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He was not an Assyrian, he did not know a word of Assyrian/Aramaic language, he was not a member of The Church of The East (The Assyrian Church); furthermore the Holy, Apostolic Church of The East was founded before his great great great great great great great grandfather was born, yet (yes, wait for it), this very Church (The Assyrian Apostolic Church of The East) was 'labelled' after his name - The Nestorian Church (his name was Nestorius). This irrelevant, unjust and unjustifiable, shambolic and bizarre 'misnomer-ization' was carried out by most Churches in general and Western Churches in particular; and it was carried out chiefly out of cultural envy, ecclesiastical jealousy, doctrinal bigotry and theological arrogance. And let me say that the man who initiated and played an important part in this 'wicked game' was none other than that ruthless and over-ambitious man by the name of Cyril, the Patriarch of Alexandria in the fifth century. Cyril hated Nestorius who was the Patriarch of Constantinople (428-431); he also could not stand The Church of The East.
By the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th centuries the 'fever' of Christological Controversies began to strike the Bishops and the Heads of the Eastern and Western Churches. It was specifically centred on the Nature of Jesus Christ - the interrelation of His Humanity and Divinity. These controversies began after the Council of Constantinople (381).
The outspoken Nestorius made it known where he stood on this theological matter. He started by saying that the Blessed Virgin Mary should not be referred to as the mother of God but the Mother of Jesus. He maintained that Mary was not Theotokos (God-bearer) but Christotokos (Jesus Christ-bearer). Nestorius held the view that the Lord and Saviour has two Natures - Divine and Human. And these Two Natures of complete God and perfect Human are in Union. Such belief and Christological doctrines have, in essence, been part of the theological doctrine of the Church of The East from the day of its Foundation. Creator is 'The uncreated'; He is Unborn and cannot be born.
Nestorius, by a 'nasty logical distortion', was accused of believing that Jesus Christ was 'two persons'. His opponents charged him with committing heresy. He denied the charge and the false accusations made against him. And here comes the sad and insidiously unjust part of the story: the terms 'Nestorian' and 'Nestorianism' were deliberately invented and then wilfully imposed on, thus became associated with, The Church of The East.
It was, anyhow, the Emperor Theodosius II (408-450) who summoned the Council, the notorious council, of Ephesus. It was Cyril's council ----acting as both the prosecutor and the judge. The Church of The East on 'good grounds and valid reasons' did not attend the council.
Cyril and his 'fellow-bishops' asserted, "to distinguish between human and divine aspects of Jesus Christ is absolutely heretical"; thus, bitter disputes took place between Cyril and Nestorius. Cyril said that Jesus had one Nature only - the Divine Nature; hence, they were referred to as 'Monophysites' who maintained that all those who were 'Dyophysites' were heretics. (The term 'Dyophysite' refers to a person who holds the view that Jesus Christ has Two Natures, Divine and Human - One Person with Two Natures). The opponents of Nestorius were not only bishops but mostly also powerful elements. The Ephesus Council decided to depose Nestorius who then was sent to exile in Egypt.
All these theological nonsense and doctrinal bigotries gave rise to Nestorius' fame, and the fame 'begat' the 'Nestorian followers' many of whom were from The Church of The East. And not long afterwards, the followers of Nestorius were persecuted, and this made them to flee to Persia.
To cut the story short, years later the so-called Nestorian followers joined The Church of The East. Nestorius, too, came to the Church of The East where he felt welcomed.
But this is not the end of the story, not yet.
Twenty years after the Council of Ephesus the Council of Chalcedon was summoned by the new Emperor, Marcian. The Assyrian Church of The East was one of the participant members. This was in 451 AD. And Nestorius died in 451 AD. BUT WAIT FOR IT! The Council of Chalcedon arrived at an 'important decision'. The Council declared that the Lord Jesus Christ has Two Natures - Divine and Human. This was declared before the death of Nestorius! He lived 'just long enough' to see for himself that in the end 'SHRARAH' always prevails. (Shrarah in Aramaic means 'the Truth').
However, Monophysites, most of them, stubbornly refused to accept the decision of the Chalcedon Council. Therefore the continued theological disagreements and doctrinal bitterness resulted in political conflicts between East and West and their Empoires. High tensions of this nature gave rise to serious acrimonies among the Churches and also caused splits and divisions within some of the Churches including the Assyrian Church of The East some of whose followers had already adhered to Monophysytism
The adversely significant division that took place within The Church of The East was in 1550's. This happened when a group of people headed by Sulaga (a monk) from the Church of The East began their protest against the way the Patriarchs of The Church of The East were chosen. The faction, who was 'pro-hereditary' in appointing the Patriarchs, lost their debate. So, Sulaga with his 'entourage' went to Rome. The Pope, Julius III, welcomed them as a new Roman Catholic Uniate, Proclaiming Sulaga Patriarch of Mosul; and he gave the 'new Church' the name 'Chaldean Church' in order to distinguish, to separate, them from the Assyrian Church. And all the Assyrians who joined the so-called 'Chaldean Church' called themselves 'Chaldeans'. This is, more or less, the case even to this day (though rarely happens now); it is an absurd world! isn't it?