Lucaris, Cyril, 1572-1637, Greek churchman, b. Crete (then belonging to Venice). He studied at Venice and Padua and was elected patriarch of Alexandria (1602-20) and of Constantinople (1620-37). In Western Europe he had become imbued with Calvinistic ideas, and he attempted to synthesize them with Orthodoxy. He published a Confession of Faith (1629) to this end and sent many young priests to study in the West. He corresponded with leading Anglicans and Lutherans and sent the Codex Alexandrinus of the Bible to Charles I. His Protestant tendencies had no lasting effect in the East, and after his death a synod condemned his teachings. In Constantinople he was deposed several times. The sultan, Murad IV, had him murdered on charges that he was involved in an anti-Turkish plot. He is also called Cyril Lucar.

Cyril, Saint (Saint Cyril of Alexandria), d. A.D. 444, patriarch of Alexandria (412-44), doctor of the church, known for his animosity toward heretics and heathens. He drove the Jews from Alexandria, and under his rule Hypatia was killed. The great episode in his career was his struggle against Nestorianism, which culminated in the Council of Ephesus in 431 (see Ephesus, Council of). There Cyril presided and had the full support of Pope Celestine I. He returned triumphant, but he continued to be opposed by the Antiochene bishops, who tended toward Nestorianism; consequently, they stayed out of communion with Alexandria, and so with the church, for two years. In 433, Cyril consented to a compromise with Antioch by declaring that Christ had two natures, human and divine, and that in speaking of one nature he meant one Person. St. Cyril wrote much on theology, particularly on the problem of the Trinity. His doctrines, though deemed orthodox in his time, were in a sense a preface to those of Eutyches and of Monophysitism. Feast: Feb. 9.

Connolly, Cyril, 1903-74, English critic and editor, b. Coventry, England. After attending the Univ. of Oxford, he began his career as a journalist. With Stephen Spender he founded Horizon (1939-49), a small literary magazine that reflected Connolly's own iconoclastic and mordant attitudes toward contemporary society. He also used his critical gifts as a long-time book reviewer for The New Statesman and London's Sunday Times. Among his works are Rock Pool (1935), a satirical novel that ranks with the best of Huxley and Waugh; Enemies of Promise (1938), an autobiography of ideas; The Unquiet Grave (1944), a potpourri of critical commentaries, quotations, and aphorisms; The Condemned Playground (1945) and Previous Convictions (1964), both collections of literary essays; and The Modern Movement: 100 Key Books From England, France, and America, 1880-1950 (1965).

Tourneur, Cyril, 1575?-1626, English dramatist and poet. Little is known of his life. The Transformed Metamorphosis (1600), an allegorical satire, was his first published work. His reputation rests on two gloomy, violent plays, The Revenger's Tragedy (1607), which is thought by many scholars to have been written by Thomas Middleton, and The Atheist's Tragedy (1611).

(born circa 1575—died Feb. 28, 1626, Kinsale, County Cork, Ire.) English dramatist. His early years were devoted to literature; after circa 1613 he served in the government. His reputation rests largely on The Atheist's Tragedie (1611), a verse drama rich in macabre imagery. He may be the author of The Revenger's Tragedie (1607), but most recent scholarship attributes it to Thomas Middleton; though earlier than The Atheist's Tragedie, it is more mature in its structure and sombre brilliance. Tourneur also wrote the poetical satire The Transformed Metamorphosis (1600).

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(born circa 827, Thessalonica, Macedonia—died Feb. 14, 869, Rome) (born circa 815, Thessalonica—died April 6, 884, Moravia; feast day for both, Western Church February 14; Eastern Church May 11) Brothers who Christianized the Danubian Slavs. They began missionary work among the Slavs of Moravia in 863. Gifted scholars and linguists, they translated the Holy Scriptures into the language later known as Old Church Slavic (or Slavonic) and are credited with inventing the Glagolitic alphabet (see Cyrillic alphabet). In 868 they traveled to Rome to defend the use of a Slavic liturgy. When Cyril died, Methodius returned to Moravia as an archbishop. Known as the “apostles to the Slavs,” the two brothers influenced the religious and cultural development of all Slavic peoples.

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(born circa 827, Thessalonica, Macedonia—died Feb. 14, 869, Rome) (born circa 815, Thessalonica—died April 6, 884, Moravia; feast day for both, Western Church February 14; Eastern Church May 11) Brothers who Christianized the Danubian Slavs. They began missionary work among the Slavs of Moravia in 863. Gifted scholars and linguists, they translated the Holy Scriptures into the language later known as Old Church Slavic (or Slavonic) and are credited with inventing the Glagolitic alphabet (see Cyrillic alphabet). In 868 they traveled to Rome to defend the use of a Slavic liturgy. When Cyril died, Methodius returned to Moravia as an archbishop. Known as the “apostles to the Slavs,” the two brothers influenced the religious and cultural development of all Slavic peoples.

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(born circa 1575—died Feb. 28, 1626, Kinsale, County Cork, Ire.) English dramatist. His early years were devoted to literature; after circa 1613 he served in the government. His reputation rests largely on The Atheist's Tragedie (1611), a verse drama rich in macabre imagery. He may be the author of The Revenger's Tragedie (1607), but most recent scholarship attributes it to Thomas Middleton; though earlier than The Atheist's Tragedie, it is more mature in its structure and sombre brilliance. Tourneur also wrote the poetical satire The Transformed Metamorphosis (1600).

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The name Cyrillus or Cyril or Cyryl is derived from Greek Κύριλλος (Kyrillos - lordly, masterful), related to kyrios - lord, master. It is the name of several historic figures:

• Saint Cyril of Alexandria, 4th century Coptic Pope & theologian
• Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, 4th century Patriarch & theologian
• Cyrillus, 5th century Greek jurist
• Saint Cyril, 9th century Byzantine Greek monk, scholar, theologian, linguist and apostle to the Slavs, believed to have co-invented the Glagolitic alphabet, the first Slavic alphabet, and translated the Bible into a Slavic language referred to as Old Church Slavonic.
• Cyril of Turaw, 12th century Belarusian Orthodox Christian bishop and theologian
• Sir Cyril Burt, 20th century psychologist
• Elder Cyril Pavlov (b. 1919) Russian Orthodox Christian monk, mystic and wonder-worker
• Another name of Nikita the Furrier
• Cyril Smith, British Liberal politician
• Cyril Takayama, a Japanese American illusionist
• Cyril Sneer, the fictional villain aardvark of the 1980s cartoon series The Racoons.
• S.M. Cyril (Educational Innovator - India)
• Cyril De Zoysa, Sri Lankan businessman and Buddhist revivalist

See also

• Cyrillus (lunar crater)
• Kyril
• Kyrill
• St. Cyril's Monastery, a monastery in Kiev, Ukraine.