Council of Ephesus

This article is about the ecumenical council held in 431. For the two later councils in the same city, see Council of Ephesus (disambiguation).
Council of Ephesus
Image in the church Notre-Dame de Fourvières, France. The priest standing right in the middle is Cyril of Alexandria. On the throne is the Virgin Mary and child Jesus.
Date22 June – 31 July 431
Accepted by
Previous council
First Council of Constantinople
Next council
Convoked byEmperor Theodosius II
PresidentCyril of Alexandria
Attendance200–250 (papal representatives arrived late)
TopicsNestorianism, Theotokos, Pelagianism
Documents and statements
Confirmation of the original Nicene Creed, condemnations of heresies, declaration of Mary as "Theotokos", eight canons
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The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom,[2] confirmed the original Nicene Creed,[3] and condemned the teachings of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, who held that the Virgin Mary may be called the Christotokos, "Christ-bearer" but not the Theotokos, "God-bearer". It met from 22 June to 31 July 431 at the Church of Mary in Ephesus in Anatolia.

  1. ^ Olson, Roger E. (1 April 1999). The Story of Christian Theology: Twenty Centuries of Tradition Reform. InterVarsity Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8308-1505-0.
  2. ^ Richard Kieckhefer (1989). "Papacy". Dictionary of the Middle Ages. ISBN 978-0-684-18275-9.
  3. ^ [clarification needed]