Vᵉ siècle – Vᵉ siècle
Alexandria, Egypt, and the eastern Mediterranean
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Cyril of Alexandria was the Alexandrian patriarch who brought the see to the height of its power and led the successful campaign against Nestorius. He defended the title Theotokos for Mary, mobilized Egyptian monastic support, prevailed at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and later accepted a Formula of Reunion with Antioch in 433.
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Cyril succeeded his uncle Theophilus as bishop of Alexandria and worked to define the unity of divine and human reality in the incarnate Christ. He held that Christ was of two natures, divine and human, but that the Incarnation produced a complete union rather than an association between the Word and a separate human individual. This position made the title Theotokos, or God-bearing, appropriate for Mary.
When Nestorius began rejecting Theotokos in Constantinople, Cyril recognized both a theological challenge and an opportunity to reinforce Alexandrian authority. In early 429 he sent Egyptian monks an extensive explanation of his position and appealed to the prestige of Athanasius. The strategy succeeded in aligning the monks with his cause and gave him substantial popular support.
Cyril secured the emperor’s summons of a council at Ephesus in June 431. Acting as papal representative, accuser, and judge, he presided over the deposition of Nestorius by 22 June, while the crowds acclaimed his defence of Mary as Theotokos. Alexandria thereby triumphed over Constantinople, although Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas remained controversial and were not accepted by the council as a whole.
In 433, imperial pressure compelled Cyril to make peace with the Antiochenes through the Formula of Reunion. He accepted an affirmation of Christ’s two natures without attempting to define their relationship further. This compromise preserved his position while leaving unresolved tensions that later shaped the conflicts surrounding Dioscorus and Chalcedon.
Under Cyril, the Alexandrian see became enormously wealthy and exercised authority over bishops across a region extending from Cyrenaica to the First Cataract. Its wealth included a private fortune that the extract estimates at 635 kilograms of gold even after large courtly bribes had been paid. The monks remained loyal, and the Roman see still appeared to be an ally.
Cyril’s achievement was therefore institutional as well as doctrinal. He combined theological precision, monastic mobilization, political pressure, and control over a wealthy ecclesiastical network. His successor Dioscorus inherited this power but, according to the account, destroyed its alliances through a more aggressive policy toward Antioch, Constantinople, and Rome.
Vᵉ siècle – Vᵉ siècle
Alexandria, Egypt, and the eastern Mediterranean
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Cyril of Alexandria was the Alexandrian patriarch who brought the see to the height of its power and led the successful campaign against Nestorius. He defended the title Theotokos for Mary, mobilized Egyptian monastic support, prevailed at the Council of Ephesus in 431, and later accepted a Formula of Reunion with Antioch in 433.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Cyril succeeded his uncle Theophilus as bishop of Alexandria and worked to define the unity of divine and human reality in the incarnate Christ. He held that Christ was of two natures, divine and human, but that the Incarnation produced a complete union rather than an association between the Word and a separate human individual. This position made the title Theotokos, or God-bearing, appropriate for Mary.
When Nestorius began rejecting Theotokos in Constantinople, Cyril recognized both a theological challenge and an opportunity to reinforce Alexandrian authority. In early 429 he sent Egyptian monks an extensive explanation of his position and appealed to the prestige of Athanasius. The strategy succeeded in aligning the monks with his cause and gave him substantial popular support.
Cyril secured the emperor’s summons of a council at Ephesus in June 431. Acting as papal representative, accuser, and judge, he presided over the deposition of Nestorius by 22 June, while the crowds acclaimed his defence of Mary as Theotokos. Alexandria thereby triumphed over Constantinople, although Cyril’s Twelve Anathemas remained controversial and were not accepted by the council as a whole.
In 433, imperial pressure compelled Cyril to make peace with the Antiochenes through the Formula of Reunion. He accepted an affirmation of Christ’s two natures without attempting to define their relationship further. This compromise preserved his position while leaving unresolved tensions that later shaped the conflicts surrounding Dioscorus and Chalcedon.
Under Cyril, the Alexandrian see became enormously wealthy and exercised authority over bishops across a region extending from Cyrenaica to the First Cataract. Its wealth included a private fortune that the extract estimates at 635 kilograms of gold even after large courtly bribes had been paid. The monks remained loyal, and the Roman see still appeared to be an ally.
Cyril’s achievement was therefore institutional as well as doctrinal. He combined theological precision, monastic mobilization, political pressure, and control over a wealthy ecclesiastical network. His successor Dioscorus inherited this power but, according to the account, destroyed its alliances through a more aggressive policy toward Antioch, Constantinople, and Rome.
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