Cyril of Alexandria
Cyril of Alexandria was the Patriarch of Alexandria when the city was at its height in influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a major protagonist in the Christological controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries. He was a central figure in the Council of Ephesus in 431 which led to the deposition of Nestorius as Archbishop of Constantinople. Cyril is counted among the Church Fathers and the Doctors of the Church, and his reputation within the Christian world has led to his acquiring the title "Seal of all the Fathers." His feast day is celebrated on June 9 and, with St. Athanasius of Alexandria, on January 18.
Life
Cyril was born about 378 in the small town of Theodosios, Egypt, near modern day Malalla el Kobra. His mother’s brother, Theophilus, was a priest who rose to the powerful position of Pope (Patriarch) of Alexandria. His mother remained close to her brother, and under his guidance Cyril was well educated. Cyril's education showed through his knowledge, in his writings, and his influence on other Christian writers of his day, including Eusebius, Origen, Didymus, and writers of the Alexandrian church. Although considered on of the Greek Fathers, he showed a knowledge of Latin through his extensive correspondence with the Bishop of Rome, Pope Celestine. His formal education consisted of grammatical studies at ages 12 to 14 (390-392 C.E.), Rhetoric/Humanities at ages 15 to 20 (393-397), and Christian theology and biblical studies in his 20s (398-402).
He was tonsured and ordained as a reader by his uncle Theophilus in the Church of Alexandria and soon advanced in both knowledge and position. He supported his uncle in the removal of St. John Chrysostom as archbishop of Constantinople on administrative grounds. Later Cyril supported John's return on doctrinal grounds in opposition to the Christological views of Nestorius.
After Theophilus died in October 412, Cyril was made pope (patriarch) on October 18, over the opposition of the party supporting the archdeacon Timothy. The position had become powerful and influential, rivaling that of the city prefect (mayor) in a city known for its competing pagan, Jewish, and various Christian factions.[1]
Controversy
Cyril moved forcefully in early years as patriarch. He began to exert his authority by causing the churches of the Novatianist Christians to be closed and their sacred vessels to be seized.
Cyril vs. the Jews
He also ordered all Jews be expelled from the city, which house one of the most influential Jewish communities of the Roman Empire. This was opposed by the prefect of Alexandria, Orestes, but Cyril paid no heed and the Jews were expelled. [2] [3]
Some of the tensions between Jews and Christians was prompted by a slaughter of Christians at the hands of Alexandrian Jews who, after instigating the death of monk Hierax, lured Christians in the streets at night claiming that the church was on fire. [1]
Cyril led a mob of Christians against the Jews in the city, plundering and destroying the synagogues as well as killing Orestes himself[2] [3]. Though there is no clear agreement among historians, he is often blamed for burning the Library of Alexandria[1] during this rampage.
The death of Hypatia
Cyril has also been linked to the murder of Hypatia, the venerable female mathematician, neo-Platonist philosopher, and teacher, who was a frequent guest of Orestes'. [4] Recent studies show, although Cyril may not have been directly responsible, Hypatia's death was indeed the result of the struggle between two Christian factions—a more tolerant one led by Orestes and supported by Hypatia, and the more rigid one led by Cyril. [5]
Struggle against Nestorianism
Cyril also became caught up in the rivalry between the Alexandrian and Antiochian schools of ecclesiastical reflection, piety, and discourse. These issues came to a head in 428 when the See of Constantinople became vacant. Nestorius, from the Antiochian party, was made patriarch of Constantinople on April 10, 428. He soon stoked the fires of controversy by refusing to authorize the use of the term theotokos (God-bearer) to refer the Virgin Mary, insisting that christokos was both sufficient in terms of honor and more accurate.
Cyril took the lead in opposing Nestorius' views in the imperial court and with the pope at Rome. After much infighting, Augusta Pulcheria, older sister of the Emperor Theodosius II, sided with Cyril against Nestorius. To rid himself of Cyril, Nestorius recommended to the emperor that an Ecumenical Council be convened in Constantinople. Theodosius did call the council, but in Ephesus, a city somewhat friendly to Cyril. After months of maneuvering the Council of 431 ended with Nestorius being removed from office and sent into exile.
Cyril died on June 27, 444, but the controversies were to continue for decades, from the Robber Council of Ephesus in 449 to the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and beyond.
Legacy
As noted above, Cyril was a scholarly archbishop and a prolific writer. In the early years of his active life in the Church he wrote several exegeses. Among these were: Commentaries on the Old Testament [1], Thesaurus, Discourse Against Arians, Commentary on St. John's Gospel [2], and Dialogues on the Trinity. In 429 as the Christological controversies increased, his output of writings was that which his opponents could not match. His writings and his theology have remained central to tradition of the Fathers and to all Orthodox to this day.
Source
- McGuckin, John A. St. Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2004. ISBN 0-88141-259-7
External links
- Life and Writings of Cyril of Alexandria as relates to the Christological Controversy
- Early Church Fathers Includes text written by Cyril of Alexandria
Works
- Second Epistle of Cyril to Nestorius
- Third Epistle of Cyril to Nestorius (containing the twelve anathemas)
- Formula of Reunion: In Brief (A summation of the reunion between Cyril and John of Antioch)
- The 'Formula of Reunion' between Cyril and John of Antioch
- Five tomes against Nestorius (Adversus Nestorii blasphemias)
- That Christ is One (Quod unus sit Christus)
- Scholia on the incarnation of the Only-Begotten (Scholia de incarnatione Unigeniti)
- Against Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia (fragments)
- Against the synousiasts (fragments)
- Commentary on the Gospel of Luke
- Commentary on the Gospel of John
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Preston Chesser, "The Burning of the Library of Alexandria"., eHistory.com
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 James Everett Seaver, "The Persecution of the Jews in the Roman Empire (300-428)"., University of Kansas Publications, 1952.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Socrates, Hist. Eccl., VII, 13; PC, LXXXII, 759 ff., tr. in Bohn Library (London, 1888), pp. 345 ff.; dated by Socrates 412; but Juster, II, p. 176, has plausibly argued that it could not have happened before 414.
- ↑ A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Series II (Vol II: Socrates Scholasticus) (1890), Ecclesiastical History (VII.15) edited by by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace;
- ↑ Maria Dzielska (tr. F. Lyra), Hypatia of Alexandria. Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press, 1995. (Revealing Antiquity, 8). Pp. xi + 157. ISBN 0-674-43775-6
cs:Cyril Alexandrijský de:Kyrill von Alexandria es:Cirilo de Alejandría fr:Cyrille d'Alexandrie it:San Cirillo di Alessandria nl:Cyrillus van Alexandrië pl:Cyryl z Aleksandrii pt:Cirilo de Alexandria ru:Кирилл Александрийский sr:Кирило Александријски sv:Kyrillos av Alexandria zh:亞歷山大的區利羅
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