Golden Age
On the Unity of Christ & Third Letter to Nestorius
Cyril of Alexandria · c. 428 – 444
Historical Context
Patriarch of Alexandria and the driving theological voice at the Council of Ephesus (431), which condemned Nestorius.
Summary
Cyril defends the single subject of Christ — one incarnate person of the Word — and the title Theotokos for Mary. On the Unity of Christ is a lucid dialogue setting out his mature Christology; his letters to Nestorius were incorporated into the definitions of Ephesus and, in modified form, Chalcedon.
Major Themes
- Theotokos
- Hypostatic union
- One incarnate nature of the Word
- Christ as single subject
Important Quotations
“If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is God in truth, and therefore that the holy Virgin is the Mother of God… let him be anathema.”— Third Letter to Nestorius, Anathema 1
Related Timeline Events
Primary Sources
Further Reading
- John A. McGuckin, Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Christological Controversy