Ebook: St. Cyril of Alexandria: Commentary on the Twelve Prophets, Vol. 1

The identification of Cyril with Alexandria in Egypt arises particularly from his election to the see on the death of his uncle Theophilus in 412. At the midpoint of his episcopate in Alexandria,
which lasted till his death in 444, there occurred the event that would affect the whole church of the east and embroil Cyril in theological controversy, namely, the election of Nestorius to the see of Constantinople in 428. Statements immediately emanating from Nestorius on Mary’s claim to the title Theotokos
prompted a response from Cyril in Alexandria that ushered in a long period of animosity between the two prelates and two major sees of eastern Christendom,1 and that drastically altered the character of Cyril’s theological writings.