than these successive Eastern controversies, if considered only as affecting his dignity in the eyes of the world. The deeper the East was sunk in anarchy and confusion, the more commanding the stately superiority of Rome. While the episcopal throne of Constantinople had been held in succession by the persecuted Chrysostom, by the heretic Nestorius, as it was afterwards by Flavianus, who, if not murdered, died of ill usage in a council of bishops; that of Alexandria by Theophilus, and his nephew Cyril, whose violence disgraced their orthodoxy; a succession of able, at least blameless, Pontiffs of Rome was now about to close with Leo the Great. Each, too, of these Eastern antagonists for ascendancy was disposed to admit one part of the claims on which rested the supremacy of Rome. Alexandria, that of the descent from St. Peter. Ancient and apostolic origin was so clearly wanting to Constantinople, that on this point the Roman superiority was undeniable. On her side, Constantinople was content to recognise the title of Rome to superiority, as the city of the Cæsars, from whence followed her own secondary, if not co-equal dignity, as New Rome. Celestine, of Roman birth, who had held high language to the Churches of Africa and of Gaul, at this present period was Bishop of Rome. Pope Nestorius was the first who endeavoured to propitiate the Roman Pontiff. Some misunderstanding had already arisen between them concerning certain Pelagians, the only heretics whom Nestorius was slow to persecute; and whom, as if ignorant how obnoxious they were to Rome and the West, he had treated with something of Eastern indifference. He addressed to Celestine a letter, fully explaining the grounds of his aversion to the term " Mother of God." This he wrote in Greek; it was sent into Gaul, to be correctly translated by the famous monk Cassianus.' In the mean time arrived the Deacon Posidonius from Not immediate succession, but the rather throws doubt on this translation succession of the greater names. by Cassian, p. 433. Celestinus ad Nestorium. Walch Alexandria, with an elaborate letter from Cyril," which, with the Sermons of Nestorius, he had the forethought to send already translated into Latin. Thus the hostile representations of Cyril, though delivered last, obtained the advantage of pre-occupying the minds of the Roman clergy. To them, indeed, the Nestorian opinions were utterly uncongenial, as to the whole of Western Christendom. They had not comprehended and could not comprehend that sensitive dread of the contamination of the Deity by its connexion with Matter: they were equally jealous of any disparagement of the Virgin Mary. Already her name, with the title of Mother of God, had sounded in hymns, ascribed to St. Ambrose, and admitted into the public service. The Latin language was not flexible to all the fine shades of expression by which Nestorius defined his distinctive differences from the common creed. Still Nestorius was not entirely without hope of obtaining a favourable hearing from Celestine. The first reply of the Roman was not devoid of courtesy. But his hopes were in a short time utterly confounded. A synod of A.D. 430, Western Bishops, presided over by Celestine, met. August." at Rome. The sentence was decisive, condemnatory, imperious. Celestine, in the name of the Synod, Mandate of and in his own, commanded Nestorius to recant Celestine. his novel and unauthorised opinions in a public and written apology within ten days from the arrival of the Aug. 11. monition in case of disobedience, he was to hold himself under excommunication from the Church." This haughty mandate to Nestorius was accompanied by an address to the clergy and people of Constantinople. It expressed the parental care of Celestine for their spiritual welfare, and announced the decree which had been issued against Nestorius by the Bishop of Rome. The Western Church would take no account of any anathema "Posidonius was instructed not to deliver the letters of Cyril, if those of Nestorius had not been delivered to Celestine. Statement of Peter the Pres--Irenæi Tragoed, in Synodic. byter, Concil. Ephes. in init. by which he deceived Celestine, a man of too great simplicity to judge of religious doctrines with sufficient acuteness. Nestorius bitterly complained of the misrepresentations of Cyril in this letter, VOL. I. Η φανερᾷ καὶ ἐγγράφῳ ὁμολογίᾳ. p. 361. M or excommunication pronounced by the Bishop of Constantinople; but having declared such anathema null and void, would continue to communicate with all persons under such interdict. And because the presence of Celestine in the East, however necessary, was impossible, on account of the distance by land and sea, he delegated his full power in the affair to his brother Cyril, in order to arrest the spreading pestilence." Bishops of The Syrian bishops alone, of those who, from their station and character, had weight in the ChrisSyria. tian world, were yet uncommitted in the strife -Acacius of Berea, the Patriarchs of Jerusalem and of Antioch. Each party courted their support. Cyril, with his usual activity, urged them to unite in the confederacy against Nestorius. Either from the sincere love of peace, or some clearer perception of the principles on which Nestorius grounded his opinions, or some secret sympathy with them, these bishops endeavoured to allay the storm. John of Antioch, in a letter full of Christian persuasiveness, entreated Nestorius not to plunge Christendom into discord on account of a word, and that word not incapable of being interpreted in his sense, but which had become familiar to the Christian ear. Rome, Alexandria, even Macedonia, had declared against him. John required no degrading concession, no disingenuous compromise or suppression of opinion. If