Житие святого отца нашего Кирилла, архиепископа Александрийского

The great church teacher, Saint Cyril of Alexandria, was from Alexandria itself. He came from noble Christian parents and was on his mother’s side the nephew of the famous Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria 3737. Kirill received a very brilliant upbringing at that time: he perfectly studied all the secular Hellenic wisdom, and also studied the Divine Scriptures and Christian doctrine well. Kirill's uncle, Patriarch Theophilus, seeing his nephew's brilliant abilities and chaste lifestyle, included him in his clergy, making young Kirill an archdeacon. And so Saint Cyril was like a fragrant flower, planted in a church garden, blooming with sublime purity and fragrant with the God-wise teaching of the Church of Christ. After the death of Theophilus, Blessed Cyril was unanimously elected to the patriarchal throne in 3738 and, having become patriarch, immediately removed from the city the heretics, called Novatians, who were similar to the Pharisees, justifying themselves in the eyes of people and claiming that they were pure and righteous and not involved in any sin. As a sign of their supposedly immaculate life, the Novatians wore white clothes and taught that a person who fell into mortal sin after baptism should not be accepted into church communion. There can be no forgiveness, they argued, for the mortal sin of such a person, and only secondary baptism can wash away his sin. This heresy originated from Novatian, who during the reign of Emperor Decius in 3739 was a presbyter in Rome and, after the martyrdom of Pope Fabian in 3740, sought to obtain the papal throne in 3741. But, despite all the machinations, he failed to achieve what he wanted, and Blessed Cornelius was elected to the papal throne in 3742. Jealous of Cornelius, Novatian began to build feuds against him and opposed him in everything. At that time, the Church was experiencing severe persecution from the pagans 3743, and many of the believers, fearing severe torment, cowardly made sacrifices to idols, and then, coming with repentance, confessed their sin with tears. Seeing their repentance, Holy Pope Cornelius accepted them again into communion with the Holy Church, just as Christ accepted the bitterly weeping Peter. Meanwhile, Presbyter Novatian opposed the pope, arguing that it was unworthy for those who, having renounced Christ, sacrificed to demons 3744, to be in the fence of the Church of Christ. At the same time, he blasphemed the holy pope, presenting him as an accomplice of idolaters. He himself broke off communication with him and, having found some like-minded people, became the second pope in Rome 3745: This is how the Novatian schism arose in 3746. Subsequently, the Novatian schism spread everywhere, reached Alexandria and existed here until the time of St. Cyril. Here the Novatians committed many actions contrary to Orthodoxy. So they baptized a second time over those seduced into schism, who had previously been baptized in the Catholic Church, and did not allow second marriage, calling it the sin of adultery. They also had other foolish innovations. Saint Cyril, from the very beginning of his patriarchate, expelled these heretics, together with their bishop Theopemptos, from Alexandria. Then he armed himself against the enemies of the human race - unclean spirits, whom he expelled from their dwellings. 120 stages 3747 from Alexandria there was one village called Konop 3748. Not far from it there was a place called Manufin 3749 (it used to be a village). Here was an ancient church, which was the abode of demons: this place inspired horror in everyone, and Patriarch Theophilus also wanted to cleanse it of demons and consecrate it for the praise of God. But distracted by other concerns, he did not have time to carry out his intentions. Saint Cyril, having assumed the see of Alexandria after Theophilus, decided to fulfill the desire of his uncle and predecessor and fervently prayed to God that He would give him help from above and strength to overcome and expel unclean spirits from Manufin. And then the Angel of the Lord appeared to the holy man in a vision, commanding him to transfer the venerable relics of the martyrs Cyrus and John to Manufin in order to drive away the demonic power from there. Saint Cyril did just that - he brought the relics of the saints to Manufin and built a church there in their name. The unclean spirits were immediately expelled from there, and the place became a source of healing from the relics of the martyrs. Having thus expelled invisible demons from the outskirts of Alexandria, the saint made every effort to completely cleanse the city itself of visible demons, which were the Christ-hating Jews. For a long time they lived in that city in countless numbers. Since the time of Alexander the Great and the founding of Alexandria in 3750, many newcomers from Judea settled here, who grew into a large tribe. Hating Christ and the people who bore His name, they openly and secretly caused Christians all kinds of anger and trouble. The Novatian heretics mentioned above were harmful to the city, but incomparably the worst and most harmful enemies were the Jews, who not only stirred up civil strife in the city, but also committed numerous murders and bloodshed. Having called to himself the leaders of the Jewish synagogues 3751, the saint of God exhorted them to restrain their people from such atrocities. But the Jewish elders not only did not heed the admonitions of the saint, but rushed towards even greater malice. In the city there was a large and beautiful church called Alexander’s, named after its organizer, Bishop Alexander 3752. One day the Jews armed themselves as if for war, and as night fell they created noise and confusion in the street among the Christian houses, shouting: “The Alexander Church is burning.” Hearing the cry, one after another the Christians rushed from their homes to the imaginary fire, with the intention of extinguishing it. And so the merciless Jews - those Christians who came out of the gates of their house, immediately chopped them down with swords, or struck them with spears, or knives - in a word, they killed them with anything. And many Christians were killed that night. As the day approached, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill learned about the massacre that had taken place. Having recovered from grief over those killed, he began to seek justice against the Jews. But the eparch of the city Orestes, although he was a Christian by faith, nevertheless, harboring enmity against the saint, helped the Jews by defending the murderers. Then Saint Cyril himself went with many Christians to the Jewish gathering and expelled all the Jews from the city, destroyed their homes and burned their synagogue. The eparch, burning with anger at the saint for this, began to harm the saint’s close relatives, as well as other famous citizens who were supporters of the patriarch. So he subjected him to merciless torture in the square of the grammarian 3753 of Ierax, stripping him naked. There was a great disagreement between the eparch and the patriarch. For the most holy patriarch defended Christians, and the eparch promoted the Jews. Each of them wrote on his own behalf to Emperor Theodosius the Younger in 3754, until the latter issued a decree prohibiting Jews from living in the city. At that time, disturbances and riots often arose on the streets of the city, during which many people who were not involved in these disturbances died. There lived in Alexandria