Yerevan, Armenia, July 23, 2020
Photo: roger-pearse.com A Patristic work of St. Cyril of Alexandria, the great 5th-century theologian known as the “Seal of the Fathers,” previously known only in small fragments, was recently discovered in Armenia, and a critical edition has been prepared and published.
St. Cyril’s Commentary on the Letter to Hebrews was published this year by Ankyunacar Publishing in the capital city of Yerevan. The Alexandrian Patriarch’s commentary covers Hebrews 1:1-3:19, which some scholars believe is all that St. Cyril managed to write, reports Khachik Grigoryan, the editor of the new volume.
The work was previously known only in fragments of the Greek original and the Syriac translation. The more complete Medieval Armenian translation was discovered in the Mashtots Matenadaran depository in Yerevan.
According to Dr. P. M. Parvis in his article, “The Commentary on Hebrews and the Contra Theodorum of Cyril of Alexandria,” published in The Journal of Theological Studies, Volume XXVI, Issue 2, in January 1975, the work is largely directed against the theology of Theodore of Mopsuestia, a forerunner to the heresy of Nestorianism.
The book is available (in Armenian) from the site Books From Armenia for $30.93.
