{"slug":"khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-ad-carthaginiense-concilium","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-ad-carthaginiense-concilium","title":"Ad Carthaginiense concilium","title_source":"Ad Carthaginiense concilium","author":"Cyril of Alexandria","genre":"other","date":"","tradition":"greek","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T06:27:20Z","cost_usd":0.001452},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-ad-carthaginiense-concilium","work_id":"khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-ad-carthaginiense-concilium","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":"Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Cyril%20of%20Alexandria_PG%2068-77/Ad%20Carthaginiense%20concilium.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":2,"english_words":304,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":1475,"commentary_units":12,"commentary_kinds":7,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":4,"work_notes":5,"external_links":0,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-ad-carthaginiense-concilium","abstract":"This work is a letter from Cyril of Alexandria to the Council of Carthage, likely composed in the early 5th century (ca. 418–430 CE) amid the Pelagian controversy. Cyril addresses the African bishops, affirming the condemnation of Pelagius and Caelestius and supporting the anti-Pelagian decrees. The original Greek is lost; the text survives only in a Latin translation, preserved in later conciliar acts and canonical collections. The edition used here, from the khazarzar digital collection, lacks critical apparatus or manuscript provenance, so the textual basis cannot be verified. The letter illustrates the communication network between Alexandria and Carthage and the role of translation in transmitting conciliar authority.","historical_context":"The letter was written during the Pelagian controversy, which peaked in the 410s–420s. Cyril of Alexandria (patriarch ca. 412–444) corresponded with the African church, led by bishops Aurelius and Valentinus of Carthage, and with Pope Zosimus. The Council of Carthage (possibly 418 or 424) condemned Pelagius and Caelestius. Cyril's letter, originally in Greek, was translated into Latin by the presbyter Innocentius and carried to Carthage by him and the subdeacon Marcellus. The text survives only in Latin, embedded in later collections like the Hispana or Dionysiana. The khazarzar edition provides no manuscript details, so its transmission history is uncertain. The letter reflects the early 5th-century ecclesiastical network and the use of translations to enforce doctrinal unity across the Mediterranean.","significance":"The letter demonstrates Cyril's engagement with Western anti-Pelagian efforts and the coordination between the Alexandrian and African churches. It was cited in later conciliar acts and canonical collections, influencing Western church discipline. The survival only in Latin translation highlights the role of translation in preserving and transmitting patristic authority.","timeline":[{"date":"ca. 412–444","event":"Cyril of Alexandria serves as patriarch"},{"date":"ca. 418–430","event":"Probable date of Cyril's letter to the Council of Carthage"},{"date":"418","event":"Council of Carthage condemns Pelagius and Caelestius"},{"date":"5th–6th c.","event":"Letter translated into Latin and included in canonical collections"},{"date":"undated","event":"Greek original lost; only Latin translation survives"}],"relations":[{"work":"Acts of the Council of Carthage (418)","relation":"Cyril's letter was addressed to this council and supports its anti-Pelagian decrees","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Letters of Cyril of Alexandria","relation":"Part of Cyril's corpus of correspondence on doctrinal matters","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Pelagian controversy writings (Augustine, Jerome, etc.)","relation":"Engages with the same theological conflict","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Dionysiana and Hispana canonical collections","relation":"Preserved the Latin translation of the letter","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The original Greek is lost; only a Latin translation survives.","The date is uncertain; the letter is placed ca. 418–430 based on Cyril's activity and the Pelagian controversy.","The khazarzar edition lacks critical apparatus and manuscript provenance, so the textual basis cannot be verified.","The list of subscribers (including Augustine) may be a later addition or summary."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000402,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:27:20Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Cyril%20of%20Alexandria_PG%2068-77/Ad%20Carthaginiense%20concilium.