Explanation of the Twelve Chapters

Apology "Explanation of the Twelve Chapters" by St. Cyril of Alexandria composed it in Ephesus, while in custody, in August-September 431. The saint addresses his supporters, who might have been confused about the true meaning of the “Twelve Anathematisms.” He gives a clear and precise explanation of each anathematism, each time noting what kind of delusion of Nestorius caused its appearance. As a defense, references to Holy Scripture are given. *The title of the work in Latin is Explanatio XII capitulorum. Explanation of the twelve chapters set forth in Ephesus by Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, when the Holy Council demanded the clearest exposition of them Contents Anathematism 1 Explanation 1 Anathematism 2 Explanation 2 Anathematism 3 Explanation 3 Anathematism 4 Explanation 4 Anathematism 5 Explanation 5 Anathematism 6 Explanation 6 Anathematism 7 Explanation 7 Anathematism 8 Explanation 8 Anathematism 9 Explanation 9 Anathematism 10 Explanation 10 Anathematism 11 Explanation 11 Anathematism 12 Explanation 12 “All things,” according to Scripture, “are rights for those who understand and rights for those who gain understanding” (Proverbs 8:9). For those who, with a sharp and pure gaze of the mind, peer into the sacred words of the inspired Scriptures, introduce into their souls the benefit from them, as if some divine and heavenly treasure; and those who have a mind inclined to lies and given over to idle talk about anything, loving unclean knowledge, will be fellow members of those about whom blessed Paul writes: “In them the God of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ may not shine upon them” (2 Cor. 4:4). For “the leaders are blind” (Matthew 15:14); Therefore, they fall into the pits of destruction, as the Savior himself says: “If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into the pit” (ibid.). Thus, some talk idle talk about the dogmas of truth and raise unjust malice against the economy of the incarnate Only Begotten, “not understanding,” according to Scripture, “neither what they say nor what they affirm” (1 Tim. 1:7). There were many inventors of such wickedness in previous times; and now, in no way inferior to their wickedness, Nestorius and his like-minded people, rebelling against Christ, like the ancient Pharisees, and boldly exclaiming: “Why have you, this man, created God for yourself” (John 10:33)? Therefore, it was necessary for us to arm ourselves with a word against them, to anathematize their unclean and vile opinions, remembering how God speaks with a prophetic voice: “Priests, listen and testify to the house of Jacob, says the Lord God Almighty” (Amos. 3:13), and also: “Enter through my gates, and take away the stones from the way” (Jeremiah 7:2-3; Isa.62:10). We, who are fighting for the dogmas of truth, must remove obstacles from the path so that people do not stumble over them in any way, but walk as if on a broad road to sacred and divine abodes, saying only at each (gate): “This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter into it” (Psalm 117:20). So, when Nestorius began to introduce into his books many strange and ungodly blasphemies, we, caring for the salvation of those who would read them, laid down anathemas; not just something that came to mind, stating in an admonishing message written to him, but, as soon as they said, pointing out the strange and alien to the dogmas of piety, the products of his insanity. Perhaps some will be dissatisfied with our words, that is, either those who do not understand the true power of what is written, or former preachers of the unclean Nestorian heresy, and participants in wickedness, and his like-minded people. But the truth is not hidden from anyone who is accustomed to philosophize according to the Orthodox. But since, probably, some, corrupted by their resourcefulness, do not understand how they (the anathemas) came about: I considered it my duty to briefly outline each of the anathemas and explain, as much as necessary, their power. This case, I think, will be of great benefit to the readers. Whoever does not confess that Immanuel is the true God, and therefore the holy Virgin Theotokos, since in the flesh she gave birth to the Word who is from God the Father and became flesh: let him be anathema. The blessed fathers, who once gathered in the city of Nicaea and set out the definition of the right and immaculate faith, preached faith in one God the Father, Almighty, creator of everything visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ His Son; and into the Holy Spirit, calling Him (i.e., the Son) the Word who shone forth from God, through whom all things were created, light from light, true God from true God, incarnate and made man, suffering and resurrected. For being God by nature, the only-begotten Word of the Father received from the seed of Abraham, as blessed Paul says (Heb. 2:16), and like us became partaker of flesh and blood: He was born flesh of the holy Virgin and became man, like us, without ceasing to be God - let it not be! - but remaining what it was, and remaining in the divine nature and glory. So we say that It became man, without undergoing transformation into what it was not, nor change: because It always exists too and is unable to tolerate even a shadow of change. But we affirm that there was no confusion, or fusion, or fusion of His nature with the flesh, but we say that the Word was united with the flesh, which has a rational soul, incomprehensibly and ineffably, and only as it itself knows. So it remained God in the taking on of flesh, and there is one Son of God and the Father, your Lord Jesus Christ, one and the same - and before every age and time, as the Word and image of His hypostasis, and in the last times, economically became man for our sake. since some deny His birth according to the flesh, which was from the Holy Virgin for the salvation of all - a birth that does not call Him to the beginning of being, but so that He, having become like us, would deliver us from death and corruption: