On the 9th of June the Church commemorates our holy Father among the Saints, KYRIL, Archbishop of Alexandria

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL B.

ON THE 9th OF JUNE THE CHURCH COMMEMORATES OUR
HOLY FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS, KYRIL, ARCHBISHOP
OF ALEXANDRIA.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn of Saint Kyril of Alexandria. Plagal of Fourth Tone

GUIDE of Orthodoxy, teacher of piety and holiness, luminary of the
world, God-inspired adornment of hierarchs, O wise Kyril, by thy
teachings thou hast enlightened all, O harp of the Spirit. Intercede
with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion Hymn of Saint Kyril of Alexandria. Fourth Tone.

THOU with the power of Christ Savior’s Divine words didst rend
asunder all the webs of the heresies and didst enrich the Church by
cutting down the tares of profane Nestorius, O our blest Father Kyril;
wherefore, in Christ’s presence now with the choirs of the Angels
thou intercedest fervently with Him to grant forgiveness of failings to
all of us.
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Saint Kyril (Cyril), the great teacher of the Church, was born in 376 A.D. in Alexandria, the nephew of Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, who also instructed the Saint in his youth. Having first spent much time with the monks in Nitria, he later became the successor of his uncle’s throne in 412. In 429 A.D. when Saint Kyril heard tidings of the teachings of the new Patriarch of Constantinople, Nestorius, he began attempting through private letters to bring Nestorius to renounce his heretical teachings about the Incarnation; and when the hierarch did not repent, Saint Kyril, together with Pope Celestine of Rome, led the Orthodox opposition to his heresy. Saint Kyril presided over the Third Ecumenical S18thynod of the 200 Holy Fathers in the year 431 A.D., who gathered in Ephesus under Saint Theodosius the Younger. At this Synod, by his most wise words, he put to shame and convicted the heretical doctrine of Nestorius, who, although he was in town, refused to appear before Kyril. Saint Kyril, besides overthrowing the heresy of Nestorius, has left to the Church full commentaries on the Gospels of Luke and John. Having shepherded the Church of Christ for thirty-two years, he reposed in 444 A.D. On the 9th of June, we commemorate Saint Kyril’s asleep in the Lord. On January 18th we commemorate the occasion of the Saint’s restoration to his See in Alexandria after he had suffered a brief exile because of the machinations of the Nestorians.

The Nestorianism heresy

This heresy takes its name from Nestorius, who had been Archbishop of Constantinople. Predecessors of Nestorius in this false and heretical teaching were Diodoros, teacher of the theological school of Antioch, and Theodore, Bishop of Mopsuestia, whose disciple was Nestorius. Thus, this heresy came from the school of Antioch. Theodore of Mupseuestia taught the "contiguity" of the two Natures of Christ, but NOT THEIR UNION FROM THE TIME OF THE CONCEPTION OF THE Logos/Word. These heretics called the Most Holy Virgin Mary "Chistotokos", but NOT "Theotokos" (as having given birth to Christ but NOT to God). The heresy was condemned at the Third Ecumenical Synod.

The heresy created division among the people. Some were against the heresy of Nestorius and turned from him, but others agreed with him and received his impiety. This division was not only confined to Constantinople but spread throughout the empire and touched every class and station of Orthodox Christians, because the Man-worshipping Nestorius and his followers wrote down their heresy in books and disseminated them everywhere, even into the Monastic dwellings in the deserts. This accursed man, who begrudged his own salvation, swept away many others, including clergy, monastics, and lay people. Nestorius perpetuated this crime of rending asunder the fullness of the Church, even as the heretic Arius once cast the unity of the Church of Christ into confusion. Nestorius became the founder of many factions.

Saint Kyril took up the challenge and held the shield before the True Faith. The Saint, indeed a True Shepherd readied himself to drive away the noetic wolf from the fold of the reason-endowed sheep. The Virgin Mary, for Saint Kyril, is the Bridge between God and humanity. She is the loom on which the seamless robe of the union was woven by the Holy Spirit. It is through Her that Christ, Who is both God and Man, (Theanthropos), entered the world without the destruction of Her virginity. "Mary," said Saint Kyril, "is the Spiritual Garden of the Second Adam, the workshop OF THE UNITY OF THE NATURES, the celebration of the saving exchange, the Bridal Chamber in which the Logos/Word espoused the flesh, the Living Natural Bush which the fire of Divine Childbirth did not consume [Exodus 3:2], the real swift cloud which supported corporeally Him Who rides on the Cherubim [Isaiah 19:1], the Most Pure fleece filled with heavenly dew [Judges 6:37-38], from which the Shepherd clothed the sheep."

Saint Kyril also wrote: "Emmanuel, as man, opened the gates of nature; but as God, He did not rupture the barrier of virginity. He came forth from the womb in a manner comparable to the way in which He entered by the faculty of hearing [Luke 1:38]. He entered impassibly. He came forth ineffably, according to the Prophet Ezekiel, who said: ‘Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that looks eastward, and it was shut. And the Lord said to me, "This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut" [Ezekiel 44:1-2]. Here is clear proof of Holy Mary the Theotokos. Let all further disputation cease and let us be illuminated by the teaching of the Holy Scripture, that we may obtain the Kingdom of Heaven in Christ Our Lord, to Whom be glory forever and eve. Amen.

Saint Kyril wrote many Orthodox and soul-benefitting books, but most especially the treasure contained in the work named Glaphyra on the Old Testament. After he cleansed the Church of Christ in those days from heresies, the defender and champion of the Theotokos surrendered his holy soul into the hands of God, on the 9th day of the month of June. Our Lady and Mistress Theotokos was present at the repose of her faithful servant, who diligently contested in defense of her honor. The Thrice-blessed champion of piety emerged as a victor and is now found in the heavens where he rejoices together with the Choirs of the Angels, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, and all the Saints from all ages. [Source: The Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church)

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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George