June: Day 9: Teaching 1: Saint Cyril of Alexandria

June: Day 9: Teaching 1:
Saint Cyril of Alexandria

(The Immeasurable Mercy of God Should Encourage Us Not To Carelessness, But To Repentance)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. Saint Cyril, who is commemorated today, was born in Alexandria in the second half of the 4th century to rich and noble parents. Under the guidance of his uncle, Archbishop Theophilos, he studied the Holy Scriptures, and studied secular sciences at the famous Alexandrian school of antiquity. Living in a rich and populous city, Cyril could not get used to the city noise, did not like entertainment and sought solitude. He chose the skete of Saint Makarios as the place of his desert life, where he spent five years in monastic exploits. Archbishop Theophilos called him from the desert to Alexandria and first enrolled him in the clergy, then ordained him a deacon. After the death of Theophilos, the question arose of whom to elect to the episcopal see. Both the people and the clergy pointed to Cyril, whose firm faith, knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and pious life sharply distinguished him from the number of others who wanted to occupy the Alexandrian throne, and Cyril was chosen.