The Day Nestorius Rocked the Church and an Empire

The mother of the messiah has been called many things in the
last 2000 years the Virgin Mary, Our Lady, and the Blessed Mother.
But call her the Mother of God and youll see some Christians
squirm. This is nothing new. One day in the early fifth century, a
priest preached a stirring sermon in the presence of the patriarch
of Constantinople. His subject was the holy mother of Jesus. The
preacher continually referred to Mary as the Theotokos meaning
God-bearer or mother of God. This was no innovation Christians had
invoked Mary under this title for at least two hundred years.
Nevertheless, at the close of the sermon, the patriarch ascended
the steps of the pulpit to correct the preacher. We should call
Mary the Mother of Christ, said Patriarch Nestorius, not the Mother
of God. She was the mother of his human nature, not the mother of
his divinity.