his enemies were strong and violent before the correspondence had begun with Rome and Alexandria, how would their boldness increase after these unhappy letters from Cyril and from Celestine! But the time for reconciliation was passed. Four bishops, Celestine's Theopemptus, Daniel, Potamon, and Komarius, envoys in arrived in Constantinople, with the ultimate demands of Rome and Alexandria. They entered, after divine service, the Bishop's chamber, where were Constanti nople. a b καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐν τηλικούτῳ πράγματι ἡ ἡμετέρα σχεδόν παρουσία αναγκαία εφαίνετο, τὴν ἡμετέραν διαδοχὴν, διὰ τὰ κατὰ θαλάτταν καὶ γῆν διαστήματα, αὐτῷ τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀδελφῷ μου Κυρίλλῳ ἀπενείμαμεν, μὴ αὐτὴ ἡ νόσος a proun the pangórnios ixirgiển. Epist. Cyril. p. 373. b γραμμάτων τούτων τῶν ἀπεικτῶν. Epist. Joan. Antioch. p. 393. Nestorius. had almost consented to yield so far as to assert that it was not so much the word itself as the abuse of it which was irreconcilable with his views of the God head. assembled the whole clergy, and many of the most distinguished laity: they delivered the letters to Nestorius. Nestorius received them coldly, and commanded them to return the next day for the answer. The next day when they presented themselves, they were refused admission. Nestorius ascended the pulpit, and preached in sterner and more condemnatory language than before. Celestine and Cyril had demanded unqualified submission: Cyril had declared that it was not enough to subscribe the Creed of Nicea, without receiving the sense of that Creed according to the interpretation of the Bishops of the Church. The twelve articles of excom- Nestorius munication were promulgated, by the zeal of the excommun Bishop's adversaries, throughout Constantinople. But Nestorius, unappalled, on his side launched forth his interdict; anathema encountered anathema. Nestorius excluded from salvation those who denied salvation to him. For in the awful meaning which the act of excommunication conveyed to the Christian mind of that age, it meant total exclusion,-unless after humiliating penitence, and hard-wrung absolution from the mercy of the Most High, inevitable, everlasting damnation. cated, Dec. 6. 430. With stern serenity the enemies of Nestorius contemplate these awful consequences; those of worldly strife they behold almost with satisfaction. Cyril applies to these times the much misused words of the Saviour,"Think not that I am come to send peace upon earth: for I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother. If faith be infringed-faith even in these minutest points-away with idle and dangerous reverence for parents; cast off all love of children and of brethren. Death is better than life to the pious (those who adhere to the orthodox opinions), for to them alone is the better resurrection.d The anathemas of Nestorius are not less remorseless. • The account of this transaction is given by the Bishops Theopemptus and the rest. « πίστεως γὰρ ἀδικουμένης * * * ἐῤῥέτω μὲν ὡς ἕωλος καὶ ἐπισφαλὴς ἡ πρὸς γονέας αιδώς ηρεμείτω δὲ καὶ ὁ τῆς εἰ; τέκνα καὶ ἀδελφοὺς φιλοστοργίας νόμος. Cyril. Epist. p. 396. Nestorius excommuni They aim at involving Cyril, also, in the odious charge of heresy. Throughout is manifest the peculiar cates Cyril. jealousy of Nestorius lest he should mingle up the Deity in any way with the material flesh of man. Christ was the Emmanuel, the God with us. The Divinity assumed at his birth the mortal form and attributes, and so became the Christ, the co-existent God and man. The Christ laid aside the manhood, which he had associated to his divinity, after his death and resurrection. Accursed is he who asserts that the Word of God was changed into flesh. Accursed is he who disparages the dignity of the divine nature by attributing to it the acts and passions of the human nature which it assumed for the display of its Godhead. at Court. The secret of the undaunted courage shown by Nestorius His influence was soon revealed. He had still unshaken possession of the mind of the Imperial Court. The triumph of Cyril was arrested by an humiliating rescript from Theodosius. He was arraigned not merely for disturbing the peace of the world, but even that of the Imperial family. The rescript addressed to Cyril, in unambiguous language, relates his haughty and dictatorial demeanour, reproves him as the author of all the strife and confusion which disturbed the tranquillity of the Church. In order to sow dissension even in the palace, Cyril had written in different language to his august sister Pulcheria, and to the Empress and himself. The same curious, restless, insolent, and unpriestly spirit had led him to pry into the secrets and disturb the harmony of the Imperial family, as well as to confound the quiet of the Church, as though this confusion were his only means of obtaining fame and distinction.' Theodosius had already acceded to the universal demand * The anathemas of Nestorius are extant only in a bad Latin translation. It is curious to find the Syrian bishop, Acacius, urging that the poverty of the Latin language prevented it from forming expressions with regard to the Trinity equivalent to the Greek. τῷ ἐστενῶσθαι τὴν Ρωμαϊκὴν φωνὴν, καὶ μὴ δυνάσθαι πρὸς τὴν ἡμετερὰν τῶν Γραικών φρασιν τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις λέγειν. Epist. Acac. p. 384. 1 καὶ μὴ γεγονὸς (hostility in the Imperial family) ποιῆσαι βούλεσθαι παντὸς, μᾶλλον ἢ ἱερεὼς ὁρμῆς μέντοι μιᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς προθεσεως τά τε τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν, τὰ τε τῶν βασιλεων μέλλειν χωρίζειν βούλεσθαι, ὡς οὐκ οὔσης ἀφορμῆς ἑτέρας εὐδοκιμήσεως. Sacr. Theodos. Imper. ad Cyrill. |