Henana of Adiabene

Henana of Adiabene (died 610) was a Christian theologian, and headmaster of the School of Nisibis, the main theological center of the Church of the East (571–610).

His predecessor headmaster was Abraham of Beth Rabban, who had worked hard to promote the Antiochene theology of Theodore of Mopsuestia.

Henana on the other hand favored the concept of a hypostatic union of the two natures, as specified by the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

[7] Henana accepted the decisions of the Council of Ephesus (431), believing that the term 'mother of God' was appropriate for the Virgin Mary.

Henana's pro-Byzantine orientation was so prominent that he was accused by his opponents for possible tendencies towards Origenism, a theological position that was popular among some Byzantine monks, but disputed and finally condemned in 553.

[8] One of the more extreme positions held by the followers of Origen was the denial of the resurrection of the body of the Lord on the third day.

He immediately held a synod and anathematized the opponents of Theodore, though he did not mention Henana explicitly.

As Babai the Great reports: 'the medical science at the court had taken sides with Henana.

This tilted the scales in favor of Henana and upset the carefully prepared strategy of his enemies.

But in order to refute him, Babai the Great clarified the Christology of the Church of the East, which otherwise might not have happened.