Memorial Day of Saints Athanasius and Cyril, Archbishops of Alexandria

The Christian church celebrates January 31 Memorial Day of Saints Athanasius and Cyril, Archbishops of Alexandriawho all their lives fought against heretics and carried the faith of Christ.

Born in Alexandria in a family of Christians, Athanasius became a deacon of the Alexandrian Church. The young man saw that even in the church there was no true piety and there were many followers of Arius, who denied the divine nature of Christ. Shortly after the death of Patriarch Alexander, Athanasius assumed the position of archbishop and continued to debunk the Arian doctrine. For this, they slandered the saint, accusing him of murder, rape and other sins. Athanasius was expelled from Alexandria several times.

Saint Cyril was also an outstanding fighter for the faith. In his position as patriarch, he succeeded in expelling heretics from Alexandria, consecrated a pagan temple and built a Christian temple in its place. But the most difficult was the fight against the Nestorian heresy. Cyril succeeded in convening the Ecumenical Council, at which the teaching of Nestorius was recognized as heretical. At the same time, Nestorius was stripped of his dignity and exiled to the Libyan desert, where he died.