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153693

Cyril of Alexandria (412-444) and his Patriarchic Period according to Socrates Scholasticus

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Last updated: 05 Jan 2025

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Abstract

Cyril of Alexandria (412-444) was not only one of the finest Christian theologians of his day, he also stands out in the ranks of the greatest patristic writers of all generations as perhaps the most powerful exponent of Christology the church has known. He brought great influence both in church life and in making the Christian teaching and especially in the formulation of Christological doctrine in the 5th century. For the life of the holy father, little is known. He was born between 370-380 AD Alexandria. The exact date of his birth we are not able to know it. He came from a wealthy family of the Greek city of Alexandria, although often the patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius calls him “Egyptian", i.e. one who hails from Egypt, in order to taunt him.
            Nowhere was the divide more clearly seen in 415 CE than between Orestes, the Pagan Prefect of Alexandria and Cyril, the Archbishop of Alexandria, who lead the Christian mobs against the Jews of Alexandria, looted their synagogues, and expelled them from the city. Orestes maintained his Paganism in the face of Christianity and cultivated a close relationship with Hypatia which Cyril, perhaps, blamed for Orestes' refusal to submit to the "true" faith and become a Christian. Tensions between the two men, and their supporters, grew increasingly high as each brushed off the other's advances of reconciliation and peace.
His early life is known only from notices in Socrates Scholasticus and a few elsewhere. The latter explains the relations of Cyril of Alexandria with Orestes and Hypatia. Also, Socrates, although, was an enemy to Cyril of Alexandria remains the most objective source for the life and actions of Cyril of Alexandria.

DOI

10.21608/jmih.2019.153693

Keywords

Cyril of Alexandria, Early Egyptian Church, Hypatia, Egyptian Monks

Authors

First Name

Eirini

Last Name

Artemi

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

4, Sina St., 17341 AGIOS DIMITRIOS, ATHENS, GREECE,

Email

eartemi@theol.uoa.gr

City

Athens

Orcid

0000-0002-8852-9907

Volume

12

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

22052

Issue Date

2019-12-01

Receive Date

2019-03-05

Publish Date

2019-12-01

Page Start

29

Page End

47

Print ISSN

2090-2883

Online ISSN

2735-5772

Link

https://jmih.journals.ekb.eg/article_153693.html

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https://jmih.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=153693

Order

3

Type

Original Article

Type Code

1,724

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Journal of Medieval and Islamic History

Publication Link

https://jmih.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Cyril of Alexandria (412-444) and his Patriarchic Period according to Socrates Scholasticus

Details

Type

Article

Created At

23 Jan 2023