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Eastern Roman Empire
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Cyril's main interest seems to have been in the relationship between Christ's human and divine natures, while Pulcheria's was in Mary herself. He may only have attained the support of the Empress insofar as his theological commitments overlapped with her desire to promote the cult of the Virgin Mary as a form of imperial civic religion.
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― Band of Angels: The Forgotten World of Early Christian Women
― Band of Angels: The Forgotten World of Early Christian Women
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The second lesson Pulcheria learned from her mother had to do with what kind of man one could trust. Fundamentally, any outstanding man at court who had sons of his own - or hope of having them - was a potential usurper. This is why eunuchs played such an important role in the imperial palace. But Christian priests and bishops constituted another class of men who - even if they did have children - had sworn themselves to a vocation in the Church. This meant that however much trouble they stirred
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― Band of Angels: The Forgotten World of Early Christian Women
― Band of Angels: The Forgotten World of Early Christian Women