Epistle to Nestorius

Letters to St. Cyril of Alexandria relates to the emergence and development of the Nestorian dispute, the Third Ecumenical Council, negotiations with Antioch and the achievement of peace, the controversy regarding Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, etc. “Epistle to Nestorius” (Jan.-Feb. 430) is one of the so-called “ecumenical” epistles of St. Kirill. This letter became a key document in the history of the Church, directed against the Nestorian heresy. St. Cyril expounds in it the doctrine of the Incarnation. The words of the Nicene Creed, “God the Word became incarnate and became man,” indicate the union of the Word and the flesh according to the Hypostasis. This does not destroy the difference of natures in Christ. There is He alone, who accepts one worship, and therefore we can talk about the birth, suffering, death and resurrection of God the Word and call the Most Holy Virgin the Mother of God. The message was read and approved at the III, IV and V Ecumenical Councils. To the most reverent and most God-loving co-servant Nestorius, Cyril (wishes) every good thing in the Lord. Some, with their idle talk, as I hear, want to weaken your opinion of me in your piety, and they often do this, seeking out the time when dignitaries hold meetings, and sometimes because they hope to please your ears. They say such offensive words not because they are offended by me, but because they were rebuked by me for their own benefit: one because he oppressed the crippled and the poor, another because he drew a sword on his mother, and the third because through his maid he stole money from another, and was always tormented by such suspicion that no one would wish on the most evil enemy. But I will not say much about such people, so that my words do not exceed the measure indicated by the Lord and the teacher, as well as the fathers. No one can escape the ignorant insolence of evil people, no matter what lifestyle one chooses. They, whose lips are full of oaths and bitterness (Ps. 35:4, 13:4), will give an answer to the Judge of all. And I will turn again to what is most fitting for me: and now I remind you, as a brother in the Lord, that in your instructive words, with all attentiveness, you offer the teaching of faith to the people and have in mind that to seduce even one of the least of the least who believe in Christ deserves the merciless wrath of God. And if now there are so many who are confused, then how can we not use every effort not only to fulfill the duty of prudently stopping the temptation, but also to offer a sound word of faith to those who seek the truth? For this, our most correct action will be if we, turning to the words of the holy fathers, try to accept them as the main guide and, “testing,” according to the word of Scripture, “ourselves, if we are in the faith,” our own reasonings will, as much as possible, more accurately reflect their faithful and immaculate thoughts. Thus the holy and great Council said that the only begotten Son of God the Father, born of His being, true God from true God, light from light with which the Father created all things, came down from heaven, became incarnate and became man, suffered, rose again on the third day and ascended into heaven. We, too, must follow these words and dogmas, delving into the meaning of the words: “God the Word became incarnate and became man.” We do not say that the nature of the Word, having changed, became flesh, nor that it was transformed into a whole man, consisting of soul and body; but we say that the Word, having united with itself in the unity of the face a body, animated by a rational soul, ineffable and incomprehensible to our minds, became a man, became the Son of man, not by will alone and good will, not by the perception of the face only; but we say that the natures truly united with each other, although different, but in the union of both these natures there is one Christ and the Son. We do not imagine that in this union the difference of natures was destroyed, but that divinity and humanity, in an ineffable and inexplicable union, remained perfect, revealing to us the one Lord Jesus Christ and the Son. Thus, we say that He who exists and was born of the Father before the ages was born according to the flesh and of a Woman, not in such a way that His Divine nature took the beginning of being in the Holy Virgin, and not in such a way that after His birth from the Father He had the need to be born of Her. For it would be reckless and frivolous to say that He who, before all ages, always abides with the Father, still has the need to be born in order to begin His existence. Since for our sake and for the sake of our salvation He was born of a Woman, uniting human nature with Himself into His hypostasis, that is why it is said that He was born in the flesh. It is not that a simple man was first born from the Holy Virgin, and then the Word descended on Him; but It, having united with the flesh in the womb itself, was born according to the flesh, having assimilated for itself the flesh with which it was born. We confess Him as such both in suffering and in resurrection: we do not say that the Word of God, by its nature, was subject to blows, nail wounds and other wounds, because the Divine nature, as incorporeal, is not involved in suffering. But since His Body, which is His own, was subjected to all these sufferings, we say that the word suffered for us, because the impassive was in the suffering body. In the same way we mean His death; Immortal by nature, incorruptible, life-giving and life-giving is the Word of God. Since His Body “by the grace of God,” as Paul says, “tasted death for everyone” (Heb. 2:9), we say that It suffered death for everyone; not that It underwent death by its nature - to say and think so would be crazy, but that His Body, as I said above, tasted death. Also, when we say that His Body was resurrected, again we attribute the resurrection to Him not so that He was subject to corruption, no, but in such a way that His Body was resurrected. Thus, we confess Christ as one and Lord, not in such a way that we worship the Word and at the same time worship some other person; no idea of ​​separateness is introduced here with the word “together,” but we worship the One and the Same, because His Body is not anything special from the Word, with which He sits together with the Father; not two sons sit together with the Father, but one united with His flesh. If we began to reject the hypostatic union as something incomprehensible and strange, then we would have to recognize two sons, because then it would be necessary to make a division and call one actually a person awarded the title of Son, and the other - actually the Word of God, as having the name and dignity of sonship by His nature. Therefore, we must not divide the one Lord Jesus Christ into two sons. The right doctrine of faith is not at all supported by the fact that some consider it best to allow the union of persons. Because Scripture says that the Word “was made flesh” (John 1:14), and not that the Word united the face of man with Himself. The expression: “The Word became flesh” means only one thing, that the Word “sincerely partook of our flesh and blood” (Heb. 2:14); It took our body to Himself, and from the Woman came man, without ceasing to be God, born of God the Father, and when taking on the flesh, remaining what He was. This is the teaching of the right faith, professed everywhere. This is how the holy fathers thought, as we find in their writings. They boldly said that the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God, not because the nature of the Word or His Divinity began in existence from the Holy Virgin, but because from Her was born the Holy Body, which has a rational soul - thus, the Word, united with it hypostatically, was born according to the flesh. I am writing these words to you, prompted by love in Christ, and, as a brother, I advise you and beg you before God and His holy angels to think and teach alike with us, so that the peace of the Churches may be preserved and so that the union of like-mindedness and love may remain inseparable between the priests of God. Greet the brethren who are with you; the brethren who are with me greet you. You might be interested in: