An Orthodox Christological Examination of Cyril's Letters: Letter 50

St. Cyril of Alexandria

Examination of Letter 50

Cyril writes to Valerian.

He makes quite clear what the Orthodox beliefs are in Par. 5-6 as he wishes to

show that those in opposition are in many heresies by the language of their theology.

He writes then in both paragraphs, what follows in the following paragraphs:

“God and man by coming together did not constitute the one Christ, as they say, but,

as I said, the Word being already God partook of blood and flesh like unto us in order that

God would be known to have been made man and to have taken our flesh and to have made it

his own, in order that, just as man such as we are is known to be one, composed of soul and

body, so also he is confessed to be one, both Son and Lord. The nature of man is admitted to

be one, and to be one hypostasis, even if it is known to be of different realities of diverse

kinds. For the body admittedly is of a different nature relative to the soul, but it is the soul's

own body, and helps to complete the hypostasis of the one man. Although in our mind and

our thinking the difference between the soul and body mentioned is not obscure, yet their

coming together or meeting, since it is undivided, constitutes one living man. Hence the only

begotten Word of God did not come forth as man by assuming a man, but, although he had an

ineffable begetting from God the Father, he became man by having fashioned for himself a

temple through the holy and consubstantial Spirit.”

The union of the two natures in both man and in the Word [of God] is made

clear, for the distinction between soul and body is not gone but we can differentiate

between the two En Theoria, as we can in the One Christ whose nature is of man and

God.