Book of Heraclides of Damascus

The Book of Heraclides of Damascus is a work by Nestorius, an early bishop of Constantinople. It was written during his exile and intended as a defense of his theological views and a history of his life. This book is the only surviving treatise from Nestorius's pen and was discovered in a Syriac translation in 1895.1

Nestorius's theological views on the nature of Christ led to the condemnation of Nestorianism as a heresy. The core of the controversy involved the title Theotokos (God-bearer) applied to Mary. Nestorius believed this title compromised Christ's full humanity, while his opponents, like Cyril of Alexandria, felt it denied Christ's divinity. This dispute culminated in the Second Council of Ephesus in 431, where Nestorius was deposed and banished.12