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Ephesus — Third Ecumenical Council

Timeline Event · 431 CE

Ephesus defends the unity of Christ's person and the title Theotokos for Mary because the one born from her is the incarnate Word.

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Cyril's first anathema requires confessing that:

Cyril's first anathema in the Ephesian dossier connects the title Mother of God with the confession that Emmanuel is truly God.

the Emmanuel is very God, and that therefore the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God

— St. Cyril of Alexandria, Twelve Anathemas against Nestorius (Anathema 1), trans. Henry Percival, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 14

Passage context and translation

Cyril's first anathema, reproduced among the Ephesian documents, grounds Theotokos in the identity of the one born from Mary: Emmanuel, truly God. This is Cyril's anathema, not a standalone council creed.

Before the excerpt

If anyone will not confess that

After the excerpt

(Θεοτόκος), inasmuch as in the flesh she bore the Word of God made flesh

Percival translation in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 14; displayed wording is part of Cyril's first anathema, with its further qualification retained in the source context.

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