ERACLIDE di DAMASCO, BOOK of. - Under this curious title is concealed an important work written by Nestorio in 451, before the Council of Calcedonia but after its convocation.
It is a kind of spiritual testament, already cited by Ebediesu, in which the exile Nestorio defends himself in the form of a dialogue divided into two parts. These, often intermingled, deal respectively with the history of the controversy and the dogmatic question. The first includes interesting documents, while the second vigorously polemicizes against the Christological formulae of s. Cicillo di Alessandria. Nestorio believes that pope Leone shares his view.
The work, undoubtedly written in Greek, survives only in a Syriac version found in a manuscript of the 11th-12th century and published by P. Bedjan (Paris 1910); the appearance of the book gave rise to lively discussions concerning the doctrine of Nestorio.