Theodoret

Theodoret , 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 Nestorianism , Theodoret felt that Nestorius was misunderstood. As a result, he had a bitter controversy with St. Cyril of Alexandria. At the Council of Ephesus (431), Theodoret voted to depose Cyril. In 449 the Robber Synod of Ephesus led by Eutyches 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 Monophysitism ), but the church has never condemned him. A theologian of the Antiochene school, he was much less extreme than his tutor, Theodore of Mopsuestia .

Theodoret (c.393–c.466). Christian bishop of Cyrrhus near Antioch, and theologian. He was a friend and admirer of Nestorius and became a defender of the Antiochene Christology against Cyril of Alexandria. His writings against Cyril were later condemned at the second Council of Constantinople (553). Theodoret's other works include erudite biblical commentaries, a Religious History giving an account of monks and ascetics in Syria, a church history continuing that of Eusebius to 428, an apology The Cure of Pagan Maladies, and an anti-Monophysite work The Beggar (i.e. his opponent, who has ‘begged’ his various absurd doctrines).

Theodoret (c.393–c.460), Bp. of Cyrrhus in Syria from 423. He soon became involved in the Christological controversy between Nestorius and Cyril of Alexandria. In a polemical work against Cyril, he maintained a duality in Christ and accepted the title of Theotokos only in a figurative sense. Though he abandoned this position in a later confession of faith in 448, he was nevertheless deposed by the Council held at Ephesus in 449 (the Latrocinium) and forced into exile. The new Emp. Marcian summoned him to the Council of Chalcedon (451), where he reluctantly anathematized Nestorius. He apparently spent his last years peacefully administering his diocese. A century later his writings against Cyril were the subject of the ‘Three Chapters Controversy’ and were condemned at the Council of Constantinople (553).

His surviving works include a fine Christian apology (the Graecarum Affectionum Curatio); the Eranistes, which is a treatise against the Monophysites; and a Church History continuing the work of Eusebius to 428, as well as exegetical works which are among the finest specimens of the Antiochene School.