Nestorians

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Followers of the fifth-century patriarch Nestorius, or the members of the ancient Christian church of the East that adopted his teachings
2. Adherents of the theological movement associated with Nestorius, who taught a distinction between the divine and human natures of Christ
3. Members of the early Christian communities in Persia and Asia that held the doctrines of the Syrian bishop Nestorius

Etymology: Nestorians are followers of Nestorius, a 5th-century patriarch of Constantinople, and the name is his own, pressed into service as a label for a church he never led. Nestorius, who held the see from 428, preached against calling Mary "Mother of God" (Theotokos), preferring to stress the separateness of Christ's divine and human natures. His opponents judged this to divide Christ into two persons, and the Council of Ephesus in 431 condemned him. The label stuck to the churches of the Persian Empire that rejected the Council's verdict and later became the Church of the East. "Nestorians" is simply the plural of "Nestorian," formed from "Nestor" with the suffix "-ian," meaning a follower or adherent. The form reflects the Greek name Nestorios, though the English noun is built on the Latinised "Nestor" rather than being a separate word from the Homeric hero.