a girl named Hypatia, the daughter of the philosopher Theon. She was a believing and virtuous woman and, distinguished by her Christian wisdom, spent her days in purity and chastity, observing virginity. From her youth, she was taught philosophy by her father Theon, and was so successful in philosophy that she surpassed all the philosophers who lived in those times, as Sisinius, Bishop of Ptolemais 3755, and Suida, who glorified her with many praises, reported about her. She did not even want to get married, partly out of a desire to freely practice wisdom and study books, but especially she preserved her virginity out of love for Christ. All lovers of wisdom flocked to Alexandria from everywhere to see the wise virgin Hypatia and hear her wise speeches, so that she was a teacher of many. She was revered by all spiritual and worldly authorities, and also revered by all the people, and many resorted to her, seeking her wise advice. Wanting to reconcile the eparch with the patriarch, she came to both of them with humility and meekness and with wise speeches persuaded them to peace. His Holiness the Patriarch himself sought an opportunity to reconcile with the eparch, but he, due to his evil nature, did not even want to hear about reconciliation. One day, when Hypatia was returning from somewhere in a chariot to her home, rebels who hated the world attacked her and, pulling her out of the chariot, tore her clothes and beat her to death. But their bestial rage did not stop at this atrocity, and in the blindness of their anger they began to mock the dead body of the girl. Having cut him into pieces, they burned him in a place called Kinaron 3756. When the residents of the city learned about what had happened, everyone, and especially lovers of science, greatly pitied Hypatia. By the way, rumors about the rebellion that had taken place reached the monks of Mount Nitria in 3757. They were filled with sorrow and pity for the innocent victims of the rebellion and, having gathered up to five hundred people, came from the desert to the city, wanting to defend the patriarch. By chance they came across an eparch somewhere, riding towards them in a chariot. Seeing the ruler, the monks began to shout at him, reproaching him and calling him a Hellenic and an idolater, because he had previously adhered to the Hellenic faith 3758 and had only recently been baptized in Constantinople. One of the monks threw a stone at the eparch and hit him in the head. When the crowd of people came running to the cry of those surrounding the eparch, the monks moved away from him; The eparch's servants captured one of the monks, named Ammonius. The eparch, assuming that the monks were incited against him by the patriarch, became very angry and subjected Ammonius to cruel torture and torment, among which he died. Having learned about this, His Holiness the Patriarch was greatly grieved in spirit and, having ordered that the body of the martyr be taken, buried him with honor. Meanwhile, the Jews expelled from the city, having arranged for themselves a place of spectacles and games, erected a long cross to desecrate Christ and insult Christians and, seizing a certain Christian youth, crucified him stretched out on the cross. At the same time, they did not attach him to the cross with nails, but tied him with ropes and cursed at him for a long time, laughing and spitting on him. Having finished their ridicule, they beat him until he died on the cross, and so the martyr of Christ became an imitator of Christ’s suffering. Saint Cyril, having learned about this new atrocity of the Jews, addressed a letter to the emperor, to whom he informed about all the circumstances of what had happened - and the emperor, although not soon, still issued a fair order. According to this order, the Jewish leaders who were at the head of those who planned this atrocity were executed, and the eparch was dismissed from office. After this, Saint Cyril of Christ, having defeated the turmoil, malice and enmity of the enemies of the Christian name, successfully shepherded the verbal flock of Christ's sheep entrusted to him. But when the described troubles subsided in Alexandria, even greater unrest arose throughout the whole of heaven, excited by the heresy of Nestorius, and Saint Cyril had to accomplish a new - greater feat. In the Church of Constantinople, after the death of Patriarch Sisinius 3759, who was the successor of Atticus 3760, Nestorius 3761, transferred from Antioch 3762, a man supposedly firm in faith and virtuous in life, but inside a secret heretic, was elevated to the patriarchal throne. He scattered the seeds of heretical teaching among believers, like tares among wheat, at first not himself personally, but through his like-minded people. His heresy consisted of blasphemy against Christ God and the Most Pure Virgin Mary; for he, the accursed one, argued that the simple man Christ, and not God, was born from the Virgin Mary, since the womb of a woman could not contain God, but only man. According to the teachings of Nestorius, God the Word united with the Man Jesus from the very moment of conception only by grace and dwelt in him as in a church. Therefore, Nestorius called the Virgin Mary not the Mother of God, but the Mother of Christ. The heresy of Nestorius was scattered among the people by his followers who were under Nestorius, Bishop Dorotheos and Presbyter Anastasius, whom he took with him from Antioch. Once, on some holiday, Anastasius, speaking a sermon to the people in the cathedral church of Constantinople, attacked the use of the word “Theotokos” - Mother of God - in the appendix to the Blessed Virgin Mary 3763. It was he who argued that the Virgin Mary cannot be called the Mother of God, since She was a person, and how can God be born from human flesh? The sermon caused murmurs and noise in the church. Accusations of heresy rained down on Anastasia. When Nestorius himself was asked about this, the latter began to clearly reveal his madness and spewed out the poison of his blasphemies against Christ God and His Most Pure Mother. “I cannot,” he said, “call the Mother of God a woman who gave birth to a carnal Man of the same nature as herself, for She was the Matter of the tabernacle, prepared by the Holy Spirit for the dwelling of the Divine Word. Therefore, it is more fair to call her Christ Mother. With this word we designate her relationship to the One in Whom the Divinity dwelt.” And so discord and strife arose among the people: some opposed the heresy and did not want to have communication with Nestorius, while others, on the contrary, were tempted by heretical wisdom and accepted the teachings of the heretics. This heresy outraged not only Constantinople, but also all the borders of the earth, for the wicked Nestorius, with his like-minded people, wrote many works in defense of his teaching, which he sent to surrounding cities, distant countries and deserts, among the monastics 3764. By this, he created the same discord among Christians that the wicked Arius 3765 had previously caused, because many of the clergy and laity followed in the footsteps of Nestorius, just as many had previously followed in the footsteps of Arius. Saint Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, having learned about the heretical teaching of Nestorius and the success of his preaching, was indignant in spirit and, as a faithful servant and brave warrior of Christ God and the Most Pure Mother of God, armed himself against the enemy of Christ and firmly stood for the honor of God and the Most Holy Theotokos. He