Commentary on Isaiah: Volume I: Chapters 1-14

by Cyril of Alexandria, Robert Charles Hill (Translator)

Now available for the first time in a modern English translation, this imposing work by one of the great churchmen of the fifth century had been neglected on library shelves in a less-than-accessible Greek edition. It is a work of dedication and balance by one who resonates with "the most articulate of all the prophets," as Chrysostom called Isaiah. Cyril of Alexandria wrote his Commentary on Isaiah during a time of ecclesiastical and theological peace, in the years before the Nestorian controversy.

In the exegesis, we see the true Cyril, not the "ecclesiastical thug" portrayed by critics of his later involvement in controversy and conciliar maneuvering. Through the clarity of Robert Charles Hill's translation, readers will also recognize the same exegetical and hermeneutical skills that Cyril demonstrated in his earlier commentary. Cyril takes seriously all details and facts of the Isaian text, remaining focused while unpacking the layers of imagery. Yet he readily admits that historia yields in importance to dianoia, and he can move readily to Christological and ecclesiological meanings.

382 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2008

About the author

Cyril of Alexandria (Greek: Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας; c. 376 – 444) was the Patriarch of Alexandria from 412. to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire. Cyril wrote extensively and was a leading protagonist in the Christological controversies of the later 4th and 5th centuries. He was a central figure in the First Council of Ephesus in 431, which led to the deposition of Nestorius as Patriarch of Constantinople.

Cyril is counted among the Church Fathers and the Doctors of the Church, and his reputation within the Christian world has resulted in his titles Pillar of Faith and Seal of all the Fathers, but Theodosius II, the Roman Emperor, condemned him for behaving like a "proud pharaoh", and the Nestorian bishops at the Council of Ephesus declared him a heretic, labelling him as a "monster, born and educated for the destruction of the church."

Cyril is well-known due to his dispute with Nestorius and his supporter Patriarch John of Antioch, whom Cyril excluded from the Council of Ephesus for arriving late. He is also known for his expulsion of Novatians and Jews from Alexandria.

The Roman Catholic Church did not commemorate Saint Cyril in the Tridentine Calendar: it added his feast only in 1882, assigning to it the date of 9 February. The 1969 revision moved it to 27 June, considered to be the day of the saint's death, as celebrated by the Coptic Orthodox Church. The same date has been chosen for the Lutheran calendar. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church celebrate his feast day on 9 June and also, together with Pope Athanasius I of Alexandria, on 18 January.