then for this reason our first anathema strikes their evil faith, professing the Orthodox faith, asserting that Immanuel was truly God, and therefore the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God. Whoever does not confess that the Word, which is from God the Father, was united with the flesh hypostatically, and that therefore Christ is one with his flesh, that is, one and the same is God and at the same time man: let him be anathema. The minister of divine mysteries, the inspired Paul writes: “the great mystery of godliness is the confession of God: God appeared in the flesh, was justified in Dus, appeared as an angel, was preached to the nations, was believed in the world, was exalted in glory” (1 Tim. 3:16). So what is it: “appearing in the flesh”? That is, the Word of God the Father became flesh, not that it changed or turned its being into flesh, as we said above, but rather, it made the flesh taken from the holy Virgin its own, being one and the same Son - before the incarnation, as the still incorporeal Word, after the incarnation the same (Word) is already in the flesh. Therefore we say that God and man are one and the same; We do not share the view of Him as a person taken separately, in itself, and as God the Word separately, so as not to understand two Sons, but we confess one and the same Christ and Son and Lord. But those who think about it differently, or want to believe differently, precisely divide one into two sons and separate one from the other, which is truly united, arguing that the union of man with God was by one dignity or right: we consider such people to be alien to the Orthodox and immaculate faith. So, although He is called anointed and named the Son of God (Rom. 1:4): we are not ashamed of the economy, but we say that the same Word of God the Father, which became man like us, is from then on called both sent and anointed along with us according to humanity. For he who has become like us, although he remains what he was, does not turn away from ours; on the contrary, everything that relates to humanity, according to the economy, assimilates to himself in the measures of humanity, without causing any damage to his glory or power; because in this way he remains God and Lord of all. Whoever in the one Christ, after the union (of natures), separates the persons, uniting them only by the union of dignity, that is, in will or in strength, and not, better, by the union consisting in the unity of natures: let him be anathema. Exploring the economic mystery of the incarnate Only Begotten, we say that the Word of God the Father was united in a wonderful and ineffable way with a holy body having a rational soul; one and at the same time we mean the Son, just as you can see this in ourselves: the soul, of course, is a different creature than the body, but both are united into one living thing (%G). But some do not understand this this way: separating us from man separately, in himself, they say that he is united with the Word, born of God the Father, according to one dignity or right, and not by natural unity, that is, true, as we believe; for this is what the Divine Scripture says: “And by nature the children of wrath are like the rest” (Eph. 2:3), using the word “by nature” instead of the word “truly” (really). So, those who separate the hypostases after the union and posit each side, that is, man and God, separately, allowing their union, but according to one dignity, admit absolutely two sons, while the inspired Scripture speaks of one Son and Lord. Therefore, after the ineffable union, if you call Emmanuel God, we will understand the Word of God the Father, incarnate and made man; even if you call him a man, nevertheless we mean Him, economically placed within the measures of humanity. We say that the inviolable became tangible, the invisible - visible: because the body united with Him, which we call tangible and visible, was not alien to Him. And those who do not believe so, but share, as has been said, hypostases after union and allow only their pairing according to one dignity or right, the proposed anathematism makes alien to Orthodox philosophies. Whoever applies the sayings of the Gospel and Apostolic books, whether used by the saints about Christ, or by Him about Himself, separately to two persons or hypostases, and applies some of them to man, whom he represents as different from the Word of God the Father, and others, as being proper to God, to the Word of God the Father alone: ​​let him be anathema. In the image and equality with God, the Word that is from Him did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, as it is written (Phil. 2:6), but gave Himself up to voluntary exhaustion and, of its own free will, condescended to be like us, not ceasing to be what it is, but at the same time remaining God and not despising the measures of humanity. Therefore, everything is His - both divine and human: because where has It belittled itself if it is ashamed of the measures of humanity? and if the human was disgusted, who forced Him, as if by necessity and compulsion, to be like us? So, all the speeches of the Gospel, whether they mean human or divine, are attributed to one person. since we believe that Christ Jesus, that is, the Word of God incarnate and made man, is one Son: then if you call something human, we attribute the human to the measures of His humanity, because the human is again His; If, however, He is spoken of as God, then, believing that He who became man is God, we again refer the speeches relating to human nature to Him as the one Christ and Son. And those who divide into two persons invent completely two sons: because just as it is impossible to divide any of us into two persons, although he consists of soul and body, he is one and the same person, so (one must think) about Immanuel. since the Word of God incarnate and made man is one Son and Lord: this means that He has one face. And we attribute the human to Him by the economy of the incarnation, and the divine (to Him) by the ineffable birth from God the Father. And those who