Dialogue with Nestorius · §2 · Cyril of Alexandria

The Child Born of the Virgin Is God

…translated, 'God with us' (Matthew 1:23). So the one who was born is God, whether you like it or not.

Nestorius says: The angel said to Joseph, 'Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you' (Matthew 2:13). But he did not say, 'Take God and his mother.'

Cyril says: But the archangel Gabriel says to the Virgin, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the holy one who is born of you will be called Son of the Most High' (Luke 1:35).

Nestorius says: The Apostle said, 'He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant' (Philippians 2:7); that is, he put on our body, in which he advanced in wisdom and stature and grace before God and men (Luke 2:52), as the Lord's man.

Cyril says: 'Everything that is born of the flesh is flesh' (John 3:6); yet this does not do away with the wonder of the birth. For just as God begets in a manner proper to God, so…

Greek

μεθερμηνευόμενον, Μεθ' ἡμῶν ὁ Θεός· Θεὸς ουν ὁ τεχθεὶς, καν θέλῃς, καν μὴ θέλῃς. {ΝΕΣΤ.} ̔Ο αγγελος τῷ ̓Ιωσὴφ ειπεν· ̓Αναστὰςπαράλαβε τὸ παιδίον καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, καὶ φεῦγε εἰς Αιγυπτον, καὶ ισθι ἐκεῖ εως αν ειπω σοι· οὐκ ειπε δὲ, Παράλαβε τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ. {ΚΥΡ.} ̓Αλλ' ὁ ἀρχάγγελος Γαβριὴλ πρὸς τὴν Παρθένον λέγει· Πνεῦμα αγιον ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σὲ, καὶ δύναμις ̔Υψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι· διὸ καὶ τὸ γεννώμενον ἐκ σοῦ αγιον, υἱὸς ̔Υψίστου κληθήσεται. {ΝΕΣΤ.} ̔Ο ̓Απόστολος εφη· ̔Εαυτὸν ἐκένωσε,μορφὴν δούλου λαβών· οπερ ἐστὶ τὸ ἡμέτερον ἐνδυσάμενος σῶμα, ενθα προέκοπτε σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ Θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις, ὡς Κυριακὸς ανθρωπος. {ΚΥΡ.} Πᾶν τὸ γενόμενον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς, σάρξ ἐστι· οὐκ ἀναιρεῖ δὲ τῆς γεννήσεως παράδοξον· ὡς γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς τίκτει θεϊκῶς, ουτω

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About this text

A short dialogue, printed among the works of Cyril of Alexandria, in which Cyril and Nestorius trade Scripture verses over whether the Virgin Mary may be called God-bearer, whether the natures of Christ may be divided, and what the believer receives in the Eucharist. A fresh English translation from the Greek.

Part only: The dialogue as printed in PG 76, cols. 249-253. The text here breaks off mid-sentence in Cyril's last reply, on the bread of life.

A fresh English translation made from the Greek text printed in PG 76 (Dialogus cum Nestorio). No published English version was used for its wording.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 76 (Greek)

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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