Anastasius A Presbyter Of Antioch
Anastasius A Presbyter Of Antioch [1]
was celebrated in ecclesiastical history as the confidential friend and counsellor of Nestorius, whom he accompanied on his elevation to the archiepiscopal seat of Constantinople. Here, in a sermon preached by him, Anastasius uttered the words that destroyed the peace of the Church for so many years — "Let no one call Mary Θεοτόκος . She is but a human being. It is impossible for God to be born of a human being." Nestorius, by supporting and defending Anastasius, adopted the language as his own. In A.D. 430 Anastasius endeavored to bring about an accommodation between Cyril and Nestorius. After the deposition of Nestorius he still maintained his cause, and animated his party at Constantinople. Tillemont identifies him with the Anastasius who, in 434, wrote to Helladius, bishop of Tarsus, when he and the Oriental bishops were refusing to recognise Proclus as bishop of Constantinople, bearing witness to his orthodoxy, and urging them to receive him into communion.