divide and separate Him into man specifically, as a son separate from the Word of God, and God specifically, as another son, who (thus) speak of two sons, rightly fall under the power of the proposed anathema. Whoever dares to call Christ a God-bearing man, and not, better, true God, as one Son (with the Father) by nature, since the Word became flesh and came close to us, receiving our blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14): let him be anathema. The “Word” of God “became flesh,” says the inspired Evangelist John (John 1:14), not by transforming or changing one’s own nature into flesh, as we said above, because it is not involved in change, like God, but in such a way that it became partaker of our flesh and blood and became man. Inspired Scripture is in the habit of calling man flesh; for example, it is written: “and all flesh will see the salvation of God” (Luke 3:6). The inventors of ungodly opinions, Nestorius and those who followed him or his like-minded people, although they pretend to admit the word “incarnate,” do not say that the Word of God was actually incarnate, that is, became a man like us, without ceasing to be what it was, but claim that the only begotten Word of God indwelled the one born of the holy Virgin, as one of the holy people, so (in their opinion) it should not be confessed that one Christ is the Son and the Lord and is worshiped, but He must be worshiped as a person especially and separately considered, and glorifies together (with the Word) because only of the union in the unity of dignity. Although the God of all dwells in us through the Holy Spirit; and therefore in ancient times he said through one of the prophets: “For I will dwell in them, and I will go forth, and I will be their God, and they will be my people” (2 Cor. 6:16); and blessed Paul writes: “Do you not know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you” (1 Cor. 3:16); and Christ himself speaks of his holy prophets, or (in general) of the saints who formerly were: “If the gods spoke of them, the Word of God came to them; whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, you say, as if you were speaking blasphemy, before saying: I am the Son of God” (John 10:35-36): but God does not dwell in us as in Christ; because He is God by nature, made like you, the one and only Son even at the time He became flesh. So, those who dare to call Him a God-bearing man, and not God incarnate, necessarily fall under the proposed anathema. Whoever says that the Word of God the Father is God or the Lord of Christ, and does not confess, rather, Himself as God and together as man, since, according to the Scriptures (John 1:14), the Word became flesh: let him be anathema. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God and the Father, is “the Word made flesh” and, together with his parent, rules over everything. To him “every tribe will worship, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10–11). So He is the Lord of all, because, of course, He is God, although with flesh after His incarnation; and above oneself neither God nor the Lord, because such wisdom or speech is very absurd, or rather truly full of all wickedness. This means that the anathematism drawn up against this very thing is fair. Whoever says that Jesus, as a man, was an instrument of the actions of God the Word and is surrounded by the glory of the Only Begotten, as existing separately from Him: let him be anathema. When blessed Gabriel preached to the holy Virgin the birth according to the flesh of the only begotten Son of God, he said: “Give birth to a son, and call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31); “He will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). He is also called Christ, because he is anointed with us according to humanity, according to the psalmist: “thou hast loved righteousness, and thou hast hated iniquity: for this reason, God, thy God, anointed thee with the oil of joy, more than thy partaker” (Psalm 48:8). Although He distributes the Holy Spirit and gives Him beyond measure to those who are worthy, for He is full, “and from the filling of Him we all receive,” according to Scripture (John 1:16): but according to the economy, as a man, He is called anointed, because spiritually and not humanly the Holy Spirit descended on Him to abide in us, since it retreated at the beginning due to the fall of Adam. So the only begotten Word of God, made flesh, was called Christ, and as having his own power, characteristic of God, worked miracles. Therefore, those who claim that the glory of the Only Begotten was added to the power of Christ, as if the Only Begotten were different from Christ, think about two sons - one acting and the other through whom, as through a person similar to us, he acts; for this reason they are subject to the force of (expressed) anathema. Whoever dares to say that a person assumed (by God) should be worshiped together with God the Word, should be glorified together with Him and together called God, as one in another (for the constantly added particle - συν [Greek -] together with) makes one think so, and does not honor Immanuel with a single worship and does not send Him a single glorification, since the Word became flesh: let him be anathema. We were baptized into one God the Father Almighty, and into one Son, and into one Holy Spirit. “Or do you not understand,” says Blessed Paul, “that as we were baptized into Christ Jesus, we were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death: that as Christ has risen from the dead in the glory of the Father, so we too will begin to walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3-4). Therefore, just as we believed and were baptized, as it is said, into our one Lord Jesus Christ, that is, the Word of God the Father incarnate and made man: so we and the highest powers with us are taught to worship one existing God; because it is written: “When He brings the Firstborn into the universe, He says: And let all the angels of God worship Him” (Heb. 1:6). The Only Begotten became the firstborn