Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to the theological doctrine, declared heretical in 431, that within Jesus are two distinct persons, divine and human, rather than a single divine person.
  • adjective Of or relating to a Christian church whose teachings are historically derived from this doctrine.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to Nestorius (see Nestorianism), or the Nestorians or their doctrines.
  • noun A follower of Nestorius; one who denies the hypostatic union of two natures in one person in Christ, holding that he possesses two distinct personalities, the union between which is merely moral.
  • noun One of a modern Christian body in Persia and Turkey, the remnant of the once powerful Nestorian denomination.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • proper noun (Eccl. Hist.) An adherent of Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople in the fifth century, who was condemned as a heretic for maintaining that the divine and the human natures were not merged into one nature in Christ (who was God in man), and, hence, that it was improper to call Mary the mother of God though she might be called the mother of Christ; also, one of the sect established by the followers of Nestorius in Persia, India, and other Oriental countries, and still in existence. Opposed to Eutychian.
  • adjective Of or relating to the Nestorians.
  • adjective Relating to, or resembling, Nestor, the aged warrior and counselor mentioned by Homer; hence, wise; experienced; aged.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective sometimes pejorative relating to teachings or to the followers of Nestorius
  • noun sometimes pejorative A perceived follower of Nestorius in the fourth and fifth centuries. A member of a "Nestorian" church.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a follower of Nestorius
  • adjective relating to Nestorius or Nestorianism

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[After Nestorius, who was accused of propounding this doctrine.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Nestor +‎ -ian

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Examples

  • The most interesting document for the history of Nestorianism is still the monument discovered at Si-ngan-fu and commonly called the Nestorian stone [536].

    Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3 Charles Eliot 1896

  • For those having studied using Thackston's Introduction to Syriac, Zammit's book provides more readings in Estrangelo (the script used in Thackston's textbook) than in Serto (the main script used in Healey's), as well as a few in East Syriac or "Nestorian" script.

    Bunches of Grapes from the Syriac Vineyard: A Review James F. McGrath 2010

  • They tried to destroy the evidence (not succesfully) and blacklist us as "Nestorian" which is labeling us as heritics.

    بالاترین 2010

  • Editor's note: "Nestorian" and "Syrian Orthodox" are the names of Assyrian church denominations.

    Assyrian International News Agency 2009

  • As a result of mutual hatred and competition between the Western Catholics and Protestants, in the late 19th century the same process was repeated, this time by the Anglican missionaries, and the other part of the East - Aramean "Nestorian" tribes of Hakkari (bordering Turkey and Iraq) and Urmia (Iran) to call themselves "Assyrians" - a term which was used purely geographically and only applied to the "Nestorians".

    American Chronicle 2008

  • LXXXVI, 1368) says, perhaps with reference to the so-called Nestorian Liturgy, that Theodore had also introduced a new Liturgy.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14: Simony-Tournon 1840-1916 1913

  • "Apparently you can be a Pelagian historian [semi-Pelagian Nestorian] in ETS,"

    Ecumenism 2009

  • "Apparently you can be a Pelagian historian [semi-Pelagian Nestorian] in ETS,"

    Scripture 2009

  • But Daoism, Islam, Hinduism and Nestorian Christianity from Syria and Manichaeism from Persia also were practiced, and the Mongols showed deference for those different religions.

    NYC Exhibit Unveils Rich Treasures Of Yuan Dynasty AP 2010

  • "Apparently you can be a Pelagian historian [semi-Pelagian Nestorian] in ETS,"

    Protestantism 2009

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