Cyril of Alexandria (correspondent of Isidore of Pelusium)

Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376-444) was patriarch of Alexandria from 412 and one of the major Greek Church Fathers, nephew and successor of the patriarch Theophilus, and the chief architect of the condemnation of Nestorius at the Council of Ephesus (431). In this corpus he appears as a correspondent of Isidore of Pelusium, who writes to him as both spiritual father and son (invoking Cyril's role as heir of 'that great Mark,' founder of the Alexandrian see) and repeatedly admonishes him over his conduct toward the council: Isidore warns against partiality and 'violent verdicts,' urges careful judgment, and reports that many at Ephesus mocked Cyril as one avenging a private enmity and imitating the contentious disposition of his uncle Theophilus rather than seeking the things of Christ. Other letters exchange scriptural exegesis (the drowning of the Egyptians as fitting retribution, the saying in Matthew that righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes) and reflect on the priest's subjection to the canons of the Lord. He is a securely and famously attested historical figure, seated at Alexandria.