They further disagreed.
The Nestorians said: “The Messiah consists of two essences and two hypostases—one eternal and one created. Their union is solely a union of will, and although they are two essences, they share a single will.”
The Jacobites maintained: “When the union occurred, the two essences—the eternal and the created—became one essence.”
On this point they again diverged: some asserted that the created essence itself became eternal, while others claimed that once the union took place the two became one essence that is eternal from one aspect and created from another.
The Melkites held: “The Messiah possesses two essences but a single hypostasis,” although it is related from some of them that he is “two hypostases yet one essence.”
The Arians declared: “God is not a body and has no hypostases; the Messiah was neither crucified nor killed; rather, he is a prophet.” It is reported from some of them that they said, “The Messiah is not the Son of God,” while others maintained that he is called “the Son of God” only figuratively and by way of approximation.
They also disagreed about the ‘Word’ conveyed to Mary. One faction said: “The Word settled in Mary by way of commingling, like water mixing with milk so that it permeates and blends with it.” Another faction said: “Rather, it settled in her without commingling, just as a person’s image appears in a mirror or any polished surface without mixing with it.”