The Right Faith in the Lives of the Saints: 9. The first reactions against Nestorianism

Letter 11 of St. Cyril of Alexandria

 

To his most holy and God-loving Father, Celestine, Cyril sends greetings in the Lord.

If it were possible, by not writing to your reverence everything going on, to be silent and without blame, and to escape appearing troublesome, especially in matters so necessary when even the truth of the faith is being undermined by some, I would have said to myself that silence is good and without danger, and to be at rest is better than to be involved in turmoil. But since God also demands of us wariness in these matters, and the long-standing customs of the churches persuade me to communicate with your holiness, I write of necessity revealing this, that satan is even now turning everything topsy-turvy, and rages against the churches of God, and tries to pervert the people everywhere who are walking uprightly in the faith. For that thoroughly depraved beast, productive of impiety, is not quiet.

Accordingly, I was silent during the time past, and I have written absolutely nothing either to your reverence concerning the one who is now in Constantinople and administers the church, nor have I written to any other of our fellow bishops, believing that in these matters precipitate action is not without blame. But since we have come to a crest of the evil, as it were, I thought it was absolutely necessary to loosen my tongue hereafter and to say that everything is in turmoil.

For as soon as he was mentioned in the diptychs and consecrated it was necessary by exhortations toward good that he help the people and the foreigners residing there, for these were very many and, as it were, from every city and land. But he made haste to say some extraordinary things quite beyond understanding, and such as are far from the faith of the apostles and the Gospels which the Fathers have protected above all and transmitted to us as a precious pearl. And I have sent to your reverence, as accurate evidence, the homilies which he gave in the church, and that frequently, and he does not cease to give them. I confess that, although I wished to make it clear to him by a synodical letter that we are unable to have dealings with one who says and thinks these things, I have not done this. But because I thought that it is necessary to offer a hand to those who slipped and to raise them as fallen brethren, I advised him through letters to desist from such false teachings. But we profited nothing. Since he has learned that we have recoiled so much from sharing his opinions as even to rebuke him to change his own particular novelties, for I would not say his teachings, he has set in motion every kind of plot, and still does not cease from causing disturbance. While we suppose him to be mending his ways and desisting from teachings against Christ, we learned from the following incident that we fell utterly short of our expectations.

There was in Constantinople a bishop, Dorotheus by name, who had the same opinions as he, a man easily flattered and froward of mouth, as is written. When the most pious Nestorius was sitting on the throne in the assembly of the Church of Constantinople, he arose and dared to say in a loud voice, "If anyone says that Mary is the Mother of God, let him be anathema." And there was a great shout from all the people and they ran out. They did not want to associate any longer with those who had such opinions, so that even now the people of Constantinople keep away except from a few shallower ones, and those who flatter him. But nearly all the monasteries and their archimandrites, and many of the senators do not join him. They fear lest they be injured in faith, while he and those with him, whom he brought when going up from Antioch, say everything perverted.

But after his homilies were brought to Egypt, I learned that some less sophisticated ones were misled, and then wavering were saying to one another, "Is he speaking the truth rightly? He has been led astray." Because I feared lest the teachings of the disease might strike roots in the souls of the more simple ones, I wrote a general letter to the monasteries in Egypt strengthening them in the true faith. Then some took copies to Constantinople, and they helped the readers very much, so that very many of those in authority have written thanking me. But this only fed his grievance against me and he struggles as with an enemy having nothing else to censure than just that I do not bear to share his teachings. I even strengthened in many the faith which we received from the Fathers, persuading them also to consider acceptable those things which we learned from Holy Scripture. Yet I do not consider the things done by him against me, but consign that to God, omniscient and almighty. I have written another letter to the person mentioned" containing as in a summary the exposition of the true faith, and at the same time exhorting and solemnly protesting that he should think and speak in the same manner. But again I profited nothing. He clings even until now to his original errors, and does not cease saying distorted things.

Let your reverence know this too, that the things I am saying are agreeable to all the bishops of the East. All are displeased and pained, and especially the most pious bishops of Macedonia. Although he knows this, he thinks that he is wiser than all, and alone knows the meaning of the divinely inspired Scripture and the mystery of Christ. And when all the Orthodox bishops and laity throughout the whole world confess that Christ is God and that the Virgin who bore him is the Mother of God, how should he fail to be fully convinced that he alone was straying from the faith by denying this? But he is a supercilious man and because of his position of authority he thinks that by plotting against all he will persuade us and all others to agree with his teachings. What, therefore, shall we do? We neither convince him nor are able to stop him from such homilies, and those in Constantinople have been daily ruined, even though they are displeased and are receiving assistance from orthodox teachers. Our statement is not about ordinary matters, but neither is silence without risk. For if Christ is blasphemed, how shall we be silent, especially as Paul writes, "If I do this willingly, I have a reward. But if unwillingly, I am nevertheless entrusted with a dispensation"? What shall we say on the day of judgment, we who have been entrusted with the stewardship of the Word and the safety of the faith, we who were silent against these?

But we do not throw off communion with him openly, until we have communicated these matters to your reverence. Wherefore deign to specify what seems best, and whether it is necessary to be in communion with him sometimes, or to forbid henceforward openly because no one is in communion who thinks and teaches such things. It is necessary that the intention of your reverence in these matters become clear by a letter both to the most devout and most God-loving bishops in Macedonia and to all those in the East. For we shall give them, as they earnestly desire, the means of staying of one mind and one opinion, and of contending for the true faith which is being attacked.

As far as the matter stands according to him, both our great, admired, and well-esteemed Fathers and we who still live were anathematized along with them because we said that the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God. Since he did not desire to do this with his own lips, he set up another, the aforementioned Dorotheus, and prepared this statement, while he was sitting and listening, and, having come down from the throne, he immediately took communion with him as he performed the divine mysteries.

So that your holiness would know clearly what are the things which he says and thinks, and what our blessed and great Fathers said and thought, I issued documents containing excerpts from the principal statements. I caused them to be translated as far as it was possible for men in Alexandria, and I have given to the beloved Posidonius the letters written by me, commanding him to bring them to your holiness.

Romanian source: https://theodosie.ro/2019/11/14/dreapta-credinta-in-vietile-sfintilor-9-primele-reactii-fata-de-nestorianism/

English translation: The Fathers of the Church, Volume 76, A New Translation: St. Cyril of Alexandria, Letters 1-50, translated by John I. McEnerney, Catholic University Press of America, 1987, pp. 60-64.