Theodore of Mopsuestia

(born &circa; 350, Antioch, Syria—died 428/429, Mopsuestia, Cilicia) Syrian theologian and spiritual head of the school of Antioch. He entered a monastery near Antioch, where he lived and studied until 378. He was ordained in 381 and became bishop of Mopsuestia &circa; 392.

His exegetical writings used scientific, critical, philological, and historical methods of analysis that anticipated modern scholarship. Theologically, he believed that Christ had two natures, divine and human, in some kind of union. He stressed the literal sense of scripture and opposed allegorical interpretations. The second Council of Constantinople (553) condemned his views, but he was venerated by the Nestorian church as “the Interpreter.” He is said to have introduced into the Nestorian church the doctrine of universal salvation.