Nestorius of Constantinople,Three Letters to Celestine of Rome

The three letters that follow highlight the fact that the Nestorian controversy had as much to do with ecclesiastical politics as it did with theological debate. Indeed, these letters, despite their brevity, illustrate one of the main reasons why Nestorius lost his struggle against the bishop of Alexandria, namely, his failure to draw Bishop Celestine of Rome to his cause. The primary purpose of the first letter, probably written in late 429, was to seek from Celestine information about several clerical exiles who had come to Constantinople from the West. These bishops, including most prominently Julian of Eclanum, had, as a result of the efforts of Augustine of Hippo, been deposed for adhering to the views of Pelagius regarding sin and salvation. Nestorius’s report to Celestine in the first letter hints at his intention to reopen their case, an action that he should have realized the bishop of Rome would not look kindly upon. This intention becomes more explicit in the second letter, written perhaps in early 430, as Nestorius complains of the lack of response from the Roman leader and insists that Celestine send him the dossiers used in the deposition of the Pelagian bishops.