Cyril of Alexandria

thumb|Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Doctor of the Church Saint Cyril of Alexandria (in Ancient Greek: Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας ; ca  376 – 444) was the Patriarch of Alexandra from 412 to 44. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a major player in the Christological controversies of the late-4th and 5th centuries. He was a central figure in the Council of Ephesus in 431, which led to the deposition of Nestorius as Patriarch of Constantinople. Cyril is counted among the Church Fathers and also as a Doctor of the Church, and his reputation within the Christian world has resulted in his titles Pillar of Faith and Seal of all the Fathers. Quotes Hail, then, from us, O holy mystycal Trinity, who has gathered us all together in this church of Mary, the Mother of God. Hail, from us, Mary, Mother of God, majestic treasure of the whole world, the lamp unquenchable, the crown of virginity, the sceptre of orthodoxy, the indestructible temple, the dwelling of the Illimitable, Mother and Virgin, through whom He is called in the holy Gospels "Blessed who cometh in the name of the Lord." Hail, thou who didst contain Him, thou through whom the Holy Trinity is glorified and adored throughout the world; through whom heaven rejoices, through whom angels and archangels are glad; through whom devils are put to flights, through whom the temper-devil fell from heaven; thorugh whom the fallen creature is taken up into heaven; through whom all creation, held fast by the madness of idolatry, has come to the knowledge of the truth; through whom holy baptism has come to believers, and the oil of gladness; through whom churches are erected throughout the world; through whom the nations are brought to repentance. And what more shall I say? Through whom the only-begotten Son of God has shone forth, a light " to those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death" (see Lk. 1:97); through whom the Prophets foretold, through whom the Apostles preached salvation to the nations; through whom the dead are raised, and kings reign. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Homily 4 (Acta conciliorum oecomenicorum (ACO), 1, 1, 2, 102-103; ed. Schwartz; Berlin and Leipzig; 1914 ff.). As reported in Father Paul Palmer, SJ, Mary in the Documents of the Church, p. 50-51 (of 129), Lowe and Brydone (printers) Ltd, London L.W. 10, for Burns Oates and Washbourne Ltd, 28 Ashley Place, London, S.W.I. (with nihil obstat by E.A Cerny, S.S, D.D., and imprimatur by Franciscus P. Keough, D.D., Archbishop of Baltimore, given on 23 November 1951). OCLC 3286267. Ch. Mary as Mediatrix (431). According to Paul Palmer, "in the basilica of the Mother of God (the Theotokos), St. Cyril of Alexandria preached before the Fathers of the Council of Ephesus what some regard as the greatest Marian sermon in the whole of antiquity..." Noi per la fede di Cristo siamo pronti a subire tutto: le catene, il carcere, tutti gli incomodi della vita e la stessa morte. For the faith of Christ we are ready to suffer everything: chains, prison, all the inconveniences of life and death itself. As quoted in Enrico Pepe, Martiri e santi del calendario romano (in Italian) Since Christ Himself said in reference to the bread: "This is My Body," who will dare remain hesitant? And since with equal clarity He asserted: "This is My Blood," who will dare entertain any doubt and say that this is not His Blood?... You have been taught these truths. Imbued with the certainty of faith, you know that what seems to be bread is not bread but the Body of Christ, although it seems to be bread when tasted. You also know that what seems to be wine is not wine but the Blood of Christ although it does taste like wine. From a catechetical instruction given by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem for his successor John in the 4th century. As quoted in Missionaries of the Blessed Sacrament-Eucharistic quotes That anyone could doubt the right of the holy Virgin to be called the Mother of God fills me with astonishment. Surely she must be the Mother of God if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, and she gave birth to him! Our Lord’s disciples may not have used those exact words, but they delivered to us the belief those words enshrine, and this has also been taught us by the holy fathers. As quoted in 5 Inspiring quotes from St. Cyril of Alexandria (June 27, 2017) We affirm that the natures are different that are united in one true unity, but from both has come only one Christ and Son; not because, due to their unity, the difference in their natures has been eliminated, but rather, because divinity and humanity, reunited in an ineffable and indescribable union, have produced for us one Lord and Christ and Son. We will profess only one Christ and Lord, not in the sense that we worship the man together with the Logos, in order not to suggest the idea of separation by saying "together', but in the sense that we worship only one and the same, because he is not extraneous to the Logos, his body, with which he also sits at his Father's side, not as if "two sons" are sitting beside him but only one, united with his own flesh. As quoted in General Audience of 3 October 2007 External links Category:376 births Category:444 deaths Category:Christian saints Category:Christian theologians Category:Christologists Category:Church Fathers Category:Doctors of the Church Category:Opponents of Nestorianism Category:Catholic Mariology Category:People from El Mahalla El Kubra Category:Hypatia Category:5th-century Byzantine writers Category:Anglican saints