June 27: Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Doctor of the Church

Defender of the title “Mother of God”

He is described as the “guardian of exactness,” that is, the guardian of the true faith, and the “seal of the Fathers.” This is Cyril, probably born in Alexandria around 370. He spent several years in a monastery and later, in 403, accompanied his uncle Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, to Constantinople to take part in the Synod known as the Synod of the Oak, during which Patriarch John Chrysostom was condemned and deposed.

In 412, not without controversy, he succeeded his uncle Theophilus as Bishop of Alexandria. In 417 or 418, the Bishop of Alexandria was reconciled and restored to communion with Constantinople. In 428, when Nestorius, a monk trained in the Antiochene tradition, was elected Patriarch, the conflict flared up again.

Indeed, in his preaching Nestorius preferred for Mary the title “Mother of Christ” (Christotokos) rather than the title rooted in popular devotion, “Mother of God” (Theotokos). In this way, the Patriarch of Constantinople, in seeking to safeguard the importance of Christ’s humanity, ended up separating it from His divinity; consequently, the union between God and man in Christ was no longer held to be true.

In defending the title “Mother of God,” Cyril expressed his struggle for the triumph of orthodoxy in the understanding of the person of Christ: one person with the twofold nature of man and God. Through several alliances, Cyril secured the condemnation of Nestorius both by the Pope and at the Council of Ephesus in 431, the third ecumenical council.

At that assembly, the title “Mother of God” was officially recognized, and Nestorius was exiled. Throughout his life, Cyril devoted himself to deepening and clarifying the doctrine of the faith, always seeking unity and reconciliation. He died on June 27, 444. In 1882, Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church.