Cyril of Alexandria

Once again in this series we come across a flawed man, perhaps one who was more aggressive than was good for him. Yet, through Cyril--expeller of the Jews; nephew of the Bishop Theophilus, who helped Empress Eudoxia drive out John Chrysostom; the pillager of the Novatian Churches, those who believed that those who lapsed in the persecutions could not be admitted back to the church. By expelling the Jews he angered the Governor of the region, and that led to the murder of Hapatia, the famous teacher of Platonism.

There was one thing, however, about which to Cyril was absolutely clear.

"That anyone could doubt the right of the holy Virgin to be called the Mother of God fills with astonishment. Surely she must be the Mother of God if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, and she gave birth to him! Our Lord's disciples may not have used those exact words, but they delivered to us the belief those words enshrine, and this has also been taught us by the holy fathers."

It's hard to argue with that. Nestorius taught that Mary could not have been the Mother of God (Theotokos), but only mother of the human Jesus.

Born in 376, in Alexandria, Cyril was probably destined for a life in the Church. His uncle was Pope of Alexandria, after all. His uncle, Theophilus, was not above some underhanded maneuvering. See post on St. John Chysostom, here.
So when it came time to have a show down with Nestorius about the status of Mary as Theotokos, God-bearer, at the Council of Ephesus, we should not be surprised to learn that Cyril leaped to the advantage.

A quote from my guru, John F. Fink.

He convened the council even though many of those invited, especially the bishops of the Church at Antioch, had not yet arrived. Nestorius was in Ephesus but refused to attend the council.

So before everyone else could get to the meeting, Cyril and the Council condemned Nestorius of "distinct blasphemy against the Son of God." That gives the following quote from a Homily Cyril gave at Ephesus, ring a little off key.

I see here a joyful company of Christian men met together in ready response to the call of Mary, the holy and ever-virgin Mother of God.

While we may question his methods, we can't argue with what he has said. Denying Mary of being Theotokos, is to deny the incarnation, and the humanity of Christ. Even though the aggrieved Bishops objected and raised a ruckus, even Pope Celestine found that Cyril was in the right.

In our time it is not unusual to hear the phrase, 'fully human, fully divine.' In Cyril's time there was no consensus, all was in flux. So God used imperfect Cyril to set the Church straight once again. For that he is a Doctor of the Church, and worthy of our respect.