Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/935

Rh CYRILLUS. und brother-commentator. We do not aprer with Zachariae in this hypothesis of two Cyrilli ; and it is to be observed, that in Bas^i. p. 646 (ed. Heim- bach) the supposed earlier Cyrillus of Zachariae is treated as the author of a commentary on the title de Pactis.) In Has. iii. pp. 50, 51 (ed. Fabrot.), Cyrillus is represented as quoting a constitution of Alexius Comnenus (a. d. 1081 — 1118), and, in Bos. v. p. 431 and vii. p. 89, mention is made of the edition of Cyrillus, which is supposed by Asseraani and Pohl to mean his edition of the Basilica. Hence Assemani {Bibl. Jur. Orient, ii. "20, p. 404) comes to the conclusion, that Cyrillus was posterior to Alexius ; and Pohl {ad Siuxres. Notit. BiisiL p. 69, n. a) thinks, that there were two jurists of the name, one of whom was posterior to Alexius. In the passages of early jurists which are appended as notes to the text of the Basilica, interpolations and alterations were often made, in order to accommo- date them to a later state of the law ; and the ap- parent anachronisms thus produced occasion consi- derable difficulty in the legal biography of the lower empire. (Heimbach, de Basil. Orig. p. 31.) The fragments of Graeco-Roman jurists append- ed by way of commentary to the 8th book of the Basilica were first published by Ruhnken from a manuscript at Leyden in the 3rd and 5th volumes of Meermann's Thesaurus. Among them are fre- quent extracts from Cyrillus. In the Glossae Nomicac, of which Labbe made a collection that was published after his death (Paris, 1679, London, 1817), are Glossaries which have been commonly attributed to Philoxenus and Cyrillus. Reiz (ad Theoph. p. 1246) thinks it not improbable that these Glossaries were either edited by Philoxenus and Cyrillus, or extracted by others from their interpretations, but that they certainly have been interpolated and altered by later handa. Haubold (Inst. Jur. Rom. priv. p. 159, n. k.) sees no sufficient reason for attributing to Cyrillug the Glossary that passes under his name. [J.T.G.] CYRILLUS {KvpiKos ST., was a native of Alexandria, and nephew of Theophilus, bishop of the same place. The year of his birth is not known. After having been a presbyter of the church at Alexandria, he succeeded to the episcopal chair on the death of Theophilus, a. d. 412. To this office he was no sooner elevated than he gave full scope to those dispositions and desires that guided him through an unquiet life. Unbounded ambi- tion and vindictiveness, jealousy of opponents, ill- directed cunning, apparent zeal for the truth, and an arrogant desire to lord it over the churches, constituted the character of this vehement patriarch. His restless and turbulent spirit, bent on self- aggrandisement, presents an unfavourable portrait to the impartial historian. Immediately after his elevation, he entered with vigour on the duties supposed to devolve on the prelate of so important a city. He banished from it the Jews, who are said to have been attempting violence towards the Christians, threw down their synagogue and plun- dered it, quarrelled with Orestes, and set himself to oppose heretics and heathens on every side. According to Socrates, he also shut up the churches of the Novatians, took away all their sacred vessels and ornaments, and deprived Theopemptus, their bishop, of all he had. (Histor. Eccles. vii. 7.) But his efforts were chiefly directed against Nes- torius, bishop of Constantinople ; and the greater CYRILLUS. 917 part of his life was passed amid agitating scenes, resulting from this persevering opposition. In consequence of an epistle written by Cyril to the Egyptian monks which had been carried to Con- stantinople, Nestorius and his friends were naturally offended. When Cyril understood how much Nestorius had been hurt by this letter, he wrote to him in justification of his conduct, and in ex- planation of his faith, to which Nestorius replied in a calm and dignified tone. CyriPs answer repeats the admonitions of his first letter, expounds anew his doctrine of the union of natures in Christ, and defends it against the consequences deduced in his opponent's letter. Nestorius was after- wards induced by Lampon, a presbyter of the Alexandrian church, to write a short letter to Cyril breathing the true Christian spirit. In the mean time the Alexandrine prelate wa* endeavouring to lessen the influence of his op- ponent by statements addressed to the emperor, and also to the princesses Pulcheria, Arcadia, and Marinia ; but Theodosius was not disposed to look upon him with a friendly eye because of such epistles; for he feared that the prelate aimed at exciting disagreement and discord in the imperial household. Cyril also wrote to Celestine, bishop of Rome, informing him of the heresy of Nestorius, and asking his co-operation against it. The Ro- man bishop had previously received some account of the controversy from Nestorius; though, from ignorance of Greek, he had not been able to read the letters and discourses of the Constantinopolitan prelate. In consequence of Cyril's statement, Celestine held a council at Rome, and passed a decree, that Nestorius should be deposed in ton days unless he recanted. The execution of this decree was entrusted to Cyril. The Roman pre- late also sent several letters through Cyril, one of which, a circular letter to the Eastern patriarchs and bishops, Cyril forwarded with additional letters from himself. This circular was afterwards sent by John of Antioch to Nestorius. Soon after (a. d. 430), he assembled a synod at Alex- andria, and set forth the truth in opposition to Nestorius's tenets in twelve heads or anathemas, A letter was also drawn up addressed to Nestorius, another to the officers and members of the church at Constantinople, inciting them to oppose their patriarch, and a third to the monks. With these anathemas he sent four bishops as legates to Nes- torius, requiring of him to subscribe them if he wished to remain in the communion of the Catholic church and retain his see. Celestine's letter, which he had kept back till now, was also despatched. But Nestorius refused to retract, and answered the anathemas by twelve anti-anathemas. la consequence of these mutual excommunications and recriminatory letters, the emperor Theodosius tlie Second was induced to summon a general council at Ephesus, commonly reckoned the third oecume- nical council, which was held A. D. 431. To this council Cyril and many bishops subservient to his views repaired. The pious Isidore in vain re- monstrated with the fiery Alexandrine prelate. Nestorius was accompanied by two imperial ministers of state, one of whom had the command of soldiers to protect the council. Cyril presided, and urged on the business with impatient haste. Nestorius and the imperial commissioners re- quested that the proceedings might be delayed till the arrival of John of Antioch and the other