Ibas of Edessa
| Ibas | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Born | Syria |
| Died | 28 October 457 Parthia |
| Senior posting | |
| Title | Bishop |
| Predecessor | Rabbula |
| Successor | Nonnus |
Ibas (Syriac: ܗܝܒܐ ܐܘܪܗܝܐ, Ihiba or Hiba; d. October 28, 457) was bishop of Edessa (c. 435–457) and was born in Syria. His name is the Syriac equivalent of "Donatus". He is frequently associated with the growth of Nestorianism, although his recorded acts do not support this reputation.
He appears first as a presbyter of the church of Edessa during the episcopate of Rabbula, warmly espousing the theological views which his bishop uncompromisingly opposed. He admired the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, which he translated into Syriac and diligently disseminated through the East.
The famous theological school of Edessa, of which, according to some accounts, Ibas was head, and to which the Christian youth from Persia and adjacent lands came for education, offered many opportunities for propagating Theodore's beliefs. The growing popularity of doctrines which appeared clearly heretical alarmed Rabbula, and he endeavored to get Theodore's works anathematized and burnt. However the church of Edessa was generally favorable to Theodore's teaching, and supported Ibas against their bishop.
Ibas attended the First Council of Ephesus in 431 as a presbyter, was cognizant of the autocratic conduct of Cyril of Alexandria, and wrote in 433 the letter to Maris, bishop of Hardaschir in Persia, a letter which later became one of the Three Chapters. Maris had been at Edessa previous to the Nestorian controversy, and Ibas wrote to tell him what had occurred since his visit. Though evidently written under great exasperation, it shows Ibas as a man of independent judgment, and free from partisanship. In the letter, Nestorius is severely censured for refusing the title Theotokos to the Virgin Mary, and Ibas accuses Cyril of Apollinarianism, and denounces the heresy of his 12 chapters, charging him with maintaining the perfect identity of the manhood and Godhead in Christ, and denying the Catholic doctrine of the union of two Natures in One Person.
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