St. Cyril of Alexandria. An exegesis of dogmata

Translated from Greek with and introduction and notes by hieromonk Theodore (Yulaev)

Abstract

The present publication is a treatise by St. Cyril called the “Explanation of dogmata”. It follows the previously published (see the previous Theological Herald) treaties “Answers to Tiberius the deacon and his brethren”. The “Explanation” is quite close in content and themes to the “Answers” treaties. It consists of answers to eleven questions, posed by Palestinian monks regarding biblical anthropomorphisms, soteriology and eschatology and certain specific places of the Holy Scripture. The translation of the main part of the “Explanations” is prefaced by a letter of the Palestinian monks to St. Cyril, in which they talk about dogmatic arguments in the neighboring region and request to resolve these dogmatic difficulties. The answer to this letter are the “Explanations” themselves, where St. Cyril also deals with questions such as the image of God in man, the creation of the soul, original sin and whether the Divine retribution had already happened (mentioned in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus) and can God undo events of the past or not. The texts are prefaced by a foreword, which discusses who were the addressees of the work and its date. It contains also an overview of the contents, a summary of the different editions of the work and its manuscript tradition.