Cyril of Alexandria: Festal Letters 1-12

St. Cyril Of Alexandria Is Best Known For His Role In The Christological Disputes Of The Fifth Century. In Recent Years, However, Scholars Have Turned Their Attention To Cyril The Exegete. Cyril Wrote Extensive Commentaries On Nearly Every Book Of The Bible; In Fact, Two-thirds Of His Extant Corpus Is Devoted To Biblical Interpretation. Yet, Despite This Strong Interest In Cyril As Theologian And Biblical Interpreter, His Activity As The Patriarch Of Alexandria Remains Obscure. Doctrinal Treatises And Biblical Commentary Reveal Little Of The Daily Pastoral Duties That Occupied Cyril During His Years As Leader Of One Of Ancient Christianity's Most Important Sees. This New Translation Of Cyril's Festal Letters Will Help Fill These Gaps. Twenty-nine In All, These Letters Cover All But Three Of Cyril's Years As Bishop. In Alexandria, Festal Letters Functioned Primarily As A Vehicle For Announcing The Beginning Of Lent And The Proper Date For The Celebration Of Easter. They Also Served An Important Catechetical Purpose By Providing The Patriarch With An Annual Opportunity To Present His Flock With A Pastoral Version Of The Theological Issues That Found More Formal And Complex Expression Elsewhere. Thus, Cyril's Festal Letters Offer The Modern Reader A Glimpse Into The Issues That Cyril Himself Considered Important Enough To Proclaim To The Entire Diocese And A Sample Of How He Prepared These Ideas For Reception By A Less Sophisticated Audience. These Letters Illuminate Other Aspects Of The Ancient Church In Alexandria, Including That Church's Complex Relationship With The Jews And Other Religious Groups, As Well As The Ways In Which The Ascetical Movement Wound Its Way Into The Patriarch's Pastoral Program. In Short, Cyril Of Alexandria's Festal Letters Provides Modern Readers With A Rare Opportunity To Enter The Daily Reality Of The Church In Ancient Alexandria.-- Introduction -- Festal Letters 1-12 -- Festal Letter One -- Festal Letter Two -- Festal Letter Three -- Festal Letter Four -- Festal Letter Five -- Festal Letter Six -- Festal Letter Seven -- Festal Letter Eight -- Festal Letter Nine -- Festal Letter Ten -- Festal Letter Eleven -- Festal Letter Twelve. St. Cyril Of Alexandria ; Translated By Philip R. Amidon ; Edited With Introduction And Notes By John J. O'keefe. Festal Letters 13-30: In The Series The Fathers Of The Church : A New Translation ; V. 127 (washington, D.c. : Catholic University Of America Press, C2013). Includes Bibliographical References (p. Ix-xii) And Indexes. St. Cyril of Alexandria is best known for his role in the Christological disputes of the fifth century. In recent years, however, scholars have turned their attention to Cyril the exegete. Cyril wrote extensive commentaries on nearly every book of the Bible; in fact, two-thirds of his extant corpus is devoted to biblical interpretation. Yet, despite this strong interest in Cyril as theologian and biblical interpreter, his activity as the Patriarch of Alexandria remains obscure. Doctrinal treatises and biblical commentary reveal little of the daily pastoral duties that occupied Cyril during his years as leader of one of ancient Christianity's most important sees. This new translation of Cyril's festal letters will help fill these gaps. Twenty-nine in all, these letters cover all but three of Cyril's years as bishop. In Alexandria, festal letters functioned primarily as a vehicle for announcing the beginning of Lent and the proper date for the celebration of Easter. They also served an important catechetical purpose by providing the patriarch with an annual opportunity to present his flock with a pastoral version of the theological issues that found more formal and complex expression elsewhere. Thus, Cyril's Festal Letters offer the modern reader a glimpse into the issues that Cyril himself considered important enough to proclaim to the entire diocese and a sample of how he prepared these ideas for reception by a less sophisticated audience. These letters illuminate other aspects of the ancient church in Alexandria, including that church's complex relationship with the Jews and other religious groups, as well as the ways in which the ascetical movement wound its way into the patriarch's pastoral program. In short, Cyril of Alexandria's Festal Letters provides modern readers with a rare opportunity to enter the daily reality of the church in ancient Alexandria. -- Publisher's website Contents......Page 6 Abbreviations......Page 8 Select Bibliography......Page 10 Introduction......Page 16 Festal Letter One......Page 48 Festal Letter Two......Page 65 Festal Letter Three......Page 81 Festal Letter Four......Page 82 Festal Letter Five......Page 96 Festal Letter Six......Page 114 Festal Letter Seven......Page 138 Festal Letter Eight......Page 150 Festal Letter Nine......Page 168 Festal Letter Ten......Page 188 Festal Letter Eleven......Page 208 Festal Letter Twelve......Page 229 Appendix: The Dates of Easter Announced by Cyril’s ‘Festal Letters’......Page 250 General Index......Page 252 Index of Holy Scripture......Page 256 Maximos the Confessor's penetrating theological vision found expression in an unparalleled synthesis of biblical exegesis, ascetic spirituality, patristic theology, and Greek philosophy. On Difficulties in Sacred Scripture, presented here in a complete English translation, contains Maximos's theological interpretations of sixty-five difficult passages from the Old and New Testaments.