THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA

THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA, Patriarch of Constantinople, theologian, scriptural exegete (ca. 350-ca. 428). One of the most able proponents of the Antiochene school of scriptural exegesis, Theodore enjoyed considerable prominence during his lifetime. A vigorous opponent of Arianism (q.v.) and Apollinarianism (the heresy that Christ had no complete humanity), his strictures against the latter led to an overemphasis on the distinctiveness of Christ’s two natures. This was reflected, to disastrous effect, in the condemnation that overtook his pupil, Nestorius (q.v.), at the Council of Ephesus. Theodore’s own posthumous condemnation followed, nearly one hundred thirty years after he died, in the decree of anathema against his works and his person engineered by Justinian at the Fifth Ecumenical Council (qq.v.) in 553. While Theodore’s works perished in the Greek-speaking world as a result of imperial censorship, many continued to be preserved in the Syriac-speaking Church of the East (Assyrian [q.v.]) where, indeed, he was venerated, far more than Nestorius, as the great teacher and master of exegesis.