Saint Cyril (Patriarch of Alexandria)

Cyrillus Alexandrinus

St. Cyril of Alexandria

"This book is essential reading for all those interested in the theology and spirituality of the fathers, their use of Scripture, and their creative expression through the media of philosophy and the natural sciences"--Back cover.

On the Unity of Christ

In D. Joannis Evangelium accedunt fragmenta varia necnon tractatus ad Tiberium diaconum duo

Alexandrinus Cyrillus

Saint Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria

Cyril of Cyril of Alexandria

Cyril of Alexandria, Select Letters

"In the exegesis, we see the true Cyril, not the "ecclesiastical thug" portrayed by critics of his later involvement in polemic and conciliar maneuvering. Through the clarity of Robert Charles Hill's translation, readers will also recognize the same exegetical and hermeneutical skills that Cyril demonstrated in his earlier commentary. Cyril takes seriously all details and facts of the Isaian text, remaining focused while unpacking the layers of imagery. Yet he readily admits that historia yields in importance to dianoia, and he can move readily to Christological and ecclesiological meanings."--BOOK JACKET.

Commentary on Isaiah

Cyril of Alexandria

In the latest addition to the Ancient Christian Texts series, David Maxwell renders a service to students of patristics and New Testament studies alike. The first complete English translation of Cyril of Alexandria's Commentary on John since the nineteenth century, this volume unveils one of the brightest lights in the Alexandrian tradition.

Commentary on John

Patriarch of Alexandria Cyril Saint

The term Theotokos helped to establish the truth that Jesus Christ, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was the preexisting Son of God who also became man without ceasing to be God in order to recapitulate in Himself the entire humanity and work out an eternal salvation for it. The point here is that Jesus Christ is the same Son of God who as true God "was born" ineffably and eternally from the Father and as true man was born in time and according to the flesh from the Virgin for the completion of the ages. Jesus Christ is one person who unites in Himself two natures, the divine and the human, and thus deifies the human by leading it to participate in the perfections of the divine. The term Theotokos brings out all these aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation and stresses its soteriological import. St. Cyril was not the first to use this dogmatic term Theotokos in a Christological dogmatic sense. Several theologians before him, including St. Athanasius and the Cappadocians, as well as conciliar Church documents, had used it in their writings. St. Cyril defended its propriety and explained its dogmatic significance for the Church's doctrine of Christ, because Patriarch Nestorius of Constantinople denounced it as unacceptable. In the debate that ensued, it became obvious that Nestorius entertained a false doctrine of Christ, which eventually led to his condemnation. It was he who became an innovator and deviator from the Church's Tradition and not St. Cyril as some contemporary scholars have asserted. The present text can be described as a model of Patristic theological discourse. It is an anti-heretical treatise, which refers to a central dogma of Christian theology, the doctrine of Christ. Its importance lies, first, in that it demonstrates that dogma and exegesis are intertwined in Patristic theological thought and discourse; and second, that it shows that Patristic dogma is rooted in the biblical witness, and that the Fathers handled the Scriptures in a different way than the ancient heretics and many of our contemporary biblical scholars.

Saint Cyril (Patriarch of Alexandria)

About

Books

Join the club