appeared as a true shepherd of Christ's sheep, vigilantly watching over his flock and fighting the wolf. Initially, Saint Cyril kindly wrote to Nestorius, exhorting the latter to abandon false teaching and by confessing the right faith to stop the turmoil that he had aroused in the Church of Christ 3766. Then, seeing that Nestorius was not correcting himself, he wrote a stern message to him, exposing his error. Saint Cyril also wrote to the clergy of the Church of Constantinople and to the royal court 3767, urging them not to be tempted by the teachings of Nestorius. He wrote a letter to the Pope of ancient Rome Celestine 3768 and other patriarchs 3769, informing them of the heresy of Nestorius and asking them to exhort the latter to repentance. Moreover, he sent letters to all authorities and bishops of various countries and cities, in which (letters) he warned everyone against being carried away by the heresy of Nestorius. Since this heresy seduced, among other things, many monks, he wrote to them, explaining to them the soul-destroying harm of the heresy and discouraging them from being seduced by it. In a word, Saint Cyril did not stop crying out against this wolf until he completely drove him away from the flock of Christ. Meanwhile, Nestorius not only did not correct himself from Cyril’s epistles, but with his followers rushed to even worse things. It was one of his supporters, Bishop Dorotheos, in the presence of Nestorius himself, who stood on the dais in the cathedral and said loudly: - If anyone calls the Virgin Mary the Mother of God, let him be anathema. And then Nestorius himself began to subject to torture those of the clergy and monks of the Church of Constantinople who resisted him and did not share his heresy. At the same time, he furiously fought against Saint Cyril, vainly and proudly rebelling against him and calling him a heretic, while he himself was one. Having then invented many unjust and false slander against the holy and righteous, he spread them among the people, blaspheming and dishonoring the name of Cyril. But the Alexandrian saint did not pay any attention to these slander and cared only about the salvation of human souls. Despite this activity of Cyril, unrest and unrest continued, and the Nestorian heresy grew day by day and came into force more and more. Many of the bishops had already become infected with this soul-destroying heretical teaching and became followers of Nestorius. By the way, he received some support from John 3770, Patriarch of Antioch, who, not approving of what Nestorius said, nevertheless asked Cyril not to attach special significance to his words. This, however, could not extinguish the fire that had flared up. There was only one way left to stop the unrest - to convene an Ecumenical Council. The convening of the council was equally desired by Nestorius' opponents and his supporters, and each side hoped that its teaching would triumph. And so Theodosius the Younger, yielding to general requests, decided to convene such a council in 3771. Having appointed the Asia Minor city of Ephesus 3772 as the site for the cathedral, he invited all the metropolitans and bishops of the empire to gather here for Pentecost 431. At the same time, he sent Comite 3773 Candidian to Ephesus to attend the council as an imperial representative. Nestorius arrived in Ephesus shortly after Easter (April 19), accompanied by 16 bishops; just before the feast of Pentecost, Saint Cyril appeared at the head of fifty Egyptian bishops. About 40 bishops arrived from the surrounding cities of Asia Minor 3774. Pope Celestine, due to illness and old age, could not appear and sent two bishops and a presbyter as representatives of himself and “the entire Western Council,” with the order to be guided by the judgment of St. Cyril. In total, about 200 bishops gathered, but John of Antioch and other Syrian bishops, who mostly sided with Nestorius, all did not appear. The bishops who came to the council waited in vain until June 21 and, without waiting, finally opened their meetings (June 21, 431). Due to the merits of his see, Saint Cyril assumed the presidency of this council, with Juvenal of Jerusalem and Memnon of Ephesus as co-chairs. But the wicked Nestorius opposed the drafted council and did not appear at it under the pretext that he would wait for the arrival of John of Antioch and the Syrian bishops. The council fathers invited him to appear three times, but he stubbornly refused. Then they began to examine the writings of Nestorius and, after careful study, condemned them as heretical. Saint Cyril presented to the council his letters to Nestorius and other persons, in which he exposed the wicked wisdom of the heretic, and also presented the definitions of the local council that had previously taken place in Alexandria. The fathers of the council agreed with the teachings of the holy man, recognizing him as Orthodox and God-wise, and approved the determination of the local Alexandria Council. Meanwhile, John of Antioch arrived in Ephesus with the Syrian bishops. Having learned about the progress of the case, he, in defense of Nestorius, formed a separate council, at which Nestorius and all his supporters took part. Candidian, infected with heresy, assisted this lawless council, and at it Saint Cyril was unjustly convicted of the heresy of Apollinaris 3775, which denied the real humanity of Christ and asserted that Christ does not have a soul, but instead contains the Divinity. By bringing such an accusation against the holy man, falsely slandering him, Nestorius’s followers sought to arm the emperor himself against him. At first, they managed to achieve their goal. The emperor believed their slander and ordered Saint Cyril to be imprisoned together with blessed Memnon, Bishop of Ephesus, in 3776. But then, having subjected everything to detailed examination and seeing, on the one hand, the innocence of the righteous Cyril, and on the other, the obvious lies and malice of his enemies, Theodosius restored the holy and valiant saint and his follower Memnon in their positions and pleased with praise the patience and meekness of the first; He ordered the heretics to be curbed. Thus, Saint Cyril again became the head of the holy fathers who gathered in Ephesus to consider the wisdom of Nestorius. At this council, the dogma of faith was established that our Lord Jesus Christ, incarnate from the Most Pure Virgin Mary, is the true God, and the Most Pure Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Him, is the true Mother of God. When this completed determination was proclaimed to the people, there was great joy among all the believers, and all the citizens of the city of Ephesus exclaimed solemnly, but not as they once did when they said: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus” 3777 - but completely different words: “Great is the Most Pure Virgin Mary, Theotokos.” Nestorius was condemned as a heretic and blasphemer and was not only deprived of his dignity, but also excommunicated from the Church of Christ and given over to eternal damnation. John of Antioch and the Syrian bishops later joined this conciliar definition. The emperor exiled Nestorius to a distant country called Oasim 3778. Here, remaining unrepentant, the wicked Nestorius ended his life in severe torment. It was he who had his blasphemous tongue eaten away by worms while alive. How contrary to Orthodoxy is the blasphemy of the Mother of God that occurred from the heretic Nestorius, this is evidenced by the following incident, which the Monk John tells in his writings “The Spiritual Meadow” 3779: “Once,” he writes, “we came to the presbyter of the Kolomanian Lavra 3780, Abba Kiriak, and he told us the following: “Once I saw in a dream that there was a a radiant, most beautiful Virgin, dressed in purple, and with her two radiant husbands. And I learned that this is our Lady, the Most Pure Virgin Mother of God, and the men with Her are Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Theologian. I immediately left my cell and, bowing, begged Her to come to me and bless my cell, but She did not want to. I begged Her for a long time, saying: “Mistress! Let not Your servant depart from You humiliated and put to shame.” And I said many other prayers before Her. Then, seeing my diligent prayer, She answered me: - You have My enemy in your cell, how can you then express the desire that I come to you? With these words She left. Waking up from sleep, I began to cry and grieve, wondering if I had sinned something before the Most Pure Virgin in my thoughts; for there was no one else in my cell except me alone. Having examined myself in detail, I did not find anything in which I could sin before Her. Seeing that grief was consuming me, in order to at least have a little fun amid my sadness, I picked up a book to read. It was the book of the blessed Jerusalem presbyter Hesychius 3781, which I asked him to borrow. After reading the book, I saw at the end two words of the wicked Nestorius and thus learned what kind of enemy of the Most Holy Lady was in my cell. Then, getting up, I took the book to the one who gave it to me and said to him: - Brother, take your book; I received not so much benefit from it as harm. He asked me why his book did me harm and not good. And I told him about the vision I had. Then he, filled with Divine jealousy, cut out two words of Nestorius from the book and burned them in the fire, with the words: “Let no enemy of our Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, remain in my cell.” One should also not remain silent about how Saint Cyril of Christ - this great saint of God, despite such great holiness, nevertheless had something shameful in himself and contrary to piety - in order to see his miraculous correction. He was angry with John Chrysostom for no reason - saint against saint. This should not surprise us, because perfection belongs to God alone; Of people, no one can be perfect in himself, unless he is “And from His fullness we have all received grace for grace” 3782 (John 1:16) of Christ; That is why saints, like people, are involved in human weaknesses. Saint Cyril also had such weakness, precisely in his relationship with John Chrysostom: he was angry with the holy man not only during the latter’s life, but even after his death and did not want to remember him as a saint. Such anger of Cyril did not come from anger, but from ignorance. He, on the one hand, from his uncle, Patriarch Theophilus, on the other, from others who harbored enmity towards Chrysostom, heard many unjust slander against this universal lamp and, in his kindness, gave faith to a lie as to the truth. For it is written: “A fool believes every word” (Proverbs 14:15). The Patriarch of Constantinople Atticus, who lived before Nestorius, in his letters convinced him to write the name of St. John Chrysostom in church diptychs 3783, that is, in books with the names of saints. Atticus himself had previously also been one of the enemies of John Chrysostom, but then, realizing the innocence of this holy man and at the same time his sin against him, he repented. Having ascended the patriarchal throne of Constantinople after Arsakios, he included Chrysostom in the diptychs and, while he was alive, he admonished Saint Cyril with letters in which he asked him to do the same. But the latter did not listen to him, not wanting to overthrow the significance of the earlier council against John, which was convened by Theophilus in 3784. In the same way, Saint Isidore Pelusiot 3785, a relative of Cyril, a husband of advanced years, seeing the indignation of many against Saint Cyril for excluding Chrysostom from the list of saints, boldly wrote to him, exhorting him to consider impartially the circumstances of the condemnation of John Chrysostom. “Predilection is short-sighted, and hatred sees nothing at all,” Pelusiot wrote in one of his letters to Saint Cyril. - Therefore, if it is desirable for you to be clean from both defects, do not pronounce rash sentences, but subject your actions to a fair trial; because God, who knows everything before the fulfillment comes, kindly deigned to come down from heaven and see the cry of Sodom (Gen. 18:20), teaching us to do everything according to exact research. For many who were with you at the Council of Ephesus mockingly say that you are satisfying your own enmity, and are not seeking in an Orthodox manner what would be required for Jesus Christ. He is Feofilov’s nephew, they talk about you, and his spirit holds on. Just as Theophilus clearly poured out his fury on the God-bearing and God-loving John, so it is advisable to boast about this, although a great change has occurred in the position of the defendant, for John has already suffered exile and is now no longer alive.” In another letter, Saint Isidore Pelusiot wrote to Cyril: “Examples from the Divine Scripture frighten me and force me to write what I should write about. For, if I am a father, as you yourself say, then I am afraid of the condemnation to which Eli fell for not bringing chastity to his sons who sinned 3786; and if, as I know more accurately, I am a son before you, bearing the image of the great Mark, then I am afraid of the punishment that Jonathan suffered for not stopping his father, who was looking for the sorceress 3787. Because he could have stopped him, he died in battle for the one who had sinned before. Therefore, so that I do not be condemned, and God does not condemn you, stop the strife, and do not transfer that vengeance for your own insult, which should be given to mortals, into the living Church - under the pretext of piety, do not create eternal discord in it” 3788. And in another place the saint wrote to Cyril like this: “You ask me about the circumstances of the expulsion of the holy man John: but I will not write in detail about that, so as not to seem like a person denouncing and condemning others, for the numerous injustices of people towards the saint have surpassed all measure. I will briefly remind you of the stiff-necked character of Egypt, which is near you 3789: it denied Moses, surrendered to Pharaoh, wounded the humble with wounds, embittered the workers, built cities and did not pay wages to the workers 3790. By practicing such and such acts, he gave birth to the lawless Theophilus, who worships gold as God 3791; with his like-minded people, he rebelled against Saint John, a God-loving man who preached about God. Despite this, the house of David is established and multiplied, and Saul, as you see, is exhausted 3792." Such were the writings of Saint Isidore Pelusiot to Saint Cyril. They had such an effect on the latter that, after reading them, he began to recognize his sin. In particular, he realized it and completely repented when he was frightened by the following vision. He imagined that he was in some very beautiful place, filled with inexplicable joy. Here he saw wonderful men - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and other saints, both Old Testament and New Testament. At the same time, he saw there a very vast and bright church, the beauty of which human language is not able to depict, and