‘The Alexandrian public is more delighted with tumult than any other people; and if at any time it should find a pretext, breaks forth into the most intolerable excesses; for it never ceases from its turbulence without bloodshed.’ That’s not a quote from a BBC commentator on the streets of the Egyptian city today but rather the view of an ancient church historian at a time when the Christian church was a real powerhouse in Egypt. Indeed Alexandria was one of the four main centres of the Christian faith in the 4^th and 5^th centuries – alongside Antioch, Constantinople and Rome.

Rivalry between these four centres was intense and would often spill over into theological disputes that would involve the use of violence in settling them. They would also become involved in power struggles with the Empire and its armies, disputes that would inevitably involve the loss of life.

One such example comes from the time of Cyril, senior bishop of Alexandria from 412 AD. The Roman prefect in Alexandria at the time was Orestes, a Christian who was keen to follow the Roman policy of tolerance towards other religions in his region. Cyril, however, had different ideas and a crisis developed between them when Orestes decided to silence one of the bishop’s followers who had been agitating some Jews. In response, Cyril led a mob in a raid on synagogues and expelled Jews from the city. Things got worse when several hundred monks – remembered today for their pious devotion but who could also be depended on to act as militia – raided the city denouncing Orestes as an idolater. They stoned and wounded him but stopped short of killing him.

A female philosopher became the next victim when another Christian mob dragged her into a church, mutilated and dismembered her and burned her remains. Her alleged friendship with the prefect was cited as reason for this treatment and though Cyril cannot be directly implicated in her death, he must surely be responsible for it is he who instigated this chapter of violence in the city in the first place.

Such episodes of violence are shocking to read about today but as Philip Jenkins says in his book Jesus Wars, they were not isolated instances but form part of the story of the period – a time when the main orthodox foundations of the church were decided upon.

This post forms part of a series based on Jesus Wars. Part 1 can be found here.