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Nestorian

Nestorian

1 9.9
A Christian who follows Nestorius's teaching that Jesus has separate human and divine parts
  • noun
  • /nɛˈstɔːriən/
translation icon : nestoriano
  • I began to wonder, given Uncle Harold's delving into the histories of Nestorian and Celebes Christians, whether his explorations and studies were a continuing quest for the Holy Grail.
  • call them Nestorians

Examples

  • He had poured through these pages, compared the translations of the Nestorian Hunayan, Ibn Ishaq and Abu Bashar Mata, and he'd found nothing.

  • This council defined the dogma that Christ is one person, not two persons, as the heretical Nestorians claimed.

    Blog text (3)
  • Should we, like Nestorians, slice apart the nature of Jehovah to put aboard some Narrenschiff where black winds draw?

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Theological issues also divided; you had groups like the Marcionites, the Nestorians, all claiming to be faithful Christians.

    Blog text (21)
  • The Nestorians established a vibrant community of scholars in ancient Persia.

  • Many Nestorians contributed to the spread of Christianity along the Silk Road.

  • The Nestorian sect emphasizes the separation of Christ's divine and human natures.

Synonyms

Christian
vsNestorian
1.0

A person who believes in Jesus Christ and follows his teachings

is a member of a specific sect stressing Christ's distinct human and divine natures

Compounds

Nestorian belief
  • Specialized
9.9

A Christian teaching that says Jesus has two separate natures, human and divine

A Christian church in the Middle East that taught Jesus had two separate natures

A Christian group from the 400s in Persia that taught Jesus had two separate natures

Surface Forms

Nestorian singular
Nestorians plural

Morphology

Nestorian = Nestorius (semi-transparent) = Nestorius + ian

The formation from the proper name 'Nestorius' plus the productive suffix '-ian' is clear in form, but understanding requires knowledge of the historical/theological referent.

Etymology

Nestorian is named after the 5th-century bishop Nestorius, who taught that Jesus had two natures, human and divine, and treated them as 'separate'. So a Nestorian is someone who follows his ideas about the two natures of Christ.