The fifth-century church was consumed by controversy over the person of Christ, culminating in the Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). Many Christians know the major figures involved-Cyril of Alexandria, Nestorius, and Leo the Great-and many recognize the Chalcedonian Definition as a landmark statement of Christian orthodoxy. Yet behind these famous names and documents stood a far broader conversation: countless letters, sermons, theological treatises, debates, and council exchanges through which the church struggled to articulate faithfully the mystery of Jesus Christ.

This volume introduces students, pastors, and interested readers to that wider theological world. Alongside translations of the most influential texts, it presents selections from lesser-known documents that illuminate how Christians across the church understood the person of Christ during one of the most decisive periods in Christian history.

Taken together, these sources reveal that beneath the intense controversies of the era there may have existed a deeper and more substantial unity in the church's confession of Christ than is often assumed.