Cyril (correspondent of Isidore of Pelusium)

This correspondent is Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376-444), the patriarch of Alexandria and a major Church Father, addressed by Isidore in these five letters as "Cyril, bishop" and "Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria." Isidore writes to him from the Pelusium milieu of the eastern Nile Delta partly in the register of a candid moral and theological counselor: he warns Cyril to curb the rapacity and unjust gain of those administering the Church's funds, and rebukes the priesthood for having fallen under imperial power through the unworthiness of those who hold office. The remaining letters engage Cyril on doctrine, expounding the true incarnation of the Lord "from two natures, the one Son," invoking the authority of Athanasius of Alexandria, and reading Psalm 117:22's rejected cornerstone as Christ uniting the two peoples into one body. As the leading champion of the orthodox Christological cause against Nestorius and presiding figure at the Council of Ephesus (431), Cyril is one of the best-attested figures of fifth-century Egyptian Christianity, here glimpsed through the frank and admonitory voice of a fellow Egyptian ascetic and exegete.