he heard the singing of sweet-sounding voices in it. Entering this church and marveling at its beauty and splendor, Cyril saw in it in the radiance of glory the Most Pure Lady Theotokos, surrounded by many Angels. Among those standing around the Mother of God, Saint John Chrysostom was in a place of honor, shining like an Angel of God with a wonderful light and holding a book of his writings in his hand; many wondrous men surrounded him like servants. They were all armed, as if preparing for an attack. And so, when Cyril wanted to fall at the feet of the Mother of God to worship Her, Saint John and the squires who were with him immediately rushed at him, forbidding him to approach the Most Pure Mother of God and driving him out of the wonderful church. Cyril, seeing John indignant against him and himself expelled from the church, was in awe. But suddenly he heard the Most Pure Virgin Mother of God turn to John with a petition so that he would forgive Cyril and not expel him from the church, since he had sinned against him not out of malice, but out of ignorance. But John seemed unwilling to forgive Cyril. Then the Most Holy Theotokos said: “Forgive him for Me, for he worked a lot for My honor - he glorified Me among people and called Me Theotokos.” When the Most Pure Mother of God spoke these words, John immediately had mercy and answered the Mother of God: “At your request, Lady, I forgive him.” Then, approaching Cyril in a friendly manner, he hugged and kissed him, and thus they were reconciled with each other in the vision. After this vision, Saint Cyril began to often repent and condemn himself for the fact that until that time he had in vain held anger against such a saint of God. Then, having gathered all the Egyptian bishops, he celebrated a solemn celebration in honor of St. John Chrysostom and recorded the latter in the church books in the host of great saints. In this way, the stain that lay on the holy man Cyril, who was at enmity against St. John, was removed, and the Most Pure Mother of God Herself dispelled the enmity between Her servants. From that time, while Saint Cyril was alive, he pleased Saint John Chrysostom with laudatory speeches. The rest of his life, Saint Cyril lived among great deeds, caring not only for his own salvation, but also for the salvation of others and instructing many on the righteous path. They tell about such an incident from the life of the holy saint of God Cyril. At that time, a certain old man lived in lower Egypt, known for his holy life. Despite this, he, as an uneducated and simple man, held one wrong opinion; It was precisely because of his ignorance that the elder claimed that Melchizedek was the Son of God 3793. His wisdom was reported to His Holiness Cyril, and the latter invited that old man to come to him. Knowing that the elder works miracles and is so pleasing to God that God fulfills his every request - and that he thinks wrongly about Melchizedek only because of his simplicity - the patriarch used such wisdom to guide him on the true path. Meekly turning to the elder, he said: “Abba, I beg you to help me resolve one perplexity: on the one hand, reason leads me to the conclusion that Melchizedek is the Son of God, and on the other hand, something tells me that this is unfair and that he is an ordinary man and a bishop of God. And now I am in doubt and bewilderment, not knowing what to come to. Therefore, I specifically called you to pray to God regarding this, asking Him to reveal it to you. And what God will reveal to you, do not refuse to tell me. Relying on his godly life, the elder boldly answered Saint Cyril: - Allow me, sir, to retire for three days, after which I will ask God about this and tell you what will be revealed to me. Then, retiring to his cell and secluding himself in it for three days, the elder prayed to God to reveal to him about Melchizedek. Having received what he asked, he came to Saint Cyril and said: – Melchizedek is a man, not the Son of God. And let it be known to you, Vladyka, that this is indeed so. Saint Cyril was very happy that he had saved the soul of that old man and, thanking him, released him. The elder, leaving, began to preach to everyone that Melchizedek was a man, and not the Son of God. So wisely the saint of God guided the ignoramus to the true path. Having remained on the patriarchal throne of Alexandria for thirty-two years and during his life having cleansed the Church of Christ from all the heresies that existed then, having written many soul-helping works 3794, Saint Cyril rested in peace in the Lord 3795. At his departure, the Most Pure Mother of God Herself stood before him, since he faithfully worked for Her and valiantly labored for Her honor. He is worthily numbered with Saint Chrysostom, and together with him, flaming with never-fading love, he stands before both Christ God and the Most Pure Mother of God, abiding in Her glory, near her throne, and praising the Most Blessed Virgin with the true God born of Her to endless ages. Amen. You have poured out for us an abyss of theological teachings, from the source of the Savior, plunging Blessed Kirill into heresy, and saving the flock unharmed from troubles. The reverend mentor to all countries, as he reveals the Divine. Theophilus occupied the Patriarchal See of Alexandria from 385 to 412. Known in history mainly for his enmity towards John Chrysostom due to his ambition, he sought to subordinate the Archbishop of Constantinople to his influence, and therefore, after the death of Nektarios, who occupied the Byzantine See from 381 to 397, he intrigued in favor of this A person devoted to him, Theophilus, was elected to the chair. When, contrary to the plans of Theophilus, he was elected bishop of the capital of St. John Chrysostom, who had previously been a presbyter in Antioch, Theophilus harbored a grudge against him and became a support for the party opposed to Chrysostom. He took an active part in a complex intrigue against the Constantinople saint, which resulted in the latter’s deposition and twice expulsion from the capital. At the council in Dubna, composed by the enemies of Chrysostom with the aim of deposing him, Theophilus was present as chairman. In general, his relationship with Chrysostom was of such a nature that it becomes a dark stain on his name. But otherwise, Theophilus was a rather wise hierarch and did a lot of useful things for the Alexandrian Church. St. Cyril occupied the Patriarchal See of Alexandria from 412 to 444. The Roman Emperor Decius reigned from 249 to 251. Fabian, bishop of Rome, occupied the Roman see from 236 to 250. Fabian was martyred in January 250, and his see remained unoccupied until June of the following year, since the cruelty of the persecution did not allow the election of a new pope. Decius allegedly said that he would rather agree to see a pretender to the imperial throne than a new bishop in Rome. During this year-long widowhood of the Roman Church, Novatian, distinguished by his eloquence and learning, as well as his austere lifestyle, enjoyed great influence and could count on being elected bishop. However, these calculations did not come true. St. Cornelius was pope in Rome from 251 to 252. This was the seventh general persecution of Christians. It was directed mainly against bishops and clergy. Among the victims of persecution were Fabian of Rome, Babyla of Antioch, Alexander of Jerusalem, while in the lives of other holy men (like Cyprian of Carthage, Origen, Gregory the Wonderworker, Dionysius of Alexandria), this period was marked by exile and other