CYRIL, (Let. Cyril/us, Gk. KOpLXXos, Kyrillos), SAINT ( ?-444). A bishop of Alex andria, one of the most energetic but least amiable of the Church Fathers. lle was horn in Alexandria, but the date of his birth is not known. He was educated in the des ert, 65 miles south of Alexandria, by the cenobitic monks of Nitria. with whom he lived for five years, and who probably inspired him with that fiery, intolerant, and impetuous zeal which characterized him through life. Subse quently lie went to Alexandria, where lie be came a presbyter, and on the death of his uncle, Theophilus, A.D. 412, obtained the episcopal see. The Alexandrian Jews, who were numerous and riotous. were the first to feel the effects of his inflexible character. Some Christian blood hav ing been shed by them in a city tumult, Cyril put himself at the head of a rabble of zealots, at tacked the Jewish quarter of Alexandria, de stroyed the houses, and banished the inhabitants. Orestes, the Prefect of Egypt, having, drawn up an accusation against Cyril, was attacked in the streets by 500 monks, who had come up from the deserts of Nitria, at the call of their old com panion, ready to defend him against his foes. Onc of these monks having fallen in the skirmish, his eorpse was carried in procession to the high church of Alexandria, where Cyril delivered a sanguinary discourse, gave the dead monk the name of Thaumasins ('the excellent'), and pro nounced him a martyr and a saint. The violent
death of Hypatia (q.v.), the famous woman phil osopher of Alexandria. at the hands of a mob, has often been laid to the charge of Cyril, but perhaps all that can he justly alleged against him on this count is that he was in great meas ure responsible for the riotous conditions which led up to this deplorable event. But the most important historic event in his career was his controversy with Nestorius (q.v.). whose doc trines were condemned by the Council of Ephesus, presided over by Cyril (431). All the sternest features of his disposition appeared in this contest. In the midst of which had largely occasioned, he died June 9, A.D. 444. In the Greek Church his day in the calendar of saints is June 9, in the Latin Chureh January 23. Cyril's numerous writings consist of com mentaries. treatises, homilies, epistles, etc. The best edition was puhlished by Jean Aubert (Paris, 1638, reprinted in Aligne, Patrol. Grwea.
lxviii.-1xxvii.). Certain of his works have been published in critical editions by English scholars, among them his commentaries on Luke (1859), John (1872), Minor Prophets (1868), and Fire Tomes .1gainst Nestorius (1SS1). For his biog raphy, consult Kopallik ( llayence, 188 I ) . Charles Kingsley's hrilliant romance Hypatia gives a view of Cyril tinged with the author's prejudices against monasticism.