Genesis315:
Ahhh, the great Nestorian heresy rears its head again. Why Protestants decide to always resurrect that one is beyond me.
Who knows? But here are a couple of quotes from the early Church Fathers (though there are a lot more than I am currently providing.)
“If anyone does not believe that Holy Mary is the Mother of God, he is severed from the Godhead.” *Gregory of Nazianzus, To Cledonius, 101 (A.D. 382). *
“To the question: ‘Is Mary the bearer of Man, or the bearer of God?’ we must answer: ‘Of Both.’” *Theodore of Mopsuestia, The Incarnation, 15 (ante A.D. 428). *
“And so you say, O heretic, whoever you may be, who deny that God was born of the Virgin, that Mary the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ ought not to be called Theotocos, i.e., Mother of God, but Christotocos, i.e., only the Mother of Christ, not of God. For no one, you say, brings forth what is anterior in time. And of this utterly foolish argument whereby you think that the birth of God can be understood by carnal minds, and fancy that the mystery of His Majesty can be accounted for by human reasoning, we will, if God permits, say something later on. In the meanwhile we will now prove by Divine testimonies that Christ is God, and that Mary is the Mother of God.” *John Cassian, The Incarnation of Christ, II:2 (A.D. 430). *
“But since the Holy Virgin brought forth after the flesh God personally united to the flesh, for this reason we say of her that she is Theotokos, not as though the nature of the Word had its beginning of being from the flesh, for he was in the beginning, and the Word was God, and the Word was with God…but, as we said before, because having personally united man’s nature to himself…”
Cyril of Alexandria, To Nestorius, Epistle 17:11 (A.D. 430). “If anyone will not confess that the Emmanuel is very God, and that therefore the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God (Theotokos), inasmuch as in the flesh she bore the Word of God made flesh [as it is written, ‘The Word was made flesh’: let him be anathema.” *Council of Ephesus, Anathemas Against Nestorius, I (A.D. 430).