Council of Ephesus

The Council of Ephesus (431), the third ecumenical council of the Christian church was significant for its dogmatic decrees on the position of the Virgin Mary in the celestial hierarchy and on the nature of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It was convened by the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II with the approval of Pope Celestine I in order to respond to the teachings of Nestorius that Mary be considered only the "mother of Christ" and not the "mother of God" (see Nestorianism). After lengthy debates continuing even after the end of the council, the pope's representative, Cyril of Alexandria, reached an accord in which the appellation "mother of God," formally decreed by the council, was accepted by all. The council also refined the dogma on the human and divine aspects of Jesus, now declared to be of two separate natures though perfectly united in Christ.

In 449 another council, known in history as the latrocinium, or Robber Synod, met in Ephesus. It approved the doctrines of Eutyches, which were subsequently condemned (451) at the Council of Chalcedon.

T. Tackett