Cyril of Turiv

Cyril of Turiv (Кирило Туровський; Kyrylo Turovs'kyj), b ca 1130–40 in Turiv, d ca 1182. Bishop of Turiv, writer, brilliant preacher (about 10 sermons have been preserved), author of about 30 prayers, 3 moralistic stories, and 2 canons. Cyril's sermons are original renditions of the works of Saint John Chrysostom and of other Greek sources, mostly devoted to Christology. Cyril of Turiv was a master of oratorical techniques (dialogue, lament, exhortation, etc) and frequently resorted to poetic descriptions (eg, his well-known description of spring). He showed an inclination towards a symbolical interpretation of the Bible. Cyril's sermons were influential beyond Ukraine and were published in various sermonaries. His strict and ascetic prayers are used to this day. The theme of one of his stories, about the blind man and the lame man, is common in Ukrainian folklore, and the theme of another story was taken from the medieval tale Varlaam i Ioasaf (Barlaam and Joasaph).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sukhomlinov, M. O sochineniiakh Kirilla Turovskogo (Saint Petersburg 1858)
Eremin, I. Literaturnoe nasledie Kirilla Turovskogo (Leningrad 1955-8)
Pershi ukraïns'ki propovidnyky ta ïkh tvory (Rome 1973)
Lunde, I. (ed). Kirill of Turov: Bishop, Preacher, Hymnographer (Bergen, Norway, 2000)

  [This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]