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82 • Part I. The Creed: The Faith Professed
be God. To counter Arius, the Council of Nicea (AD 325) reaffirmed the
faith of the Church that Jesus was really God, “begotten, not made, of
one substance with the Father.”
A third heresy, Nestorianism, denied the unity of Jesus Christ as God
and man. The Nestorians argued that the divine Son of God dwelled
inside the human Jesus of Nazareth, but that they were not really one as
one person. They insisted that Mary could be called “Mother of Jesus”
but not “Mother of God,” as if the man Jesus and the divine Son were
two separate persons. The Council of Ephesus (AD 431) rejected this
heresy and professed that Mary is the Mother of God, the
Theotokos
(Birth-giver of God; sometimes translated as “God-bearer”). Jesus Christ
is the divine Son of God who became man in the womb of Mary. The
one who was born of Mary is the same one—the same person—who has
existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit from all eternity.
Nicea (AD 325):
Jesus Christ is the Son of God by nature and not
by adoption. He is “begotten,” not made, of the same substance as
the Father.
Ephesus (AD 431):
Since the one who was born of Mary is divine,
Mary is rightly called “Mother of God.”
Chalcedon (AD 451):
Jesus Christ, Son of God, is true God and
true man. His divine and human natures remain together without
confusion, change, division, or separation.
Second Constantinople (AD 553):
There is only one person—a
divine person—in Jesus Christ. The human acts of Jesus are also
attributed to his divine person.
CHRISTOLOGICAL TEACHINGS OF EARLY COUNCILS
(CF. CCC, NOS. 465-468)