#saintcyrilofalexandria

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"...Surely she must be the Mother of God if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, and she gave birth to him!" - #SaintCyrilofAlexandria

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#saintcyrilofalexandria https://www.instagram.com/p/CL-Nclbjwjh/?igshid=3cahs2aak6j2

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St. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the late-4th and 5th centuries. He was a central figure in the Council of Ephesus in 431, which led to the deposition of Nestorius as Patriarch of Constantinople. Nestorius was preaching that Mary was not the Mother of God since Christ was Divine and not human, and consequently she should not have the word theotokos (God-bearer) applied to her. He persuaded Pope Celestine I to convoke a synod at Rome, which condemned Nestorius, and then did the same at his own synod in Alexandria. Cyril wrote treatises that clarified the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation and that helped prevent Nestorianism and Pelagianism from taking long-term deep root in the Christian community. He was the most brilliant theologian of the Alexandrian tradition. His writings are characterized by accurate thinking, precise exposition, and great reasoning skills. Among his writings are commentaries on John, Luke, and the Pentateuch, treatises on dogmatic theology, and Apologia against Julian the Apostate, and letters and sermons. He was declared a doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1882. - - - - - #stcyril #stcyrilofalexandria #saintcyrilofalexandria #saintcyril #theology #saint #saintoftheday #catholicmen #catholic #catholiclife #catholicism #catholicchurch #art #god #jesus #holy #holyspirit #religion #romancatholic #faith #pray #prayer #patronsaint #instacatholic #christianity #jesuschrist #blessed #alexandria #icon #orthodox https://www.instagram.com/p/CB8KZZ8hXmr/?igshid=1886owcy1f53y

[sowingseedsandshootinghoops]

St Cyril: If Christ Isn’t Both God and Man then We Aren’t Saved and Shouldn’t Call Ourselves Christians

St Cyril’s On the Unity Christ is one of seminal works which defends the thesis that Christ is both God and man.

The first thing that might be worth noting is that Cyril is talking to other Christians in this book and that’s why most of his “evidence” comes from the Bible. If you’re looking for someone who will make this argument using straight philosophy, then this isn’t the guy for you.

The first thing that Cyril says is that if you don’t believe that Christ was actually incarnated as a human being, then you shouldn’t believe in any of it because “how could God raise him from the dead if he did not die? And how could he have died if he had not been born according to the flesh? And if Christ is not raised then where is the Resurrection from the dead that inspired in the saints the hope of ever-lasting life?” (57-58). If Christ wasn’t authentically born as a human, then he did not die on the cross for our sins nor was he raised back to life, and if that’s all true than why are we Christian? It would make no sense, therefore he must have been as much a human as he was divine. The other thing that Cyril says is that our body is weak, but not evil. Christ took on a body that he might show us how to use the body for good instead of evil. But the body is not in itself an evil thing. The reason Christ that Christ comes and takes on our body is so that we might know that “our nature is greater than our death or corruption” (131). What he did was “restore [the] flesh to what it was in the beginning” (55). So not only is it not an insult to Christ to say that he took on a human body, it doesn’t make sense to be a Christian if you don’t believe that he did!

On the other side of the coin, talking to those who believed that Christ wasn’t really divine, he said the following. First he points to the beginning St John’s Gospel where it says that “The Word became flesh” (John 1:1). It doesn’t that the Word became something that looked like flesh, it says that it became flesh. But beyond that, he has something else to say to those who believe Christ was a “son by grace”, or that he was a normal human who became divine because God the Father adopted him at some point after his birth. His problem with that is that if Christ is only the Son of God by adoption, which means that he has no divinity in him inherently, then he cannot promise us anything regarding the afterlife because any divine power that he has can be taken away from him by the father. In the same way that someone who is not a blood relative can be easily stripped of the material possessions of his adopted father through something like a will. The power of the one who is a prince by blood is more sure and stronger than the power of one who is prince by adoption. In other words, if Christ was merely the adopted Son of God than there is no way that he could guarantee our salvation in the way that he does, and if you believe that then you shouldn’t a Christian.  

Then there were still others who believed the Spirit of Christ just came down and took possession of someone elses’ body. But this doesn’t make sense either because it would mean that the divine Spirit of Christ, rather than making his own body for himself, had to conform to working within the body of another. A divine power that doesn’t have the ability to create his own body doesn’t seem that powerful. Also, on another level, it would mean that we weren’t saved by the blood of Christ, but “rather by the blood of someone else” (112). Which, considering the fact that we call ourselves Christians, would be very odd indeed; there would be no point in calling ourselves Christians if we weren’t saved by the actions of Christ. If we were saved saved by someone else who was merely, as it were, under the inspiration or power of the Holy Spirit, then that person would have been something closer to a profit and we would have taken on his or her name and said that he or she was our Lord and Savior. But we did not because Christ himself is both truly divine and truly human.  In Cyril’s mind, neither the people who believe Christ is only divine, nor those who believe that he is only human should call themselves Christians. Neither position makes any sense.

[shootingestar]

Look what I found. Do you still have yours[?] #SaintCyrilOfAlexandria #HCCS #ThrowbackJersey

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"The Lamb of God was slain for our sins but rose again to give us eternal life." - #SaintCyrilofAlexandria 

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"...Surely she [Mary] must be the Mother of God if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, and she gave birth to him!" - #SaintCyrilofAlexandria #SaintoftheDay

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"The Lamb of God was slain for our sins but rose again to give us eternal life." - #SaintCyrilofAlexandria

Today is the Twelfth (12th) Sunday in Ordinary Time. I assure you of my prayers! #SacredSundays

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"Let us receive the chalice of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord." - #SaintCyrilofAlexandria

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"That anyone could doubt the right of the holy Virgin to be called the Mother of God fills me with astonishment. Surely she must be the Mother of God if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, and she gave birth to him!" - #SaintCyrilofAlexandria

📷 Our Lady of Perpetual Help Image from Slovakia / © sedmak / #GettyImages. #Catholic_Priest #CatholicPriestMedia #BlessedVirginMary

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“That anyone could doubt the right of the holy Virgin to be called the Mother of God fills me with astonishment. Surely she must be the Mother of God if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, and she gave birth to him!” - #SaintCyrilofAlexandria
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Today, the Church celebrates ‘The Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, as well as the Feast of St Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop, and Doctor of the Church.’
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📷 Mary and the Child Jesus / Il ragazzo / #Cathopic #CatholicPriestMedia #Catholic_Priest #PrayAlways #SacredArtandImages #BlessedVirginMary #BVMary #PrayConstantly during this #CoronaVirusPandemic
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"I have been amazed that some are utterly in doubt as to whether or not the Holy Virgin is able to be called the Mother of God. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how should the Holy Virgin who bore him not be the Mother of God?" - #SaintCyrilofAlexandria #SaintoftheDay . At this time of year (especially around the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul), many Priests, including myself, celebrate their Anniversaries of Ordination. Humbly, I ask for your prayers. . 📷 Madonna and Child Jesus Icon on Eroded Wall / © William Attard McCarthy / Stock Photo Secrets . . #SacredArtandImages #Catholic_Priest #MaterDei #CatholicPriestMedia #OurLadyofPerpetualHelp . . . https://www.instagram.com/p/BzNRr8_F0yN/?igshid=1jyvrcaxmh8tx