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Why did Nestorius object to calling Mary Theotokos?

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Nestorius objected to the use of the term Theotokos ("God-bearer") for the Virgin Mary because he believed that, unless carefully qualified, the title compromised the full humanity of Christ.21

He argued that Mary was the mother of the human Jesus, not the mother of the divine nature, and therefore proposed the term Christotokos ("Christ-bearer") as a more accurate designation. Nestorius’s position was rooted in his Christological emphasis on the independence of Christ’s divine and human natures.2

Critics, however, believed that his refusal to call Mary the Mother of God effectively denied the unity of the God-man, leading to the accusation that he viewed Christ as a "God-inspired man" rather than God incarnate. This controversy contributed to the formal condemnation of Nestorianism at the Council of Ephesus in 431, which affirmed the unity of Christ's person and the appropriateness of the title Theotokos.132