Noetic Renewal and Pedagogy in Cyril of Alexandria

Abstract

This thesis argues that noetic discourse is integral to Cyril of Alexandria’s pro-Nicene theology and to his formation of Christian perception and practice. Across his exegetical, polemical, and pastoral writings, Cyril consistently relies on the antithesis of knowledge and ignorance not as a discrete theory of cognition, but as a pedagogical and theological means of ordering how God is known within the economy of salvation. This study shows that Cyril’s Christology supplies an integrative logic by which sacramental, exegetical, and pedagogical dimensions of knowing are coordinated, presenting theological understanding as participation in Christ, within which conceptual reflection is ordered and sustained.

Knowledge of God is mediated through the Incarnate Son, established in the sacramental life of the Church, anticipated through Israel’s scriptural forms, and pedagogically exemplified through Abraham’s formation. Within this framework, distinctions concerning the mediation, regulation, boundaries, and cultivation of the knowledge of God advance Cyril’s pro-Nicene commitments while also shaping his exegetical method. They also inform his rhetorical practice, including the pedagogical and diagnostic use of polemic to train perception and to discern disordered knowing and practice. By situating Cyril’s noetic language within his theological aims, this thesis demonstrates that questions of knowing function throughout his work as a formative logic coordinating Christological confession, sacramental practice, scriptural interpretation, and the Christian life as it is expressed in virtue.