# Documents of the Council of Ephesus and the Formula of Reunion - Author: Anonymous - Latin title: *Acta Ephesina et Formula Unionis* - Date: 430–433 (certain) - Source: August Hahn, Bibliothek der Symbole und Glaubensregeln der alten Kirche, 3rd ed., ed. G. Ludwig Hahn (Breslau: Morgenstern, 1897), OCR of the archive.org scan (BibliothekDerSymboleUndGlaubensregel); Greek text after Mansi, Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio (Greek text: Hahn (1897), archive.org scan, OCR corrected by Claude) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Editions and translations: Eduard Schwartz, ed., Acta conciliorum oecumenicorum (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1914–; cited only, not reproduced); Giuseppe Alberigo et al., eds., Conciliorum oecumenicorum decreta (Bologna: Istituto per le scienze religiose, 1973; cited only); Mansi, Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio 4–7 (Florence/Venice 1759–) - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/ - Passages: 16 ## Cyril, Second Letter to Nestorius (doctrinal part) §1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-1-1 - Source: Hahn (1897), 310–312 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Cyril explains the Nicene creed's "became incarnate and became man": the Word united to himself, according to hypostasis, flesh with a rational soul; the natures stay distinct but form one Christ, born eternally of the Father and in time of a woman. ### Greek text τὸ φῶς τὸ ἐκ τοῦ φωτός, τὸν δι᾿ οὗ τὰ πάντα πεποίηκεν ὁ πατήρ, κατελθεῖν σαρκωθῆναί τε καὶ ἐνανθρωπῆσαι, παθεῖν, ἀναστῆναι τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ἀνελθεῖν εἰς οὐρανούς. Τούτοις δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἕπεσθαι δεῖ καὶ τοῖς λόγοις καὶ τοῖς δόγμασιν, ἐννοοῦντας τί τὸ σαρκωθῆναι καὶ ἐνανθρωπῆσαι δηλοῖ τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ λόγον. Οὐ γάρ φαμεν, ὅτι ἡ τοῦ λόγου φύσις μεταποιηθεῖσα γέγονε σάρξ· ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ὅτι εἰς ὅλον ἄνθρωπον μετεβλήθη τὸν ἐκ ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος· ἐκεῖνο δὲ μᾶλλον, ὅτι σάρκα ἐμψυχωμένην ψυχῇ λογικῇ ἐνώσας ὁ λόγος ἑαυτῷ καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν, ἀφράστως τε καὶ ἀπερινοήτως γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος, καὶ κεχρημάτικεν υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, οὐ κατὰ θέλησιν μόνην ἢ εὐδοκίαν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ ὡς ἐν προσλήψει προσώπου μόνου· καὶ ὅτι διάφοροι μὲν αἱ πρὸς ἑνότητα τὴν ἀληθινὴν συναχθεῖσαι φύσεις, εἷς δὲ ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων Χριστὸς καὶ υἱός. Οὐκ ὡς τῆς τῶν φύσεων διαφορᾶς ἀνῃρημένης διὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν, ἀποτελεσασῶν δὲ μᾶλλον ἡμῖν τὸν ἕνα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν καὶ υἱόν, θεότητός τε καὶ ἀνθρωπότητος, διὰ τῆς ἀφράστου καὶ ἀποῤῥήτου πρὸς ἑνότητα συνδρομῆς. Οὕτω τε λέγεται, καίτοι πρὸ αἰώνων ἔχων τὴν ὕπαρξιν, καὶ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ πατρός, γεννηθῆναι καὶ κατὰ σάρκα ἐκ γυναικός: οὐκ ὡς τῆς θείας αὐτοῦ φύσεως ἀρχὴν τοῦ εἶναι λαβούσης ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ παρθένῳ, οὔτε μὴν δεηθείσης ἀναγκαίως δι᾿ ἑαυτὴν δευτέρας γεννήσεως μετὰ τὴν ἐκ πατρός. Ἔστι γὰρ εἰκαῖόν τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἀμαθὲς τὸν ὑπάρχοντα πρὸ παντὸς αἰῶνος καὶ συναΐδιον τῷ πατρὶ δεῖσθαι λέγειν ἀρχῆς τῆς εἰς τὸ εἶναι δευτέρας. ### English translation (Claude) … the Light from Light, through whom the Father made all things, came down, became incarnate and became man, suffered, rose on the third day, and ascended into the heavens. We too must follow these words and doctrines, considering what is meant by saying that the Word from God became incarnate and became man. For we do not say that the nature of the Word was changed and became flesh, nor that it was transformed into a whole man made of soul and body. Rather, we say this: that the Word, having united to himself according to hypostasis flesh animated with a rational soul, became man in a way that cannot be spoken or comprehended, and was called Son of Man, not by will or good pleasure alone, nor by the mere taking on of a person. And we say that the natures brought together into a true unity are different, but that from both there is one Christ and Son. The difference of the natures is not done away with because of the union; rather, the Godhead and the manhood, by their unspeakable and ineffable concurrence into unity, have produced for us the one Lord and