Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 2.djvu/156

128 convened; and by its constitution could justly lay claim to the title of "œcumenical," and withal their rejection of some of its an answer to this effect: You must know that excommunication and cursing are deemed unbecoming by us, neither are they allowed in our Church, since they contradict the declaration of our in His holy Gospel: ' Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them who despitefully use you, and pray for them who persecute you, that you may be the children of your  which is in heaven.' This we hold to be an irrevocable decree, which it does not become any believer to transgress or set at nought. … Hence we maintain that it is our duty to follow the example of our and His Apostles rather than your sayings. As to your demanding of us to receive the Sentences which you have drawn up, be it known unto you that these must either be in accordance with the Gospel,30 or opposed thereto. If the former, we have already received, and do revere the Gospel, and need not to receive it a second time from another quarter; if the latter, it is not right that we should receive them, for what is not of the Gospel, or not conformable to the words spoken by the Apostles, ought not to be received, and we cannot receive your Sentences for the following reasons: 1. Because what you have written therein leads to monophysitism, whereas we believe in two natures [in ]. 2. These Sentences must be agreeable to the faith which we have already received, or contrary to it; if the former, we need them not; if the latter, they are either superfluous or defective. If superfluous, their superfluity destroys their truth; if defective, their deficiency equally corrupts it. 3. The creed which we hold is that which has been handed down to us from the holy Apostles, whose disciples we are, and we may not substitute any other for that which we have received from them, neither may we change their language; hence we cannot add aught to this Creed, since Paul the Apostle has said: 'If an angel from heaven,' &c., and this sentence he repeated twice, and it contains an awful anathema.'

"When Cyril received this epistle he was greatly vexed, and repented of having written to them at all, and hastily declared that the reason why the Easterns were opposed to him was on account of their attachment to Nestorius. Had he judged truly he would not have come to so vain a conclusion, for Nestorius himself was not an Eastern, his language moreover was different to theirs, and betwixt him and them there was a wide sea, and every intelligent person must know that Alexandria is nearer to Baghdad than Constantinople, and that the two former places are on the same continent, and that fellowship and agreement are more likely to exist betwixt those who are near to one another than betwixt those who are at a great remove from each other.

"The next person who affixed the epithet of 'Nestorians' upon the Easterns was Dioscorus, Cyril's nephew, who succeeded him in the patriarchate of Alexandria. Dioscorus entered into a compact with, an abbot of Constantinople, to spread abroad the doctrine of the one nature, Eutyches having persuaded Theodosius the Younger to adopt his opinions, and to convene a council at Ephesus. At this were present Leo, Patriarch of Rome; Damianus, Patriarch of Antioch; Biblianus, Patriarch of Jerusalem; Dioscorus, Patriarch of Alexandria; and other Bishops. Through the influence of the Emperor the party of Dioscorus prevailed, for he abetted Eutyches, because Eutyches supported the views of his uncle and his own opinions, and he excommunicated all in the synod