Title: The Theology of St Cyril of Alexandria: A Critical Appreciation. Edited by Thomas G. Weinandy and Daniel A. Keating. Pp. xvi + 269. London: T. & T. Clark (a Continuum imprint), 2003. isbn 0 567 08901 0 and 08882 0. Hardback £40; paper n.p
Abstract: Cyrilof Alexandria is rather like Marmite—people either love him or hate him. The contributors to the present volume belong to the former category and, according to the editors, are ‘almost as feisty as Cyril himself’ (p. xiii). For many people Cyril is known purely as the opponent (and persecutor) of Nestorius, not altogether his most attractive side. The aim of this collection of essays is to redress that imbalance by examining ‘the full range of theological topics contained within Cyril's written corpus’ (p. xiii). The topics chosen relate especially to Cyril's particular interests. An introductory essay by Robert Wilken examines his interpretation of the Old Testament in his commentaries, taking Isaiah (in particular chs. 53, 25) as an example and summarizing the principles of Cyril's christological hermeneutic. Thomas Weinandy expounds his account of the incarnation, which is after all Cyril's most significant contribution to Christian doctrine. He starts with the early Cyril, summarizing his teaching as that ‘Jesus is one ontological entity, and the one ontological entity that Jesus is is the one person of the divine Son of God existing as a complete and authentic man’ (p. 30). This belief is the foundation for his opposition to Nestorius and for his mature Christology. Weinandy vigorously and persuasively expounds and commends (‘defends’ would be an inadequate description of such a feisty performance) Cyril's Christology, with the provocative claim that ‘to read the Chalcedonian Creed other than through the eyes of Cyril is to misread it’ (p. 43; cf. p. 23). What Cyril fought for was no less than the truth of the incarnation. The next chapter focuses on one specific aspect of his Christology. Frances Young argues that Cyril's teaching on Theotokos is grounded in his account of fall and redemption—although it might have been better to talk of creation, fall, and redemption. Marie-Odile Boulnois's chapter, on Cyril's trinitarian theology, is the longest and in many ways the most demanding of the volume. It is based it on her book on the subject, thus providing readers with the double benefit of a briefer account and one that is in English. Boulnois's book has also left its mark on the following chapter, by Brian Daley, on Cyril's teaching on the Holy Spirit in particular. Like Boulnois on the Trinity in general, he shows the extent to which Cyril's teaching on the Spirit was a fresh and original development from Athanasius and the Cappadocians. Daniel Keating expounds ‘Divinization in Cyril: The Appropriation of Divine Life’, the topic of his 2000 Oxford D. Phil. thesis (published as The Appropriation of Divine Life in Cyril of Alexandria [Oxford, 2004]—see above, pp.). This chapter is helpfully broader than the title might suggest, placing divinization within the whole scope of soteriology. It includes a section on the eucharist, the omission of which from the volume would otherwise be surprising. John O’Keefe examines the role of eschatology, which was not a central theme for Cyril. He shows how it relates especially to the promise of future incorruption and how this idea motivated Cyril's opposition to both Origenism and Nestorianism. John McGuckin gives a sympathetic account of Cyril as bishop and pastor, which gives full recognition to the political dimension to his role. He protests against the tendency in much modern scholarship to judge Cyril (unlike his contemporaries) anachronistically, without setting him in his historical context. With dry understatement he concedes that Cyril's opinions ‘are far from being paradigmatic of eirenic inclusivity’ (p. 206). In the final chapter Norman Russell explores Cyril's legacy, in particular the influence of his Christology from Chalcedon to Constantinople (680/1), with a brief account of more recent developments.
Publication Year: 2005
Publication Date: 2005-10-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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