Theodoret


Theodoret

(thēŏd`ərĕt), c.393–c.458, Syrian churchman and theologian. He was a monk of Apamaea and a lifelong friend of Nestorius. In 423 he went unwillingly to be bishop of Cyrus, Syria, where he furthered the work of the church in a difficult see. At the time of the controversy over NestorianismNestorianism,
Christian heresy that held Jesus to be two distinct persons, closely and inseparably united. In 428, Emperor Theodosius II named an abbot of Antioch, Nestorius (d. 451?), as patriarch of Constantinople.
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, Theodoret felt that Nestorius was misunderstood. As a result, he had a bitter controversy with St. CyrilCyril, Saint
(Saint Cyril of Alexandria) , d. A.D. 444, patriarch of Alexandria (412–44), Doctor of the Church, known for his animosity toward heretics and heathens. He drove the Jews from Alexandria, and under his rule Hypatia was killed.
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 of Alexandria. At the Council of Ephesus (431), Theodoret voted to depose Cyril. In 449 the Robber Synod of Ephesus led by EutychesEutyches
, c.378–c.452, archimandrite in Constantinople, sponsor of Eutychianism, the first phase of Monophysitism. He was the leader in Constantinople of the most violent opponents of Nestorianism, among whom was Dioscurus, successor to St. Cyril (d.
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 declared Theodoret deposed, but Pope Leo I invalidated this decree. At the Council of Chalcedon (451), Theodoret reluctantly joined in the condemnation of Nestorianism, still holding that it misrepresented his friend. His writings against St. Cyril were condemned in Justinian's Three Chapters (see MonophysitismMonophysitism
[Gr.,=belief in a single nature], a heresy of the 5th and 6th cent., which grew out of a reaction against Nestorianism. It was anticipated by Apollinarianism and was continuous with the principles of Eutyches, whose doctrine had been rejected in 451 at Chalcedon
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), but the church has never condemned him. A theologian of the Antiochene school, he was much less extreme than his tutor, Theodore of MopsuestiaTheodore of Mopsuestia
, c.350–428, Syrian Christian theologian, bishop of Mopsuestia (from 392). Together with his lifelong friend, St. John Chrysostom, he studied at the school of Antioch, adopted its exegetical methods, and became a diligent writer and preacher.
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.