On Sunday, July 10, the Feast of St. Cyril the Pillar of the Faith, His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion and His Grace Bishop Kyrillos celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the feast at St. Cyril of Alexandria Coptic Orthodox Church in El Monte where they elevated the parish priest, the Reverend Father Bishoy Mikhail Brownfield, to the priestly dignity of Hegumen. Father Bishoy Mikhail Brownfield served as a Sunday School teacher, youth leader and  deacon at St. Mark Church – …

Our knowledge of St. Cyril’s childhood education and early upbringing is quite meager. According to St. Isidore of Pelusium and church historian Socrates, St. Cyril was born in Alexandria around the year 380. However, others rely on to the chronicles of John, Bishop of Nikiu in seventh century, who states that St. Cyril’s mother and her brother hailed from Memphis, and that St. Cyril was born in the town of Theodosion, Lower Egypt, very close – …

I. BACKGROUND A. The Empire Theodosius the Great died in 395. His two sons replaced him: Arcadius in the East and Honorius in the West. In the West, the Germanic tribes invaded the Western Empire and established a new kingdom. They applied their primitive, barbarian customs instead of the Roman law and most of them were Arians. Emperor Honorius lost his control of the Empire and lived in North Italy. The Visigoths defeated the Roman – …