With the divinity of Christ, God, and even the Holy Spirit settled through the councils of Nicea and Constantinople, another theological controversy was about to be decided upon in Ephesus. The debate had started before the Trinitarian view above was settled upon, but became more focused upon after the two former councils. The question raised is referred to as Christological because it attempts to answer “Who was Jesus Christ?”[1] The Church in the West, which involved Rome, was content to assume Tertullian’s statement there is “one God in three persons.”[2] The position of the Church in the East was divided in two parts. The Alexandrines argued that Jesus was completely divine while the Antiochenes argued for Jesus’ humanity. Both sides believed in Jesus’ divinity, but it was not settled on how the union of the divine and human parts meshed. At Ephesus in AD 431, the Third Ecumenical Council convened. It was declared that Mary would remain the Mother of God, and not Mother of Christ because this latter position seemed to divide the Son into two separate parts when he was already declared one substance. Though the council was unfairly favored toward the Alexandrines, this decision was upheld.
[1] Shelley, Bruce. L. Church History in Plain Language, 2nd ed., Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995, p. 109.
[2] Gonzales, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Vol. 1. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994, p. 252.