Assalam alaikum Chaldean Rite.
Do you venerate Saint Nestorios, Arch Bishop of Constantinople as a Doctor of your Church?
Do you venerate his two Greek teachers, Saint Theodoros, Bishop of Mopsuestia and Saint Diodoros, Bishop of Tarsus ?
Do you anathemise Cyril of Alexandria as a heretical Apollinarian ?
Do you confess Second Qnuma of the Holy Trinity was not crucified ?
If you say “YES” to all, you are 100% Nestorian.
Salaam,
I think I can try to answer some of these questions. The Assyrian Church still venerates the 3 fathers you mentioned. The Chaldean Church does not venerate them as such. There is, unfortunately, too much made of this issue against the Church of the East. The Church of the East historically chose not to excommunicate these people because it saw their philosophy as matching its own tradition.
I must re-emphasize, that the Church was not associated or founded by the Greek teachers or their followers. In it’s own language it understood those three to be completely Orthodox. It is still to be determined how “Nestorian” the three were. To be sure the theology of Nestorius was weak and, I’ve read, some of that was inherited from the method of exegesis as put forth by Theodore. Yet, it seems that all too often Nestorius was judged as saying something he denied saying or implying, and Theodore and Diodore were definitely judged by language and terminology that had developed since their time.
Currently, there are many scholars that are debating and looking whether the three Greek teachers actually taught what they were accused of, or whether they had been misunderstood or misrepresented. Regardless, the Church of the East had its own patrimony and tradition. It’s theological richness can be seen in its prayers and liturgy. Take a look at the Hudra. And as to it’s confession, one can take a look at that of Mar Babai the Great in the sixth century:
One is Christ the Son of God,
Worshiped by all in two natures;
In His Godhead begotten of the Father,
Without beginning before all time;
In His humanity born of Mary,
In the fullness of time, in a body united;
Neither His Godhead is of the nature of the mother,
Nor His humanity of the nature of the Father;
The natures are preserved in their Qnomes,
In one person of one Sonship.
And as the Godhead is three substances in one nature,
Likewise the Sonship of the Son is in two natures, one person.
So the Holy Church has taught.
From a hymn of praise by Mar Bawai (Babai) the Great (569-628 A.D.)
So we get to your fourth question about the qnoma of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Before we tackle this question, allow me address the third question. Neither the Assyrian nor the Chaldean Church curse or anathemize Cyril of Alexandria. The curses and anathemas against Cyril were lifted by the Chaldean Church a long time ago, and by the Assyrian one several decades ago. The anathema’s against individual are not infallible teachings of doctrine, but rather disciplinary measures or such. Although the Nestorian heresy will always be a heresy, it is possible that due to research {eg. in looking at the Bazaar of Heraclides} and dialogue in understanding, that he might yet be cleared and the anathema lifted.
Ok… so back to the last question. I think the easiest way to answer that is to say Yes. But really in the Trinitarian context as you have stated it, qnoma takes on a meaning more related to “Person.” Which is easy to say yes to. But as a Church of the Easter, I can take a look at qnoma in the Christological context as more related to nature. This can be seen by the confession above where the unity of the Person of Christ is most assuredly reinforced “In one person of one Sonship… two natures, one person.” So, with the concept of communicatio idiomatum in the absolute oneness of the person, one easily can say the Divinity of Christ suffered. Yet one can just as easily point out that it was the Humanity of Christ that suffered and that the Divinity did not under go change. The two statements are not contradictory or in any way at odds with each other.
It’s late, and a friend of mine is pressuring me to finish, and I have not read the entire thread, but I think the answers should suffice. Please let me know if you have questions.
Peace,
Anthony
