Adventures Abroad
Source: Sabe Corse
To the relief of just about everybody in North Africa, Cyril eventually got caught up in Church politics in Constantinople. One of his many rivals, Nestorius of Antioch, became the Bishop of Constantinople in 428. Appalled at the barbarity and mob violence Cyril was using to take power in Alexandria, and possibly fearing that the bastard wanted his job, Nestorius began preaching against one of Cyril’s major talking points: the divinity of the Virgin Mary.
To make a long and hugely boring theological dispute short, Cyril was outraged at Nestorius’ nerve in disagreeing with him and conspired to frame him as a heretic. Cyril connived to be made, not just Nestorius’ accuser, but also his judge at the inevitable Church trial. When the Syrian delegation boycotted the trial on the grounds of who-the-hell-are-you, Cyril unsurprisingly found Nestorius guilty as charged and ordered him excommunicated and exiled.
This sparked yet another riot, because Cyril had a knack for pissing people off, and the Patriarch found himself under arrest and facing excommunication. Naturally, Cyril’s response was to raise a mob to surround the palace and threaten the teenage Emperor’s life.
Eventually, the Emperor brokered a face-saving compromise. Both bishops would be restored, but Nestorius would be required to agree that the Virgin Mary was partly divine. He also had to agree that the Trinity is a Thing, and generally, keep out of Cyril’s hair. Cyril, for his part, agreed to keep his hands to himself and focus on making life miserable back home. Cyril died in 444. In Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints, the lesson of St. Cyril’s life is remembered thus:
[The doctrine of Incarnation] was the passion of St. Cyril’s life; for it he underwent toil and persecution, and willingly sacrificed credit and friends.