when He appeared as a man like us; because then he was also called the brother of those who love Him. So, if anyone teaches to worship Him as a man separately together with the Word of God the Father, as existing separately from Him, and does not consider it a single worship, uniting by true unity into one Christ and Son and Lord: he is righteously subject to the power of this anathema. Whoever says that the one Lord Jesus Christ was glorified by the Spirit in the sense that through Him he used, as it were, an alien power, and from Him received the power to overcome unclean spirits and perform divine signs in people, and does not honor His own Spirit, through which He performed miracles: let him be anathema. The Only Begotten Word of God, having become man, nevertheless remained God, having everything that the Father has, except for one property - to be the Father; and having the Holy Spirit essentially abiding in Him, he performed divine signs. Therefore, even after becoming a man, he remained at the same time God and thus performed miracles with his own power in the Spirit. And those who say that He (Christ), like one of the people like us or as one of the saints, was glorified by the action of the power of the Spirit, because it was as if he had an action not of his own, but alien to Him, and not as befitting of God, and as if (only) by participation in grace he was taken by the Holy One. Spirit to heaven: they will righteously be subject to the power of this anathema. Divine Scripture says that Christ was the saint and messenger of our confession (Heb. 3:1), that He offered Himself for us as a fragrant aroma to God and the Father (Eph. 5:2). So, if anyone says that our saint and messenger was not the Word of God the Father himself, when he became flesh and a man like us, but, as it were, someone else, different from Him, a man descended from a wife; or whoever says that He offered Himself as an offering and for Himself, and not for us alone, since not knowing sin, He had no need for an offering (for Himself): let him be anathema. Humanity is truly insignificant for the Word, born of God the Father; however, it is not despicable because of the economy. Because, being Lord by nature, He condescended to be like us, taking upon Himself the form of a servant, and called Himself our saint and messenger, since the conditions of mankind called Him to this too. “He gave himself for us as a stench of fragrance to God and the Father” (Eph. 5:2): “for by one offering he made to eat forever those who are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14), as it is written. But I don’t know how those who think differently claim that it was not the very Word of God, made man, who was called both the messenger and the saint of our confession, but they say that someone else, a special man from Him, born of the holy Virgin, was called both the messenger and the saint, and as if, as he succeeded, he was elevated to this (state), and not only as if for us alone, but also for himself, he offered himself as a sacrifice to God and the Father. This (opinion) is completely alien to the right and immaculate faith: because He did not create sin, and whoever is above crime and completely innocent of sin did not need a sacrifice for himself. But as those who think differently, rejecting the truth, again invent two sons: then, of necessity, an anathema was drawn up, clearly overthrowing this wickedness of them. Whoever does not confess the Lord’s flesh as life-giving and actually belonging to the very Word of God the Father, but as belonging to someone else, different from Him, and united with Him in dignity, that is, having acquired only divine (in itself) dwelling, and does not confess, as we said, His flesh to be life-giving, since it has become the own of the Word, who can give life to everything: let him be anathema. We perform in the churches a holy, life-giving, and bloodless sacrifice, believing that the body offered, as well as the priceless blood, is not an ordinary person like us, but accepting, on the contrary, the body as if it were our own and the blood as the blood of the Word, which gives life to everything. Because ordinary flesh cannot give life: the Savior himself is a witness to this, who says: “the flesh profiteth nothing, but the spirit is that which gives life” (John 6:63). And since the flesh has become the Word’s own, it is, of course, life-giving, as the Savior himself says: “As the living Father sent Me, and I live for the Father’s sake: and he who eats Me, will also live for My sake” (John 6:57). since Nestorius and his like-minded people are recklessly destroying the power of this sacrament: therefore, anathematism is very rightly proposed. Whoever does not confess that God the Word suffered in the flesh, was crucified in the flesh, received death in the flesh, and finally became the firstborn from the dead, since He is life and life-giving, like God: let him be anathema. Although the Word of God the Father is dispassionate and immortal, because the divine and intact nature is above suffering, and itself gives life to everything, and above corruption and everything that can suffer: however, being such in essence, the Word of God the Father made his own flesh capable of death, so that, through the fact that it can suffer, by taking upon Himself suffering in our place and for us, to deliver us all from death and from corruption, having quickened, like God, his own body, and “became the firstfruits of those who died” (1 Cor. 15:20) and “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18). For the one who lifted up the honorable cross for us and tasted death was not some ordinary person, considered on his own and separately from the Word of God the Father; but the Lord of glory himself suffered in the flesh, according to the scriptures. And since those who want to mix empty and impious opinions with the right and immaculate faith say that an ordinary person lifted the cross for us, then anathema became necessary, revealing the greatness of their wickedness. You might be interested in: