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Cyricus

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(Cyr, or Curig; Lat. Cerinvs or Quinicus), is also the name of three early Christian martyrs

1. A martyr of Tarsus, in Cilicia, about 304. There is little doubt that this is the martyr Cyriacus, who, with his mother Julitta, suffered in the Diocletian persecution. St. Cyricus was venerated in the east of Scotland at an early period.. He is to be distinguished from the Pictish king Cyric, Grig, or Gregorius, who had his chief residence at Dunottar, in the 9th century. He is commemorated June 16.

2. A martyr who suffered by drowning in the Hellespont, commemorated January 3.

3. A martyr at Antioch, commemorated June 16 Cyril (Lat. Cyrillus) is the name of several persons in the early Church, besides those mentioned in volume 2:

1. A bishop of Antioch, who succeeded Timseus A.D. 283, and held the see to A.D. 304, when he was succeeded by Tyrannus. Eulebius speaks of him as his contemporary. During his episcopate Dorotheus attained celebrity as an expounder of Scripture (Euseb. H.E. lib. 7, c. 32; Chronicon ad ann. 4 Probi). According to an obscure tradition he suffered martyrdom at the commencement of Diocletian's persecution, and is commemorated in the Roman martyrology July 22.

2. An intruding bishop of Jerusalem who, followed by Baronius and Touttde, was thrust into the see of his great namesake during his deposition, in succession to Herennius. The two Cyrils are identified by some.

3. A presbyter or bishop of Palestine, to whom Jerome had delivered a written confession of his faith. Jerome refers to this when applied to for proof of his orthodoxy.

4. A martyr of Heliopolis, in Syria, a deacon who suffered for the faith in the time of Julian, having previously displayed great zeal in the destruction of idols, in the reign of Constantine. He is commemorated March 20.

5. A bishop in Armenia, reconciled by St. Basil to the Church at Satala in 372.

6. Deacon to St. Hilary of Aries, by whom he was wonderfully cured, after having had his foot bruised by the fall of a large stone.

7. Bishop of Adana, in Cilicia Prima. He was one of the Antiochene party at the Council of Ephesus, A.D. 431. He signed the remonstrance against the opening of the council by Cyril of Alexandria, before the arrival of John of Antioch and his companions, as well as the sentence of deposition passed by them on Cyril and his adherents. He also took part in the synod of Tarsus, A.D. 434.

8. Bishop of Coela, in Thrace, in the 5th century. In conjunction with Euprepius, bishop of Byza, he opposed at the Council of Ephesus (431) the custom of one bishop holding two or three sees, then prevalent in Europe. The council authorized the custom, but afterwards special bishops were given to several towns.

9. Fourteenth bishop of Treves. He rebuilt the cell of St. Eucherius, near Treves, which lay burned and deserted. There he placed the bodies of the first three bishops of Treves, and his own remains were deposited with them after his death, which occurred about 458. He is commemorated May 19.

10. Bishop of Gaza, one of the prelates who .signed the synodal letter of John of Jerusalem to John of Constantinople, condemnatory of Severus of Antioch and his followers, A.D. 518.

11. Of Scythopolis (Bethshan), so called from his birthplace, a hagiologist, flourished cir. 555. His father, John, was famous for his religious life. Cyril commenced an ascetic career at the age of sixteen. On leaving his monastery to visit Jerusalem and the other holy places, his mother charged him to put himself under the instruction of John the Silentiary, by whom he was commended to the care of Leontius, the abbot of the monastery of St. Euthymius, who admitted him as a monk in 542. Thence Cyril passed to the Laura of St. Saba, where he commenced his sacred biographies with the lives of St. Euthymius and St. Saba, deriving his information from the elder monks who had seen and known those holy men. He also wrote the life of St. John the Silentiary, and other biographies, affording a valuable picture of the inner life of the Eastern Church in the 6th century. They have been unfortunately largely interpolated by Metaphrastes.

12. A bishop and martyr, apparently in Egypt, commemorated July 9. 13. A martyr at Philadelphia, in Asia Minor, commemorated August 1. Cyrilla was a martyr under Claudius, and daughter of Decius. She is commemorated October 28.