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-cyril-of-alexandria-ad-carthaginiense-concilium","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":2,"translated":2,"commentary_passages":2,"commentary_units":12,"english_words":304,"source_letters":1475,"commentary_kinds":7},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work is a letter from Cyril of Alexandria to the Council of Carthage, likely concerning the Pelagian controversy and the condemnation of Pelagius and Caelestius.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The letter dates to the early 5th century, probably around 418–430 CE, when Cyril was active and the African church was opposing Pelagianism.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The text survives only in Latin translation, likely from the original Greek; the Greek original is lost. The edition used is from the khazarzar digital collection, not a critical edition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This letter was cited in later conciliar acts and canonical collections, especially in the context of anti-Pelagian decrees, influencing Western church discipline.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The khazarzar edition provides no critical apparatus or manuscript provenance; readers cannot verify the textual basis or assess variant readings.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 2 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":2},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Καὶ ὑπέγραψαν. Ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν φυλάξοι σε ἡμῖν ἐπὶ πλείστους χρόνους, μακαριώτατε ἀδελφέ. Ὑπέγραψαν ὁμοίως· Ἀλύπιος, Αὐγουστῖνος, Ποσείδιος, Μαρῖνος καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ἐπίσκοποι. Ἄρχεται τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἐν Ἀφρικῇ σύνοδον ἀντίγραφα Κυρίλλου τοῦ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων ἐπισκόπου, ἐν οἷς τὰ αὐθεντικὰ τῆς ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνόδου ἀπὸ γραϊκοῦ μεταβληθέντα διὰ Ἰννοκεντίου πρεσβυτέρου ἀπέστειλεν· αἵτινες ἐπιστολαὶ μετὰ τῆς ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνόδου διὰ τοῦ μνημονευθέντος Ἰννοκεντίου πρεσβυτέρου καὶ Μαρκέλλου ὑποδιακόνου τῆς ἐν Καρχηδόνι ἐκκλησίας τῷ ἁγιωτάτῳ Βονιφατίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ τῆς ῥωμαϊκῆς ἐκκλησίας τῇ πρὸ ἓξ καλανδῶν δεκεμβρίων ἀπεστάλησαν. Κυρίοις τιμιωτάτοις καὶ ἁγιωτάτοις ἀδελφοῖς καὶ συνεπισκόποις Αὐρηλίῳ, Βαλεντίνῳ καὶ πάσῃ τῇ ἐν Καρχηδόνι συναθροισθείσῃ ἁγιωτάτῃ συνόδῳ, Κύριλλος ἀσπαζόμενος ἐν κυρίῳ τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην. Τὰ γραφέντα παρὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας τιμιότητος πολλὴν ἔχοντα θρησκείαν μετὰ πάσης χαρᾶς διὰ τοῦ τέκνου ἡμῶν Ἰννοκεντίου τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου ἐδεξάμην.","english":"And they subscribed. May our Lord preserve you for us for very many years, most blessed brother. Likewise subscribed: Alypius, Augustinus, Posidius, Marinus, and the remaining bishops. Here begin the copies of Cyril, bishop of the Alexandrians, to the council in Africa, in which he sent the authentic acts of the council of Nicaea, translated from Greek by the presbyter Innocentius. These letters, together with the acts of the council of Nicaea, were sent through the aforementioned presbyter Innocentius and Marcellus, subdeacon of the church of Carthage, to the most holy Boniface, bishop of the Roman church, on the sixth day before the Kalends of December. To the most honorable and most holy lords and fellow bishops Aurelius, Valentinus, and the entire most holy council assembled at Carthage, Cyril, greeting in the Lord your love. The writings of your worthiness, containing much piety, I received with all joy through our son Innocentius the presbyter.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Καὶ ὑπέγραψαν","severity":"info","text":"The opening phrase 'And they subscribed' marks a transition from a preceding list of signatories, now lost, to the body of Cyril's letter.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰννοκεντίου πρεσβυτέρου","severity":"info","text":"Innocentius the presbyter and Marcellus the subdeacon served as carriers of the Nicene acts and Cyril's letters to Rome and Carthage, indicating the logistical network of ecclesiastical correspondence.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"τὰ αὐθεντικὰ τῆς ἐν Νικαίᾳ συνόδου ἀπὸ γραϊκοῦ μεταβληθέντα","severity":"info","text":"Cyril sent a Greek-to-Latin translation of the authentic acts of Nicaea, made by Innocentius, to the African council, highlighting the role of translation in preserving conciliar authority.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"τῇ πρὸ ἓξ καλανδῶν δεκεμβρίων","severity":"info","text":"The date 'the sixth day before the Kalends of December' corresponds to 26 November, likely in the early 5th century, situating the correspondence in the late autumn.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Κυρίοις τιμιωτάτοις καὶ ἁγιωτάτοις ἀδελφοῖς","severity":"info","text":"Cyril's address to Aurelius and Valentinus, bishops of Carthage, reflects the formal conciliar greeting and the ongoing communion between Alexandria and the African church.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὑπέγραψαν ὁμοίως· Ἀλύπιος, Αὐγουστῖνος, Ποσείδιος, Μαρῖνος","severity":"caution","text":"The list of subscribers includes Augustine of Hippo, but the names may be a later addition or summary; the original subscription list is not preserved.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Καὶ ὑπέγραψαν' implies a preceding list of signatories that is not extant in this passage.","The identity of 'Μαρῖνος' is uncertain; he may be a bishop otherwise unattested in this context."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Τούτων δὲ παρ' ἡμῶν ἐλπισθέντων, ὥστε ἐκ τοῦ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐκκλησίας σκρινίου τὰ ἀληθέστατα ἴσα τῆς ἐν τῇ Νικαέων μητροπόλει τῆς Βιθυνίας αὐθεντικῆς συνόδου, τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων ὁρισθέντα καὶ βεβαιωθέντα ὑποκάτω τῆς ὁμολογίας τῆς ἡμετέρας πίστεως τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ ἀγάπῃ ἡμᾶς ἀποστεῖλαι, ἀναγκαῖον ἡγησάμην, κύριοι τιμιώτατοι ἀδελφοί, ἀσπασμοῦ προηγουμένου, διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ τέκνου ἡμῶν Ἰννοκεντίου τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου τὰ πιστότατα ἴσα τὰ τῆς αὐθεντικῆς συνόδου τῆς ἐν τῇ Νικαέων πόλει τῆς Βιθυνίας ἐχόμενα τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ ἀποστεῖλαι ἀγάπῃ, ὅπερ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησιαστικῇ ἱστορίᾳ ζητοῦντες εὑρήσετε. Περὶ δὲ τοῦ πάσχα, ὡς ἐγράψατε, ἀγγέλλομεν ὑμῖν τῇ πρὸ δεκαεπτὰ καλανδῶν μαΐων ἡμᾶς ἐπιτελέσοντας τῇ ἐπεισερχομένῃ ἰνδικτιῶνι. Ἡ ὑπογραφή. Ὁ θεὸς καὶ ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν τὴν ἁγίαν ὑμῶν σύνοδον φυλάξοι, ὅπερ εὐχόμεθα, τιμιώτατοι ἀδελφοί.","english":"These things having been hoped for by us, so that from the archive of our church we might send to your love the most true copies of the authentic synod in the metropolis of Nicaea of Bithynia, the things defined and confirmed by the holy fathers below the confession of our faith, I considered it necessary, most honorable lords and brothers, with a greeting preceding, to send to your love through the same child of ours, Innocentius the presbyter, the most faithful copies of the authentic synod in the city of Nicaea of Bithynia, which you will also find if you search in the ecclesiastical history. Concerning Pascha, as you wrote, we announce to you that we will celebrate on the seventeenth day before the Kalends of May in the coming indiction. The subscription. May God and our Lord preserve your holy synod, which we pray for, most honorable brothers.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"σκρινίου","severity":"info","text":"The term σκρινίου (scrinium) refers to an ecclesiastical archive or chest for storing official documents, indicating the Alexandrian church's custodial role in preserving conciliar acts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ἀγάπῃ","severity":"info","text":"ἀγάπῃ (love) is a standard epistolary address in early Christian correspondence, here used to denote the recipients collectively, reflecting fraternal ecclesiastical bonds.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"text","lemma":"πρὸ δεκαεπτὰ καλανδῶν μαΐων","severity":"info","text":"The date 'seventeenth day before the Kalends of May' corresponds to 15 April in the Roman calendar, indicating the celebration of Pascha in the coming indiction year.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡ ὑπογραφή","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Ἡ ὑπογραφή' (The subscription) marks the formal closing of the letter, followed by a subscription formula, typical of conciliar correspondence.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"background","lemma":"ἐκκλησιαστικῇ ἱστορίᾳ","severity":"info","text":"Reference to 'ecclesiastical history' likely alludes to Eusebius of Caesarea's work, suggesting Cyril expects the recipients to verify the Nicene acts there.","cites":[],"named_sources":["Eusebius of Caesarea"],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐλπισθέντων","severity":"caution","text":"The verb ἐλπισθέντων (having been hoped for) is ambiguous: it may imply that the requested copies were expected but not yet sent, or that the act of sending fulfills a prior hope.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ἐλπισθέντων' could indicate either that the copies were hoped for (by the recipients) or that Cyril hoped to send them; the reading taken is that the recipients had hoped for them.","The clause 'τὰ πιστότατα ἴσα' may refer to the same copies as 'τὰ ἀληθέστατα ἴσα' or to additional ones; the reading taken treats them as identical."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}