Christ and Son. So it is said that, although he had his existence before the ages and was begotten from the Father, he was also born according to the flesh from a woman. This does not mean that his divine nature received the beginning of its being in the holy Virgin, nor that it needed, for its own sake, a second birth after its birth from the Father. For it is foolish and ignorant to say that he who exists before every age and is coeternal with the Father needs a second beginning of existence. ### Scripture references - John 1:3: allusion, medium confidence - John 1:14: allusion, medium confidence - Gal 4:4: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Conc. Nic. creed (Creed and Canons of the Council of Nicaea (325)): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Hahn prints only the doctrinal part of the letter. The text begins in the middle of Cyril's quotation of the Nicene creed ("… the Light from Light"); the letter's opening and the beginning of the quotation are not printed. - "According to hypostasis" (καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν): Cyril's formula for a union in the one subject, the Word himself, as opposed to a union "by will or good pleasure" or by "taking on a person" (πρόσωπον), phrases he attributes to the Antiochene teaching he opposes. - "Was called" (κεχρημάτικεν) can also mean "has borne the title". ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 1.1 (Hahn (1897), 310–312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1). ## Cyril, Second Letter to Nestorius (doctrinal part) §2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-1-2 - Source: Hahn (1897), 310–312 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word was united to his flesh from the womb, so its birth, suffering, death, and resurrection are rightly called his, though the divine nature itself is impassible and immortal. ### Greek text Ἐπειδὴ δὲ δι᾽ ἡμᾶς καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν, ἑνώσας ἑαυτῷ καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, προῆλθεν ἐκ γυναικός, ταύτῃ τοι λέγεται γεννηθῆναι σαρκικῶς. Οὐ γὰρ πρῶτον ἄνθρωπος ἐγεννήθη κοινὸς ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου, εἶθ᾽ οὕτω καταπεφοίτηκεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ὁ λόγος· ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ αὐτῆς μήτρας ἑνωθεὶς ὑπομεῖναι λέγεται γέννησιν σαρκικήν, ὡς τῆς ἰδίας σαρκὸς τὴν γέννησιν οἰκειούμενος. Οὕτω φαμὲν αὐτὸν καὶ παθεῖν καὶ ἀναστῆναι. Οὐκ ὡς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου παθόντος εἰς ἰδίαν φύσιν ἢ πληγὰς ἢ διατρήσεις ἥλων ἢ γοῦν τὰ ἕτερα τῶν τραυμάτων: ἀπαθὲς γὰρ τὸ θεῖον, ὅτι καὶ ἀσώματον. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ γεγονὸς αὐτοῦ ἴδιον σῶμα πέπονθε ταῦτα, πάλιν αὐτὸς λέγεται παθεῖν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν. Ἦν γὰρ ὁ ἀπαθὴς ἐν τῷ πάσχοντι σώματι. Κατὰ τὸν ἴσον δὲ τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ τεθνάναι νοοῦμεν. Ἀθάνατος γὰρ κατὰ φύσιν καὶ ἄφθαρτος καὶ ζωὴ καὶ ζωοποιός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ πάλιν τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ σῶμα χάριτι θεοῦ, καθά φησιν ὁ Παῦλος, ὑπὲρ παντὸς ἐγεύσατο θανάτου, λέγεται παθεῖν αὐτὸς τὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν θάνατον. Οὐκ ὡς εἰς πεῖραν ἐλθὼν τοῦ θανάτου, τόγε ἧκον εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ φύσιν· ἀποπληξία γὰρ τοῦτο λέγειν ἢ φρονεῖν· ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι, καθάπερ ἔφην ἀρτίως, ἡ σὰρξ αὐτοῦ ἐγεύσατο θανάτου· Οὕτω καὶ ἐγηγερμένης αὐτοῦ τῆς σαρκὸς πάλιν ἡ ἀνάστασις αὐτοῦ λέγεται: οὐκ ὡς πεσόντος εἰς φθοράν· μὴ γένοιτο: ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι τὸ αὐτοῦ πάλιν ἐγήγερται σῶμα. ### English translation (Claude) But since, for us and for our salvation, he united to himself according to hypostasis what is human and came forth from a woman, for this reason he is said to have been born according to the flesh. For it is not that an ordinary man was first born of the holy Virgin and the Word then descended upon him; rather, having been united from the womb itself, he is said to have undergone a birth according to the flesh, making the birth of his own flesh his own. In the same way we say that he both suffered and rose again. This does not mean that God the Word suffered blows, or the piercing of nails, or the other wounds in his own nature, for the divine is impassible, because it is also bodiless. But since the body that became his own suffered these things, he himself is said to have suffered for us; for the impassible