suffering. The main purpose of the persecution, however, was not to subject Christians to death, but to force them to renounce. For this purpose, they were subjected to torture, imprisonment and starvation, and under such tests the firmness of many could not stand it. Novatian at first did not show intolerance towards the fallen; Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, testifies that he was the author of that letter in which the Roman clergy recognized that the fallen could be admitted into the church if they were in mortal danger. But after the election of Cornelius, he became the leader of a party that held a completely different view. Novatian began to teach that although the repentant fallen can be admitted to Divine mercy, and therefore can be admonished to repentance, however, the Church does not have the power to give them absolution and must forever excommunicate them from communion; otherwise it loses its Christian character and its advantages. The consecration of Novatian as bishop was carried out by three bishops of insignificant cities, who were called by his supporters under insignificant pretexts and laid their hands on him in the evening, after dinner. Novatianism found many followers in the West, and its principles became even more strict than before. The sentence of lifelong excommunication from the community, initially applied only to those who renounced the faith, was later extended to all those who, after baptism, committed more or less serious sins. At the same time, the Novatians adopted the name Kafars, i.e. clean. They rebaptized those who came to them from the Church, considering communication with it unclean and its priestly services as a result of this invalid. Some of the Novatians condemned second marriage, placing it along with adultery. As for the main truths of the Gospel, the Novatians were and constantly remained Orthodox, and many of them suffered even to death for their faith. The stage is equal to 87 1/2 fathoms. 120 stadia is thus 21 versts. Konop is located at the mouth of the Nile, called by its name Konopian. Before the founding of Alexandria, Konop was the most significant city in this area, but with the emergence of this capital of Egypt, its importance began to decline and by the time of the introduction of Christianity the city disappeared, and in its place there was then an insignificant village. This place, according to the news of the transfer of the relics of St. martyrs Cyrus and John (see below, on the 28th), were separated from Konop at a distance of two fields, i.e. about two miles. Alexander the Great, the king of Macedon, who conquered the entire cultural East with his power, lived at the end of the 4th century. BC. The city of Alexandria, in Egypt, was founded by him to establish Greek rule in 332 BC. Having become one of the richest and most flourishing cities of the East, soon after its founding it began to attract enterprising settlers from other countries and, by the way, from Palestine - from among its then Jewish population. The Jews of Alexandria constituted a fairly significant colony, and the Jewish quarter was very densely populated. Philo, Jewish writer who lived in the 1st century. BC, says that in his time in the Egyptian country, mainly in Alexandria, there were more than a million Jews. After the capture of Jerusalem, Ptolemy I settled a large colony of Jews in Alexandria and gave them equal rights with the Greeks. The Romans confirmed these rights for them, and Augustus established a special Jewish council to manage Jewish affairs under the authority of an imperial prefect. However, under Calligula they lost most of their privileges. A synagogue is a place of religious gatherings for Jews. These were open buildings designated for the public worship of the Jews. According to the law, it had to be performed in the tabernacle and then in the temple in Jerusalem. But during the Babylonian captivity the church was destroyed, and therefore there was a need for special places for meetings. This is how synagogues appeared. Synagogues could be built in any place where there was a sufficient number of true Jewish worshipers. Therefore, already at the time of Jesus Christ and the apostles, they were widespread wherever the Jews lived. There were some similarities between the structure of the synagogue and the temple. In the central room of the synagogue there was a cabinet where scrolls of the Law of Moses were kept, which were offered for reading to the people. In the middle of the synagogue stood a lower alai or pulpit. Some of the sitting places were made higher than others and were assigned to the elders, i.e. elderly or influential people in the community. The elders formed a council, which had the highest management of the synagogue. The chairman of this council was called the ruler or ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:22; Acts 13:15). The leaders of the synagogue had the power to excommunicate lawbreakers from the community and subject them to scourging. Various court cases were also tried in synagogues. Of course, Saint Alexander, who was the bishop of Alexandria from 312 to 326, was one of the first champions of Orthodoxy, who spoke out against the heresy of Arius. A grammarian is a teacher. This name denoted not just teachers of literacy, but people who in the full sense had knowledge of all Greek classical literature - who studied it in a critical way - from the side of phrase construction and from the content side. Theodosius II or the Younger reigned in the East from 408 to 450. Ptolemais, which is mentioned here, was located in upper Egypt (Thebaid), on the banks of the river. Nile. Kinaron is the name of the city quarter, near the cathedral square. Mount Nitria was located south of Alexandria, west of the Nile River, near the Libyan Desert. The mountain got its name from the abundance of nitrate or saltpeter on the lakes adjacent to it. Among other desert areas of Egypt, Mount Nitria was a favorite habitat of hermits. The Greeks were called Hellenes. Their religion was a clear expression of anthropomorphism, i.e. the deification of human nature with all its advantages and disadvantages, as well as the deification of various manifestations of human genius. The gods of the Greeks are the personification of various properties and manifestations of the physical and spiritual nature of man. Saint Sisinius occupied the episcopal throne in Constantinople from 426 to 427. St. Atticus ascended the throne of Constantinople in 406 and occupied it until 425. Nestorius occupied the see of Constantinople from 428 to 431. Before his election to the bishop of the capital, he was a presbyter in Antioch (see about it below). He was distinguished by his ascetic direction of life and began his activities in the Church by becoming a monk. Moreover, Nestorius had a penchant for learning and was famous for his smooth and sonorous oratory; but at the same time he was accused of pride and ambition, and it was said that the love of glory forced him to resort to ostentatious holiness in his life and to pompous language in his preaching. Be that as it may, he enjoyed a good reputation before his election to the See of Constantinople. In addition to his personal fame, special confidence in his name was inspired in Constantinople by the fact that he came from the same church with the highly revered John Chrysostom. Having become the bishop of the capital, Nestorius at first showed himself to be a zealous champion of Orthodoxy. Preaching in the cathedral church on the day of his induction, he