Sermo prosphoneticus ad Alexandrinos de fide Of Saint Cyril, from the address to the Alexandrians

concerning the faith.

I do not accept the commingled; for it is foreign to the apostolic faith and to the right tradition of God; for commingling brings about the disappearance of the natures; but the ineffable union, confessed by those who think rightly, preserves both natures unconfused, and makes one Christ out of both, who was seen, the same being at once both God and man, and not two Christs, but one only, united and not commingled; for if the two natures, being of different substances, were blended into one mixture, neither would be preserved, 539 but both, having been confused, would disappear. and having been commingled, they would not admit of separation from one another or division, but they were divided at the time of death and were separated, both soul from body, descending into Hades with the divinity, and body from soul, laid in a new tomb, according to the unerring words of Christ which say, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." And the temple is indeed destroyed at the time of the three-day burial, by his will, and again he raised it, and was united to it by some ineffable and unutterable word, not commingled in it, or deprived of flesh, but preserving in himself the unconfused property of the two natures of different substances; for the natures were by no means blended. 540 Then he himself brings forward this testimony of Athanasius among the saints: "Of two natures of different sub"stances being preserved in one Christ the "Son of God, "and neither being confused, "nor being destroyed or "divided." for he was made like us in all things, without sin; not by the divine nature being changed or commingled with the human nature, but united to it not by way of change, nor by way of blending, nor by way of mixture, nor by way of confusion, nor by way of alteration, nor by way of transformation, nor by way of disappearance or being deprived of flesh, but by an ineffable and inexpressible and indescribable union, of the two natures of different substances being preserved in one Jesus Christ who is the Son of God, and neither being confused nor being destroyed nor being divided. 541 Of Cyril, from the discourse concerning faith. But indeed he fashioned for himself an ensouled and perfect temple in the holy virginal womb; and having put it on and been united to it by an ineffable word, with both natures being preserved and not commingled, he came forth, appearing as man, but understood as God, Jesus Christ.

Sermo prosphoneticus ad Alexandrinos de fide Τοῦ ἁγίου Κυρίλλου ἐκ τοῦ πρὸς Ἀλεξανδρέας προσφωνητικοῦ λόγου

περὶ πίστεως.

Ἐγὼ τὸ συγκεκραμμένον οὐ καταδέχομαι· ἀλλότριον γάρ ἐστι τῆς ἀποστολικῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὀρθῆς παραδόσεως· ἡ γὰρ σύγκρασις ἀφανισμὸν τῶν φύσεων ἐργάζεται· ἡ δὲ ἄῤῥητος ἕνωσις παρὰ τῶν ὀρθῶς φρονούντων ὁμολογουμένη, ἀμφοτέρας σώζει ἀσυγχύτους τὰς φύσεις, καὶ ἕνα ἀποτελεῖ καὶ ἐξ ἀμφοῖν τὸν ὀφθέντα Χριστὸν, Θεόν τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἄνθρωπον γενόμενον τὸν αὐτὸν, καὶ οὐ δύο χριστοὺς, ἕνα δὲ μόνον ἑνωθέντα καὶ οὐ κεκραμμένον· εἰ γὰρ κέκρανται αἱ δύο φύσεις εἰς μίξιν μίαν, ἑτεροούσιοι τυγχάνουσαι, οὐδὲ ὁποτέρα σώζεται, 539 ἀλλ' ἀμφότεραι συγχυθεῖσαι ἠφανίσθησαν. καὶ οὔτε χωρισμὸν ἀπ' ἀλλήλων ἢ διαίρεσιν ἐπιδέχονται κεκραμμέναι, διῃρέθησαν δὲ τῷ καιρῷ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ ἐχωρίσθησαν, καὶ ψυχὴ ἀπὸ σώματος εἰς ᾅδου μετὰ τῆς θεότητος κατελθοῦσα, καὶ σῶμα ἀπὸ ψυχῆς ἐν μνήματι καινῷ ἀποτεθὲν κατὰ τὰς ἀψευδεῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ φωνὰς τὰς λεγούσας "Λύσατε τὸν ναὸν "τοῦτον καὶ ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις" ἐγερῶ αὐτόν." καὶ λύεται μὲν ὁ ναὸς ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς τριημέρου ταφῆς, βουλομένου αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάλιν ἀνέστησεν αὐτὸν, καὶ ἡνώθη αὐτῷ ἀῤῥήτῳ τινὶ καὶ ἀφράστῳ λόγῳ, οὐ κεκραμμένος ἐν αὐτῷ, ἢ ἀποσεσαρκωμένος, ἀλλ' ἀποσώζων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τῶν δύο φύσεων τῶν ἑτεροουσίων ἀσυγχύτους τὴν ἰδιότητα· οὐ γὰρ δήπου ἐκράθησαν αἱ φύσεις. 540 Εἶτα ἐπάγεται μαρτυρίαν τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις Ἀθανασίου αὐτὸς τήνδε "∆ύο φύσεων τῶν ἑτεροου"σίων ἐν ἑνὶ Χριστῷ τῷ "Υἱῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ σωζομένων, "καὶ μήτε συγχεομένων, "μήτε ἀπολλυμένων ἢ "διαιρεθεισῶν." ὡμοιώθη γὰρ ἡμῖν κατὰ πάντα χωρὶς ἁμαρτίας· οὐ τῆς θεϊκῆς φύσεως τραπείσης ἢ συγκραθείσης τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει, ἐνωθείσης δὲ αὐτῇ οὐ κατὰ τροπὴν, οὐ κατὰ κράσιν, οὐ κατὰ μίξιν, οὐ κατὰ σύγχυσιν, οὐ κατ' ἀλλοίωσιν, οὐ κατὰ μεταβολὴν, οὐ κατὰ ἀφανισμὸν ἢ ἀποσάρκωσιν, ἀλλὰ καθ' ἕνωσιν ἄῤῥητον καὶ ἀνέκφραστον, καὶ ἀνεκδιήγητον, τῶν δύο φύσεων τῶν ἑτεροουσίων ἐν ἑνὶ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ Υἱῷ ὄντι τοῦ Θεοῦ σωζομένων καὶ μήτε συγκεχυμένων μήτε ἀπολλυμένων ἢ διαιρεθεισῶν. 541 Κυρίλλου ἐκ τοῦ περὶ πίστεως λόγου. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ναὸν ἑαυτῷ ἔμψυχον καὶ τέλειον κατεσκεύασεν ἐν τῇ ἁγίᾳ παρθενικῇ μήτρᾳ· καὶ ἐνδυσάμενος αὐτὸν καὶ ἐνωθεὶς αὐτῷ ἀῤῥήτῳ λόγῳ, σωζομένων δὲ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν φύσεων καὶ οὐ κεκραμμένων, προῆλθε φαινόμενος μὲν ἄνθρωπος, νοούμενος δὲ Θεὸς Ἰησοῦς Χριστός.