one was in the suffering body. In the same way we understand his dying. For by nature the Word of God is immortal and incorruptible, life and life-giving. But since, again, his own body by the grace of God, as Paul says, tasted death for everyone, he himself is said to have suffered death for us. This does not mean that he came to experience death in what belongs to his own nature, for to say or think that is madness, but that, as I said just now, his flesh tasted death. So too, when his flesh was raised, the resurrection is again said to be his: not as if he had fallen into corruption (God forbid!), but because his body was raised again. ### Scripture references - Heb 2:9: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - "Making the birth of his own flesh his own" (οἰκειούμενος): Cyril's key verb for the Word's appropriating what belongs to his humanity. - "Madness" renders ἀποπληξία, literally "stroke, paralysis", used of senseless talk. ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 1.2 (Hahn (1897), 310–312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-2). ## Cyril, Second Letter to Nestorius (doctrinal part) §3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-1-3 - Source: Hahn (1897), 310–312 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ is worshipped as one, not as a man alongside the Word; rejecting the union according to hypostasis leads to two sons. The fathers therefore called Mary Theotokos, and Cyril urges Nestorius to teach the same for the peace of the churches. ### Greek text Οὕτω Χριστὸν ἕνα καὶ κύριον ὁμολογήσομεν, οὐκ ὡς ἄνθρωπον συμπροσκυνοῦντες τῷ λόγῳ, ἵνα μὴ τιμῆς φαντασία παρεισκρίνηται διὰ τοῦ λέγειν τὸ σύν· ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν προσκυνοῦντες, ὅτι μὴ ἀλλότριον τοῦ λόγου τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ, μεθ᾽ οὗ καὶ αὐτῷ συνεδρεύει τῷ πατρί· οὐκ ὡς δύο πάλιν συνεδρευόντων υἱῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἑνὸς καθ᾽ ἕνωσιν, μετὰ τῆς ἰδίας σαρκός. Ἐὰν δὲ τὴν καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν ἕνωσιν, ἢ ὡς ἀνέφικτον, ἢ ὡς ἀκαλλῆ παραιτούμεθα, ἐμπίπτομεν εἰς τὸ δύο λέγειν υἱούς. Ἀνάγκη γὰρ πᾶσα διορίσαι καὶ εἰπεῖν· τὸν μὲν, ἄνθρωπον ἰδικῶς, τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ κλήσει τετιμημένον· ἰδικῶς δὲ πάλιν τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ λόγον υἱότητος ὄνομά τε καὶ χρῆμα ἔχοντα φυσικῶς. Οὐ διαιρετέον τοιγαροῦν εἰς υἱοὺς δύο τὸν ἕνα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν. … ὠφέλησε κατ᾽ οὐδένα τρόπον τὸν ὀρθὸν τῆς πίστεως λόγον εἰς τὸ οὕτως ἔχειν, κἂν εἰ προσώπων ἕνωσιν ἐπιφημίζωσί τινες· οὐ γὰρ εἴρηκεν ἡ γραφή, ὅτι ὁ λόγος ἀνθρώπου πρόσωπον ἥνωσεν ἑαυτῷ, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι γέγονε σάρξ· τὸ δὲ σάρκα γενέσθαι τὸν λόγον οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν, εἰ μὴ ὅτι παραπλησίως ἡμῖν μετέσχεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκός. Ἴδιον δὲ σῶμα τὸ ἡμῶν ἐποιήσατο, καὶ προῆλθεν ἄνθρωπος ἐκ γυναικὸς οὐκ ἀποβεβληκὼς τὸ εἶναι θεὸν καὶ τὸ ἐκ θεοῦ γεγεννῆσθαι πατρός, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν προσλήψει σαρκὸς μεμενηκὼς ὅπερ ἦν. Τοῦτο πρεσβεύει πανταχοῦ τῆς ἀκριβοῦς πίστεως ὁ λόγος. Οὕτως εὑρήσομεν τοὺς ἁγίους πεφρονηκότας πατέρας· οὕτω τεθαρσήκασι θεοτόκον εἰπεῖν τὴν ἁγίαν παρθένον οὐκ ὡς τῆς τοῦ λόγου φύσεως ἤτοι τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ εἶναι λαβούσης ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας παρθένου, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς γεννηθέντος ἐξ αὐτῆς τοῦ ἁγίου σώματος, ψυχωθέντος τε λογικῶς· ᾧ καὶ καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν ἑνωθεὶς ὁ λόγος γεγεννῆσθαι λέγεται κατὰ σάρκα. Ταῦτα καὶ νῦν ὡς ἐξ ἀγάπης τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ γράφω, παρακαλῶν ὡς ἀδελφὸν καὶ διαμαρτυρόμενος ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ, ταῦτα μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν καὶ φρονεῖν καὶ διδάσκειν, ἵνα σώζηται τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἡ εἰρήνη, καὶ τῆς ὁμονοίας καὶ ἀγάπης ὁ σύνδεσμος ἀῤῥαγὴς διαμένοι τοῖς ἱερεῦσι τοῦ θεοῦ. Πρόσειπε τὴν παρὰ σοὶ ἀδελφότητα· σὲ ἡ σὺν ἡμῖν ἐν κυρίῳ προσαγορεύσει. ### English translation (Claude) So we shall confess one Christ and Lord. We do not worship a man together with the Word, lest an appearance of division slip in through saying "together with"; we worship one and the same, because his body is not foreign to the Word, and with it he sits beside the Father himself: not as if two sons sat beside him, but as one, by union, with