turned to the emperor with the words: “Give me the land cleared of heretics, and I, in turn, will give you the Kingdom of Heaven.” These words were met with loud approval, but subsequent circumstances showed that Nestorius himself was not firm in Orthodoxy and was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Syrian Antioch is one of the oldest and richest cities in Syria, its capital city; lies at the river Oronte, 10 versts from its confluence with the Mediterranean Sea; founded 300 years BC by Seleucus Nicator and named after Antiochus, his father. For the Christian Church, Antioch was of particular importance as the second great center of Christianity after Jerusalem, and as the mother of pagan Christian churches. The very name "Christians" was first given to the followers of the Lord Jesus at Antioch; Christian missions first arose here, because it is from here: Apostle. Paul and Barnabas went on their first missionary journey and returned there (Acts 13:1–4, 14:26). Their second journey began there, although they no longer set off together (Acts 15:39–40). Ap.’s second journey ended there. Paul and the third journey began (Acts 18:22–23). In subsequent times, there were many remarkable councils in Antioch, convened on the occasion of heretical strife. From ancient times, the Church of Antioch enjoyed special advantages along with the churches of Alexandria, Jerusalem and Rome. Since ancient times, a special theological school has been formed under it, distinguished by a sober rational direction, a clear presentation of the consistent course of development of Divine revelation and the introduction of a historical-grammatical method for the interpretation of Holy Scripture (i.e., through historical and grammatical references). The school owes its origin to the Antioch presbyter Lucian and his contemporary Dorotheus, who lived in the 3rd century. Subsequently, John Chrysostom, Theodore, Bishop of Mopsuet, Theodoret of Cyrus and others emerged from it. Nestorius also belonged to this school, but he took its sober and rational principles to the extreme limits and, in an effort to bring the mystery of the incarnation closer to our understanding, fell into heresy. The title of the Most Pure Virgin Mary, Theotokos, attacked by Anastasius and Nestorius, was used in the previous century by Eusebius of Caesarea, Athanasius the Great, Gregory the Great, Gregory of Nyssa and others; it did not mean that Rev. The Virgin communicated the Divine nature to the Savior, but affirmed only the unity of Divinity and humanity in one person, “because the Son of God did not take upon himself the personality of man, but only the nature of man.” By the way, lists of Nestorius’ sermons circulated among Egyptian monks, and many of them, as a result, stopped calling the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Alexandrian bishop Alexander saw in a dream the Lord appearing, wearing torn clothes. When he asked the one who appeared: “Lord, who tore Your clothes? - then I heard the following answer: “Furious and lawless Arius.” Soon after this, Arius came out with his heretical teaching about the Face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Cyril addressed Nestorius with this admonition in his Easter letter of 430. Saint Cyril wrote two special treatises, one to the Emperor Theodosius the Younger, and the other to the Empresses Pulcheria and Eudoxia, the first of whom was the sister and the second the wife of the emperor. Celestine I was bishop of Rome from 422 to 432. i.e. Patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem. John I, Patriarch of Antioch, occupied the see of Antioch from 423 to 440. The decree convening the Ecumenical Council was signed not only by Theodosius, but also by the Western emperor Valentian III, who reigned from 423 to 455. Ephesus is the main city of the Asia Minor province of Iconium, near the mouth of the Kaistra (now Kyuchok-Menderets); served as the center for all trade in Western Asia. It was once famous for the famous Church of Diana. In Christian history, Ephesus is known as the place where the apostle lived at the end of his life. and St. John the Theologian. Therefore, the church in Ephesus enjoyed great respect, as coming from the apostles, and the bishops of Ephesus received in the 5th century. patriarchal rights, which remained with them, however, not for long. Komit is a satellite. This was the name given to the persons who were in the retinue of the emperors. At the time described, the name comita became an honorary title given to the highest dignitaries of the empire. The head of these bishops was Memnon, Bishop of Ephesus, whose see at that time enjoyed patriarchal rights. Subsequently, the bishop of Ephesus, with the title of metropolitan of the region, was subordinated to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Apollinaris was bishop of Laodicea, in Syria (d. 390). At first he was one of the chief champions of the Nicene symbol; but then, in the fight against heresy, Arius fell to the opposite extreme. Based on the position that a perfect God and a perfect man cannot be united into one Person, and that if Christ were a perfect man, then He could not remain pure from sinfulness and make atonement, Apollinaris taught that Christ had only two parts of the human being - body and soul, while the third part, the spirit, took over in him - the Divinity. This heresy was condemned at the Council of Alexandria in 362. Together with St. By order of the emperor, Nestorius was also taken into custody by Cyril and Memnon. This act shows that Theodosius thought by eliminating the main representatives of two hostile trends to achieve reconciliation and agreement between the parties. A more detailed acquaintance with the circumstances of the case prompted him to cancel this measure and give freedom to Cyril and Memnon. Here is an indication of a famous incident described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 19:24–28). The incident took place during the apostolic times in the same Ephesus, where there was then the famous church of Artemis (or Diana, the goddess of the hunt) and where the name of this goddess was surrounded by special worship. According to the news of Acts, when App. Paul and Barnabas came to Ephesus and preached here about the vanity of idols; the artists, who found a profitable trade for themselves in making models of the church of Diana, raised a popular indignation against the apostles, and the crowd shouted: “Great is Artemis of Ephesus!” However, the outrage was stopped by a peace officer. The oasis of the Libyan Desert, located to the west of Upper Egypt (Thebaid), is known with the name Oasima; it was also called the Great Libyan Oasis. There was a Greek colony here for a long time, which also served as a place of exile. Spiritual meadow (in Greek: Limonar) - the work of the monk John Moschus (d. 622); it was written at the beginning of the 7th century. and contains brief tales about the ascetics of Palestine, Egypt and Syria. Monasteries that were distinguished by a large number of monks and their significance were called laurels. Lavra - from Greek - part of the city, lane; This was the name given to a series of cells surrounded by a fence or wall, located around a church or abbot’s home in the form of city alleys. The monks in the laurels led a solitary lifestyle and each labored in his own cell, gathering together only for Divine services on the first and last days of the week, and remaining silent on the remaining days. This order of monastic life was maintained in many