Fathers

Cyril of Alexandria

c. 376–444 AD

Bishop of Alexandria from 412. He led the case against Nestorius at the Council of Ephesus in 431, defending the title Mother of God and the single person of Christ, and wrote long commentaries on both Testaments.

Works here: 52 to read straight through

Start hereOn the True Faith, to the Princesses Arcadia and MarinaCyril's treatise on the right faith for the princesses Arcadia and Marina: one Son, the Word made flesh, not two Christs. · 100 sections · with audio

Treatises and other works21

Dialogue with Nestorius 4 sections · Part only: The dialogue as printed in PG 76, cols. 249-253. The text here breaks off mid-sentence in Cyril's last reply, on the bread of life.A short dialogue, printed among the works of Cyril of Alexandria, in which Cyril and Nestorius trade Scripture verses over whether the Virgin Mary may be called…
On Adoration and Worship in Spirit and Truth (Books 1–17 · 513 sections)
On the Falling Away of the Synagogue 4 sectionslistenA short piece in which Cyril finds the Trinity hidden in God's renaming of Abram as Abraham, reading the name letter by letter.
On the True Faith, to the Empresses Pulcheria and Eudocia 48 sectionslistenCyril's treatise on the right faith for the empresses Pulcheria and Eudocia: one Son, who suffers in the flesh yet as God cannot suffer.
On the True Faith, to the Princesses Arcadia and Marina 100 sectionslistenCyril's treatise on the right faith for the princesses Arcadia and Marina: one Son, the Word made flesh, not two Christs.

Sermons and addresses2

Homily Delivered in the Church of Cyrinus 4 sectionslistenA short homily Cyril preached in the church of Cyrinus: God, who is life, made humanity for a life without decay, and the adversary plotted to undo it.
Sermon on the Three Youths 4 sectionslistenCyril honors Ananias, Azarias, and Misael as martyrs who confessed Christ before he came in the flesh, and ends with a prayer for the Church.

Commentaries and notes21

Commentary on Isaiah 89 sections · Part only: Selected passages from the prologue and from each of the five booksCyril of Alexandria's Commentary on Isaiah in a fresh English translation from the Greek, with passages from the prologue and from each of the five books.
Fragment of the Answers to Questions 3 sectionslistenA few questions on Scripture, mostly without their answers: whether the rich man and Lazarus really happened, Hosea's marriage, and where Melchizedek came from.
Fragment on a Psalm 3 sectionslistenShort notes on the Psalms: why sinners who rise again stand apart from the righteous, and how the Son made flesh stays the Father's own Son.
Fragment on Baruch 3 sectionslistenA few broken lines on Baruch 3:3, setting God's Wisdom, who stays unshaken, against made things, which are always perishing.
Fragment on Proverbs 1 sectionA few lines on "The Lord created me" in Proverbs 8:22, which Cyril says means "appointed me" when said of the Son's divinity.
Fragments Against Diodore 4 sectionslistenA short passage from a homily of Cyril on what Christ meant when he said that no one, not even the Son, knows the day or the hour.
Fragments Against Theodore (Books 2–3 · 8 sections)
- Fragments Against Theodore, Book 2 4 sectionsA short passage in which Cyril argues against Theodore's followers that Christ is one and the same, both God and man, and not divided.
- Fragments Against Theodore, Book 3 4 sectionsPassages from Cyril's third book against Theodore of Mopsuestia: the Godhead and the flesh keep their own properties, yet Christ is one Son, and his humanity is honored…
Fragments on 1 Corinthians 32 sections · Part only: The surviving fragments of Cyril’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, as printed in Migne, PG 74.Cyril of Alexandria comments on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians: the one Church called in every place, Christ the only foundation, marriage and the unmarried…
Fragments on 2 Corinthians 17 sections
Fragments on Acts and the Catholic Epistles 16 sectionslistenNotes on Acts and the general letters, on the gifts of the Spirit at Pentecost, faith and works, guarding the tongue, hospitality, and love.
Fragments on Daniel 4 sectionslistenA few lines on Daniel 7, explaining that the Son coming to the Ancient of Days means entering the Father's glory, not moving through space.
Fragments on Ezekiel 4 sectionsCyril of Alexandria's comments on single verses of Ezekiel, kept in the catenae: the wings of the living creatures, the disciples as doves on the mountains, why Noah,…
Fragments on Hebrews 32 sectionslistenNotes on Hebrews, chiefly on Christ as the eternal Son above the angels, his taking flesh to be our high priest, and the faith of Noah and others.
Fragments on Jeremiah 4 sectionslistenA few pages on Jeremiah, on Israel's idol worship on the hills, the prophet's grief for Jerusalem, and the empty wisdom of the worldly wise.
Fragments on Kings 12 sections
Fragments on Matthew 290 sectionslistenCyril of Alexandria's short notes on Matthew's Gospel, kept in later chains of comments, in the order of Matthew's chapters and verses.
Fragments on Numbers 4 sectionslistenA few lines on Numbers: the Levites' tithe given to Aaron as a type of Christ, and the rock in the desert as a figure of Christ.
Fragments on Romans 44 sections · Part only: The surviving fragments of Cyril's commentary on Romans, as printed in PG 74, on Romans 1 to 15. Many fragments begin or end mid-sentence.Cyril of Alexandria's surviving comments on Paul's Letter to the Romans, in a fresh English translation from the Greek.
Fragments on the Song of Songs 12 sections
Papyrus Fragment 3 sectionslistenCyril declares Apollinarius and Nestorius guilty of one and the same error, holds to the Nicene Creed, and condemns those who stir up the churches.

Letters8

Canonical Letter to Domnus 4 sections · Part only: Canon 1 and the opening of canon 2A fresh English translation of Cyril of Alexandria’s canonical letter to Domnus about Peter, a bishop removed from his church without a hearing.
Letter to Bishop Optimus 4 sections · Part only: The opening of the letter only (sections 1-3 of Basil’s Letter 260): the greeting and the first explanation of the sevenfold punishment. The text printed here breaks off mid-sentence.
Letter to Calosyrius 4 sections · Part only: The first part of the letter, on the image of God, ending where Cyril turns to those who say the Eucharist kept to another day no longer sanctifies. The rest of the letter (on the reserved Eucharist, monks who refuse to work, and the Melitians) is not yet translated.Cyril of Alexandria writes to Calosyrius, Bishop of Arsinoë, about monks who taught that God has a human body because man was made in the image of God.
Letter to Photius 1 sectionlistenA single sentence from Cyril: if two natures of different kinds were blended into one mixture, neither would survive and both would be lost.
Letter to Sixtus, Bishop of Rome 1 sectionlistenCyril defends his belief in Christ's divine nature and unchangeable Godhood in a letter to a Roman bishop.
Letter to the Bishops of Libya and the Pentapolis 4 sectionsCyril of Alexandria writes to the bishops of Libya and the Pentapolis after monks from the Thebaid report hasty ordinations.
Letter to the Council of Carthage 4 sectionslistenCyril's short reply to the bishops gathered at Carthage, sending them faithful copies of the Council of Nicaea's decisions and the coming date of Easter.
Letter to Theodosius 1 sectionlistenCyril explains Christ's dual nature in a letter to the emperor, blending theology and logic to clarify faith.