his own flesh. But if we reject the union according to hypostasis, either as impossible or as unseemly, we fall into saying that there are two sons. For then we must make a distinction and say that one is a man in his own right, honoured with the title of son, and that the other, in his own right, is the Word from God, possessing by nature both the name and the reality of sonship. The one Lord Jesus Christ, then, must not be divided into two sons. … it will in no way help the right account of the faith to hold this, even if some speak of a union of persons. For Scripture has not said that the Word united to himself the person of a man, but that he became flesh. And the Word's becoming flesh is nothing other than that he shared in blood and flesh as we do, and made our body his own, and came forth as a man from a woman, not having cast off being God and having been begotten from God the Father, but remaining, even in the taking on of flesh, what he was. This is what the account of the exact faith proclaims everywhere. This is how we shall find that the holy fathers thought. So they made bold to call the holy Virgin Theotokos (Mother of God), not because the nature of the Word, that is, his Godhead, received the beginning of its being from the holy Virgin, but because the holy body, animated with a rational soul, was born of her, and the Word, united to it according to hypostasis, is said to have been born according to the flesh. I write this now out of love in Christ, exhorting you as a brother and charging you before God and his elect angels to think and teach these things with us, so that the peace of the churches may be kept and the bond of concord and love among the priests of God may remain unbroken. Greet the brotherhood with you; the brotherhood with us greets you in the Lord. ### Scripture references - John 1:14: quotation, high confidence - Heb 2:14: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 5:21: allusion, high confidence - Mark 16:19: echo, low confidence - Gal 4:4: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - "An appearance of division": the Greek is τιμῆς φαντασία, literally "an appearance of honour", that is, the impression that a man is given honour alongside the Word; "division" gives the sense. The usual text has τομῆς ("division"), which differs by one letter; Hahn's reading is translated by its sense and noted here. - At "… it will in no way help" a word before ὠφέλησε could not be read in the scan; the sense is clear and nothing is supplied. - "Theotokos" (θεοτόκος): literally "God-bearer", the title of Mary that Nestorius had questioned. It is kept in Greek, with the usual English rendering in parentheses. ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 1.3 (Hahn (1897), 310–312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-3). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema I - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-1 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: First anathema: Emmanuel is truly God, and Mary is therefore Theotokos. ### Greek text Εἴ τις οὐκ ὁμολογεῖ θεὸν εἶναι κατὰ ἀλήθειαν τὸν Ἐμμανουήλ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο θεοτόκον τὴν ἁγίαν παρθένον γεγέννηκε γὰρ σαρκικῶς σάρκα γεγονότα τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ λόγον ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is truly God, and that therefore the holy Virgin is Theotokos (Mother of God), for she bore according to the flesh the Word from God who had become flesh, let him be anathema. ### Scripture references - Isa 7:14: allusion, high confidence - Matt 1:23: allusion, high confidence - John 1:14: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The Twelve Anathemas close Cyril's Third Letter to Nestorius (November 430). The Antiochene bishops rejected them; their standing at the council of 431 is debated. Chalcedon (451) received Cyril's Second Letter and his letter to John of Antioch, not expressly the Anathemas. - "Anathema": cut off, under the church's curse (Gal 1:8–9). ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.1 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-1). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema II - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-2 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Second anathema: the Word is united to flesh according to hypostasis and is one Christ, God and man. ### Greek text Εἴ τις οὐκ ὁμολογεῖ σαρκὶ καθ᾽ ὑπόστασιν ἡνῶσθαι τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς λόγον ἕνα τε εἶναι Χριστὸν μετὰ τῆς ἰδίας σαρκός, τὸν αὐτὸν δηλονότι θεὸν ὁμοῦ καὶ ἄνθρωπον, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone does not confess that the Word from God the Father has been united to flesh according to hypostasis, and that with his own flesh he is one Christ, the same one being, that is, God and man at once, let him be anathema. ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.2 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-2). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema III - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-3 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Third anathema: Christ's hypostases may not be divided after the union or joined only by dignity or power. ### Greek text Εἴ τις ἐπὶ τοῦ ἑνὸς Χριστοῦ διαιρεῖ τὰς ὑποστάσεις μετὰ τὴν ἕνωσιν, μόνῃ συνάπτων αὐτὰς συναφείᾳ τῇ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν, ἤγουν αὐθεντίᾳ ἢ δυναστείᾳ, καὶ οὐχὶ δὴ μᾶλλον συνόδῳ τῇ καθ᾽ ἕνωσιν φυσικήν, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone, in the one Christ, divides the hypostases after the union, joining them only by a conjunction of dignity, that is, of authority or power, and not rather by a coming together in a natural union, let him be anathema. ### Translation notes - "A coming together in a natural union": Hahn prints συνόδῳ τῇ καθ᾽ ἕνωσιν φυσικήν, with φυσικήν agreeing with ἕνωσιν ("by a coming together according to natural union"); this is the received wording, and "natural union" became one of the most disputed phrases of the Anathemas. - "Conjunction" (συνάφεια): the Antiochene term for the relation of the Word and the man, which Cyril judged too weak. ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.3 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-3). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema IV - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-4 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Fourth anathema: the sayings about Christ in Scripture may not be divided between two persons. ### Greek text Εἴ τις προσώποις δυσὶν ἤγουν ὑποστάσεσι τάς τε ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς καὶ ἀποστολικοῖς συγγράμμασι διανέμει φωνάς, ἢ ἐπὶ Χριστῷ παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων λεγομένας παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ τὰς μὲν ὡς ἀνθρώπῳ παρὰ τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ λόγον ἰδικῶς νοουμένῳ προσάπτει, τὰς δὲ ὡς θεοπρεπεῖς μόνῳ τῷ ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς λόγῳ, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone distributes between two persons, or hypostases, the sayings in the Gospels and the apostolic writings, whether said of Christ by the saints or by him about himself, and attributes some to a man thought of separately from the Word from God, and others, as befitting God, to the Word from God the Father alone, let him be anathema. ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.4 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-4). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema V - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-5 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Fifth anathema: Christ is not a God-bearing man but truly God, the one Son by nature. ### Greek text Εἴ τις τολμᾷ λέγειν θεοφόρον ἄνθρωπον τὸν Χριστόν, καὶ οὐχὶ δὴ μᾶλλον θεὸν εἶναι κατὰ ἀλήθειαν, ὡς υἱὸν ἕνα καὶ φύσει, καθὸ γέγονε σὰρξ ὁ λόγος καὶ κεκοινώνηκε παραπλησίως ἡμῖν αἵματος καὶ σαρκός, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone dares to say that Christ is a God-bearing man, and not rather that he is truly God, as the one Son by nature, inasmuch as the Word became flesh and shared in blood and flesh as we do, let him be anathema. ### Scripture references - John 1:14: quotation, high confidence - Heb 2:14: allusion, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.5 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-5). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema VI - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-6 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Sixth anathema: the Word is not the God or Master of Christ; Christ himself is God and man. ### Greek text Εἴ τις τολμᾷ λέγειν θεὸν ἢ δεσπότην εἶναι τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς λόγον, καὶ οὐχὶ δὴ μᾶλλον τὸν αὐτὸν ὁμολογεῖ θεὸν ὁμοῦ τε καὶ ἄνθρωπον, ὡς γεγονότος σαρκὸς τοῦ λόγου κατὰ τὰς γραφάς, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone dares to say that the Word from God the Father is the God or Master of Christ, and does not rather confess that the same one is God and man at once, since the Word became flesh according to the Scriptures, let him be anathema. ### Scripture references - John 1:14: allusion, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.6 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-6). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema VII - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-7 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Seventh anathema: Jesus was not a man moved by the Word and clothed with a glory not his own. ### Greek text Εἴ τίς φησιν, ὡς ἄνθρωπον ἐνεργῆσθαι παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου τὸν Ἰησοῦν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ μονογενοῦς εὐδοξίαν περιῆφθαι, ὡς ἕτερον παρ᾽ αὐτὸν ὑπάρχοντα, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone says that Jesus as a man was moved to act by God the Word, and was clothed with the glory of the Only-begotten as one existing other than him, let him be anathema. ### Scripture references - John 1:14: echo, low confidence ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.7 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-7). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema VIII - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-8 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eighth anathema: Emmanuel receives one worship and one doxology, not a man worshipped alongside the Word. ### Greek text Εἴ τις τολμᾷ λέγειν τὸν ἀναληφθέντα ἄνθρωπον συμπροσκυνεῖσθαι δεῖν τῷ θεῷ λόγῳ καὶ συνδοξάζεσθαι καὶ συγχρηματίζειν θεὸν ὡς ἕτερον ἐν ἑτέρῳ (τὸ γὰρ, σὺν ἀεὶ προστιθέμενον τοῦτο νοεῖν ἀναγκάζει), καὶ οὐχὶ δὴ μᾶλλον μιᾷ προσκυνήσει τιμᾷ τὸν Ἐμμανουήλ, καὶ μίαν αὐτῷ τὴν δοξολογίαν ἀναπέμπει, καθὸ γέγονε σὰρξ ὁ λόγος, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone dares to say that the man who was assumed must be worshipped together with God the Word, and glorified together with him, and called God together with him, as one in another (for the "together with", added every time, compels this meaning), and does not rather honour Emmanuel with one worship and send up to him one doxology, inasmuch as the Word became flesh, let him be anathema. ### Scripture references - John 1:14: quotation, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.8 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-8). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema IX - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-9 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Ninth anathema: the Spirit by whom Christ worked miracles is his own, not a foreign power lent to him. ### Greek text Εἴ τίς φησι, τὸν ἕνα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν δεδοξάσθαι παρὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὡς ἀλλοτρίᾳ δυνάμει τῇ δι᾿ αὐτοῦ χρώμενον, καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ λαβόντα τὸ ἐνεργεῖν δύνασθαι κατὰ πνευμάτων ἀκαθάρτων καὶ τὸ πληροῦν εἰς ἀνθρώπους τὰς θεοσημείας, καὶ οὐχὶ δὴ μᾶλλον ἴδιον αὐτοῦ τὸ πνεῦμά φησι, δι᾿ οὗ καὶ ἐνήργηκε τὰς θεοσημείας, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone says that the one Lord Jesus Christ was glorified by the Spirit, using the power that came through him as a power foreign to himself, and that he received from him the ability to act against unclean spirits and to work divine signs among people, and does not rather say that the Spirit through whom he worked the divine signs is his own, let him be anathema. ### Scripture references - Matt 12:28: allusion, medium confidence - John 16:14: allusion, medium confidence ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.9 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-9). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema X - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-10 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Tenth anathema: the Word incarnate himself is our high priest, and he offered himself for us alone, not for himself. ### Greek text Ἀρχιερέα καὶ ἀπόστολον τῆς ὁμολογίας ἡμῶν γεγεννῆσθαι Χριστὸν ἡ θεία λέγει γραφή, προσκεκομικέναι τε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἑαυτὸν εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρί. εἴ τις τοίνυν ἀρχιερέα καὶ ἀπόστολον ἡμῶν γεγεννῆσθαί φησιν οὐκ αὐτὸν τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ λόγον, ὅτε γέγονε σὰρξ καὶ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἕτερον παρ᾽ αὐτὸν ἰδικῶς ἄνθρωπον ἐκ γυναικός: ἢ εἴ τις λέγει καὶ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ προσενεγκεῖν αὐτὸν τὴν προσφοράν, καὶ οὐχὶ δὴ μᾶλλον ὑπὲρ μόνων ἡμῶν· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐδεήθη προσφορᾶς ὁ μὴ εἰδὼς ἁμαρτίαν· ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) Divine Scripture says that Christ became the high priest and apostle of our confession, and that he offered himself for us as a fragrant aroma to God and the Father. If anyone, then, says that it was not the Word from God himself who became our high priest and apostle, when he became flesh and a man like us, but another man, born of a woman, distinct from him; or if anyone says that he offered the sacrifice for himself also and not rather for us alone (for he who knew no sin would have had no need of a sacrifice), let him be anathema. ### Scripture references - Heb 3:1: quotation, high confidence - Eph 5:2: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 5:21: allusion, high confidence - Heb 7:27: allusion, medium confidence ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.10 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-10). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema XI - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-11 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eleventh anathema: the Lord's flesh is life-giving because it is the Word's own flesh. ### Greek text Εἴ τις οὐκ ὁμολογεῖ τὴν τοῦ κυρίου σάρκα ζωοποιὸν εἶναι καὶ ἰδίαν αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐκ θεοῦ πατρὸς λόγου, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἑτέρου τινὸς παρ᾽ αὐτόν, συνημμένου μὲν αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν, ἤγουν ὡς μόνην θείαν ἐνοίκησιν ἐσχηκότος· καὶ οὐχὶ δὴ μᾶλλον ζωοποιόν, ὡς ἔφημεν, ὅτι γέγονεν ἰδία τοῦ λόγου τοῦ τὰ πάντα ζωογονεῖν ἰσχύοντος, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone does not confess that the flesh of the Lord is life-giving and the very own flesh of the Word from God the Father, but says it belongs to someone else besides him, joined to him by dignity or having only a divine indwelling, and does not rather confess it life-giving, as we said, because it became the own flesh of the Word, who has power to give life to all things, let him be anathema. ### Scripture references - John 6:51: allusion, medium confidence - John 6:63: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The life-giving flesh refers above all to the Eucharist, as Cyril's letter explains (John 6:51–57). ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.11 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-11). ## Cyril, Twelve Anathemas, Anathema XII - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-2-12 - Source: Hahn (1897), 312–316 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Twelfth anathema: the Word of God suffered, was crucified, and died in the flesh, and is the firstborn from the dead. ### Greek text Εἴ τις οὐκ ὁμολογεῖ τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον παθόντα σαρκί, καὶ ἐσταυρωμένον σαρκί, καὶ θανάτου γευσάμενον σαρκί, γεγονότα τε πρωτότοκον ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, καθὸ ζωή τέ ἐστι καὶ ζωοποιὸς ὡς θεός, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω. ### English translation (Claude) If anyone does not confess that the Word of God suffered in the flesh, was crucified in the flesh, and tasted death in the flesh, and became the firstborn from the dead, inasmuch as he is life and life-giving as God, let him be anathema. ### Scripture references - 1 Pet 4:1: allusion, high confidence - Heb 2:9: allusion, high confidence - Col 1:18: quotation, high confidence ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 2.12 (Hahn (1897), 312–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/2-12). ## Formula of Reunion (433), with Cyril's introduction - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/council-ephesus-431-acta/1-1/#p-3-1 - Source: Hahn (1897), 215–216, 170 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Formula of Reunion of 433: Christ is perfect God and perfect man, of one substance with the Father and with us; the two natures are united without confusion, so Mary is Theotokos. ### Greek text Περὶ δὲ τῆς θεοτόκου παρθένου ὅπως καὶ φρονοῦμεν καὶ λέγομεν τοῦ τε τρόπου τῆς ἐνανθρωπήσεως τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀναγκαίως οὐκ ἐν προσθήκης μέρει, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν πληροφορίας εἴδει, ὡς ἄνωθεν ἔκ τε τῶν θείων γραφῶν ἔκ τε τῆς παραδόσεως τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων παρειληφότες ἐσχήκαμεν, διὰ βραχέων ἐροῦμεν οὐδὲν τὸ σύνολον προστιθέντες τῇ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων