JOHN OF ANTIOCH, a fifth-century bishop of Antioch who was the
chief supporter of NESTORIUS, patriarch of Constantinople, in
the Nestorian controversy over the nature of Christ. To resolve
the controversy, which set Nestorius against Saint CYRIL I,
patriarch of Alexandria, Emperor Theodosius II ordered the
Council of Ephesus to be convened in 431. The council, under the
presidency of Cyril, was inaugurated 22 June, before the arrival
of the Syrian bishops under the leadership of John of Antioch,
the main sympathizer with Nestorius. By the time the Syrian
delegation reached Ephesus, the council had already approved the
doctrine of the Virgin as THEOTOKOS, condemned Nestorianism
(which opposed the doctrine), and deposed Nestorius.
Consequently, John of Antioch, together with his Syrian bishops
and a number of other dissenting bishops, convened a rival
council that confirmed Nestorius and his teaching and
excommunicated Cyril. But their decisions were never sanctioned
by the imperial authority, and the problem b