laurels and, in particular, in the mentioned Kolomanova Lavra. This Lavra was located in the Jordanian desert, near the Jordan and the Dead Sea. Memory of Rev. Hesychius, Presbyter of Jerusalem - on Cheese Saturday. Link to a famous passage in the Gospel of John the Theologian: (John 1:16), i.e. from the fullness of the gifts of grace in Jesus Christ, we have all abundantly received the action of God’s grace. Diptychs were wooden, bone, or metal tablets connected to each other with cords and served as memorial books for the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the Christian Church, diptychs have been memorial books since ancient times, in which the names of bishops, martyrs and all saints in general were recorded. Of course, apparently, the council near Dubna, not far from Chalcedon, over which Theophilus presided and at which St. John Chrysostom was convicted and deposed. St. Isidore Pelusiot, a famous ascetic, distinguished by the severity of his life, asceticised near the Egyptian city of Pelusium. Died around 436. According to his writings, he was one of the great Fathers of the Church. His works consist of letters, most of which are interpretations of the Holy Scriptures. However, there are many letters written for the purpose of admonishing and admonishing various contemporary persons, as well as for the purpose of reconciling those at war. The number of all letters from Rev. Isidore extended, as they say, up to 10,000, but about 2090 have reached us. Of course, the high priest Eli, who lived during the time of the prophet Samuel. He was distinguished by his kindness, but his kindness bordered on weakness. This was especially evident in his relations with the children, the priests – Ophnius and Phinehas, who indulged in various outrages in the tabernacle. The weak-willed Eli did not pay due attention to this, despite God’s repeated admonitions. Then the judgment of God was not slow to open over the house of Eli. A war broke out with the Philistines, and when during the war the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the Jewish army by the sons of Eli, a catastrophe occurred: the sons of Eli were killed, the ark was taken captive, and Eli, hearing about this, fell from his seat and died (1 Samuel 4:1-22). Jonathan is the son of Saul, king of the Jews. When God abandoned Saul and did not give him a revelation about the outcome of the war during the war with the Philistines, he decided to turn to superstition and went to a sorceress who lived in Endor, a small town in the tribe of Issachar. Here he summoned the shadow of Samuel and tried to find out about the fate awaiting him. In the battle that followed, Saul's troops were defeated, and his three eldest sons were killed before his eyes; Saul himself fell on his sword and stabbed himself. Because of Chrysostom, after his death there were great disagreements. While official representatives of the Constantinople and Alexandrian churches did not recognize him as a saint, in other churches, for example, Roman and Antioch, he was inscribed in diptychs and ranked among the host of saints. But even in the first two churches there were many supporters of Chrysostom who did not share the views of their official representatives and considered him a saint. On this basis, disputes and disagreements occurred. In Constantinople, supporters of John Chrysostom are the Johannites. This schism was destroyed here only in 438. Alexandria, located on the very shore of the Mediterranean Sea, and as a city of Greek origin, is considered here to be outside the real ancient Egypt. Here is an indication of the great oppression that was carried out during the time of the Egyptian pharaohs over the slaves - the builders of the pyramids and other Egyptian structures and, by the way, over the Jews. Exhausted by backbreaking work, they were poorly fed and did not receive any payment for their work. Cyril's predecessor in the See of Alexandria, his uncle Theophilus, was distinguished by his love of greed, as can be seen from the life of St. John Chrysostom (November 14). The expression is figurative - indicating the triumph of the righteous Chrysostom after his death, recognized as a saint in many churches and having a large number of followers and admirers. Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the highest God is mentioned in the book (Gen. 14:18) (cf. Ps. 109:3; Heb. 5:6, 10, 6:20, 7:1, 10, 11, 15). When Abraham was returning from the victory over the king of Elam and his allies, who had plundered Lot, Melchizedek met him with bread and wine and blessed him in the name of the Most High God. Abraham accepted this blessing so highly and reverently that he gave Melchizedek a tenth of all his spoils. Who Melchizedek was remains a mystery. Most likely, he belonged to the tribe of the Amorites who then lived in Palestine, for they had a king and high priest. Salem, they think, is the same as then Jebus, and then Jerusalem (Ps. 75:3). One can guess that Melchizedek was special, glorious throughout Palestine, a servant of the true God. Priest Scripture hid details about him, allowing us to see in him a type of Christ. The prophet and king David also pointed out the educational significance of the Melchizedek priesthood when he spoke of the Son of God: “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 109:4). But the prophetic significance of Melchizedek is revealed especially clearly and in detail by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Hebrews (Heb. 7:1-28). Works of St. Cyril of Alexandria is divided in content into explanatory, apologetic (in defense of Christianity), dogmatic and moralizing. Of the explanatory works of Cyril, the best is the interpretation of the Gospel of Luke, which, despite its brevity, is distinguished by the accuracy of its explanation of the words of Scripture. His explanations of the epistles to the Hebrews and Corinthians are also remarkable. Of the interpretations of the Old Testament, it is worth noting the explanations for the Song of Songs, then for the prophet Isaiah and the lesser prophets. Excellent work by St. Cyril against Julian, compiled in refutation of the work that Julian, with the help of pagan philosophers, wrote in defense of paganism and against Christianity. Most of Cyril's dogmatic writings were written on the case of Nestorius. These are the five books against Nestorius. Here the Alexandrian saint, without calling Nestorius by name, examines his teaching. Regarding the extensive work on St. Trinity, known as the Treasure, Blessed. Photius (Patriarch of Constantinople) says that it was distinguished by its thoroughness and tended to overthrow the heretical teaching of Arius and Eunomius. It surpasses all others in clarity. Two, not very lengthy, dogmatic essays about St. The Trinity and the work on the Incarnation constitute a type of catechetical teaching: these works are important for the accuracy of their presentation of Orthodox teaching. The doctrine of the presence of the Holy Spirit deserves special attention here. An essay against anthropomorphism was written by St. Cyril for some Egyptian monks who, out of ignorance, imagined God in human form. St. Cyril composed many discourses. His word about the exodus of the soul is remarkable, both in the depth of the feelings of a contrite heart and in his thoughts about the state of souls separated from the body. It is placed in the Slavic Followed Psalter and the Greek Book of Hours, as very edifying for Christians. Death of St. Cyril took place on June 27, 448. You might be interested in: