christ there were two
_hypostases_. But this word, unhappily, was used both for person and
subsistence, or existence; hence the difficulty and ambiguity: and of
these _hypostases_ it is said the one was divine, and the other
human;--the divine Word, and the man Jesus. Now of these two
_hypostases_ it is added, they had only one _barsopa_, the original term
used by Nestorius, and usually translated by the Greeks, person;” but to
avoid the appearance of an express contradiction, Dr. Mosheim translates
this barbarous word aspect,” as meaning a union of will and affection,
rather than of nature or of person. And thus the Nestorians are charged
with rejecting the union of two natures in one person, from their
peculiar manner of expressing themselves, though they absolutely denied
the charge.
In the earliest ages of Nestorianism, the various branches of that
numerous and powerful sect were under the spiritual jurisdiction of the
Catholic patriarch of Babylon,--a vague appellation which has been
successively applied to the sees of Seleucia, Ctesiphon, and
Bagdad,--but who now resides at Mousul. In the sixteenth century the
Nestorians were divided into two sects; for in 1551 a warm dispute arose
among them about the creation of a new patriarch, Simeon Barmamas, or
Barmana, being proposed by one party, and Sulaka, otherwise named Siud,
earnestly desired by the other; when the latter, to support his
pretensions the more effectually, repaired to Rome, and was consecrated
patriarch in 1553, by Pope Julius III., whose jurisdiction he had
acknowledged, and to whose commands he had promised unlimited submission
and obedience. Upon this new Chaldean patriarch’s return to his own
country, Julius sent with him several persons skilled in the Syriac
language, to assist him in establishing and extending the papal empire
among the Nestorians; and from that time, that unhappy people have been
divided into two factions, and have often been involved in the greatest
dangers and difficulties, by the jarring sentiments and perpetual
quarrels of their patriarchs. In 1555, Simeon Denha, archbishop of Gelu,
adopted the party of the fugitive patriarch, who had embraced the
communion of the Latin church; and, being afterward chosen patriarch
himself, he fixed his residence in the city of Van, or Ormia, in the
mountainous parts of Persia, where his successors still continue, and
are all distinguished by the name of Simeon; but they seem of late to
have withdrawn themselves from their communion with the church of Rome.
The great Nestorian pontiffs who form the opposite party, and who have,
since 1559, been distinguished by the general denomination of Elias, and
reside constantly at Mousul, look with a hostile eye on this little
patriarch; but since 1617 the bishops of Ormus have been in so low and
declining a state, both in opulence and credit, that they are no longer
in a condition to excite the envy of their brethren at Mousul, whose
spiritual dominion is very extensive, taking in great part of Asia, and
comprehending within its circuit the Arabian Nestorians, as also the
Christians of St. Thomas, who dwell along the coast of Malabar.