τῶν ἐν Νικαίᾳ ἐκτεθείσῃ πίστει. Ὡς γὰρ ἔφθημεν εἰρηκότες, πρὸς πᾶσαν ἐξαρκεῖ καὶ εὐσεβείας γνῶσιν καὶ πάσης αἱρετικῆς κακοδοξίας ἀποκήρυξιν. Ἐροῦμεν δὲ οὐ κατατολμῶντες τῶν ἀνεφίκτων, ἀλλὰ τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ τῆς οἰκείας ἀσθενείας ἀποκλείοντες τοῖς ἐπιφύεσθαι βουλομένοις, ἐν οἷς τὰ ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον διασκεπτόμεθα, ὁμολογοῦμεν τοιγαροῦν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸν μονογενῆ, θεὸν τέλειον καὶ ἄνθρωπον τέλειον ἐκ ψυχῆς λογικῆς καὶ σώματος· πρὸ αἰώνων μὲν ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεννηθέντα κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτων δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν τὸν αὐτὸν δι᾿ ἡμᾶς καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν ἐκ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα· ὁμοούσιον τῷ πατρὶ τὸν αὐτὸν κατὰ τὴν θεότητα, καὶ ὁμοούσιον ἡμῖν κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα· δύο γὰρ φύσεων ἕνωσις γέγονε· διὸ ἕνα Χριστόν, ἕνα υἱόν, ἕνα κύριον ὁμολογοῦμεν. Κατὰ ταύτην τὴν τῆς ἀσυγχύτου ἑνώσεως ἔννοιαν ὁμολογοῦμεν τὴν ἁγίαν παρθένον θεοτόκον, διὰ τὸ τὸν θεὸν λόγον σαρκωθῆναι καὶ ἐνανθρωπῆσαι, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς συλλήψεως ἑνῶσαι ἑαυτῷ τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς ληφθέντα ναόν. Τὰς δὲ εὐαγγελικὰς καὶ ἀποστολικὰς περὶ τοῦ κυρίου φωνὰς ἴσμεν τοὺς θεολόγους ἄνδρας τὰς μὲν κοινοποιοῦντας, ὡς ἐφ᾽ ἑνὸς προσώπου, τὰς δὲ διαιροῦντας, ὡς ἐπὶ δύο φύσεων· καὶ τὰς μὲν θεοπρεπεῖς κατὰ τὴν θεότητα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τὰς δὲ ταπεινὰς κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα αὐτοῦ παραδιδόντας. ### English translation (Claude) Concerning the Virgin Theotokos (Mother of God), and how we think and speak of her, and concerning the manner in which the only-begotten Son of God became man, we will speak briefly, of necessity, not by way of addition but in the form of full assurance, as we have received and hold it from of old both from the divine Scriptures and from the tradition of the holy fathers, adding nothing at all to the faith set out by the holy fathers at Nicaea. For, as we said before, it suffices both for all knowledge of godliness and for the rejection of every heretical false belief. We shall speak, not venturing upon what cannot be reached, but, by confessing our own weakness, shutting out those who want to attack us where we look into things beyond man. We confess, then, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, perfect God and perfect man of a rational soul and body; begotten of the Father before the ages according to the Godhead, and in the last days the same, for us and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin according to the manhood; the same of one substance with the Father according to the Godhead, and of one substance with us according to the manhood. For a union of two natures has taken place; therefore we confess one Christ, one Son, one Lord. According to this understanding of the union without confusion, we confess the holy Virgin to be Theotokos, because God the Word became incarnate and became man, and from the very conception united to himself the temple taken from her. As for the sayings of the Gospels and the apostles about the Lord, we know that the theologians treat some as common, as of one person, and divide others, as of two natures, and attribute those befitting God to the Godhead of Christ and the lowly ones to his manhood. ### Scripture references - John 2:21: allusion, medium confidence - Heb 1:2: allusion, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Conc. Nic. creed (Creed and Canons of the Council of Nicaea (325)): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The Formula of Reunion was drafted by the Antiochene bishops (probably by Theodoret) and accepted by Cyril in his letter to John of Antioch (433), which quotes it; this ended the schism that followed the council of 431. Hahn gives the introduction ("Concerning the Virgin Theotokos …") in a footnote and the body in the main text; they are joined here as in Cyril's letter. - "Of one substance" (ὁμοούσιος): the Nicene term, here applied both to Christ's Godhead (with the Father) and to his manhood (with us), wording later taken up by the Definition of Chalcedon (451). - "Temple" (ναός): Antiochene language for Christ's humanity, from John 2:19–21. ### Citation (SBL) Conc. Ephes. Doc. 3.1 (Hahn (1897), 215–216, 170; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/council-ephesus-431-acta/3-1).