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TheNestorian schism (a.d. 431–544) was a split between theChristian churches ofSassanid Persia, which affiliated withNestorius, and those that later became theCatholic and Orthodox churches. The schism rose out of aChristological dispute, notably involvingCyril (Patriarch of Alexandria) andNestorius (Patriarch of Constantinople).
TheFirst Council of Ephesus in 431 and theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451 condemned Nestorius andhis doctrine, which emphasized the radical distinctness betweenChrist's human and divine natures. That forced a breach between the churches that defended Nestorius and thestate church of the Roman Empire, which caused theChurch of the East, the Christian church of Sassanid Persia, to become known as the Nestorian Church, as it took the side of Nestorius.
The doctrine ofNestorianism is associated withNestorius, thePatriarch of Constantinople from 428 to 431. Prior to becoming Patriarch, Nestorius had been a student ofTheodore of Mopsuestia at theSchool of Antioch. Nestorius argued that Christ's human and divine natures were distinct and so he was against using the titleTheotokos (Greek: "God bearer") for theVirgin Mary. He preferred to call herChristotokos ("Christ bearer").Cyril of Alexandria considered the doctrine contrary to Orthodox teaching and encouraged measures against it.
Finally, Nestorius and his doctrine were condemned at theFirst Council of Ephesus in 431, which was reiterated at theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451.
Afterward, churches aligned with Nestorius were centred on theSchool of Edessa and were separated from the rest of the Christian Church. Anathemised in the Roman Empire, they relocated to theSassanid Empire, where they were welcomed by Persian Christians, who had already declared independence from Constantinople in an attempt to cast off accusations of foreign allegiance.
The School of Edessa relocated to theMesopotamian city ofNisibis. TheSchool of Nisibis thereafter became a centre of Nestorianism. In 484, the Sassanids executed the pro-Byzantine CatholicosBabowai and enabled the Nestorian bishop of Nisibis,Barsauma, to increase his influence over the bishops of the region.
Modern research suggests that also theChurch of the East in China did not teach a doctrine of two distinct natures of Christ.[1]