The Root of the New Creation
When our Lord Jesus Christ tasted death for the sake of all, and even arose on the third day, he thus became “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20), and a root to those who are created anew by him for life, as a beginning of a new human nature which has shed off corruption.
For Christ is the first man in the new creation and a root and first fruits of those whose nature is changed by the Holy Spirit to the newness of life. Henceforth he conveys to the whole human race, by means of communion with him and by grace, the incorruptibility of his body and the unchangeableness of his divinity. When Paul the divine apostle knew this, he wrote, saying: “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49).
Cyril the Great from On the Incarnation of the Only Begotten
Cyril the Great (also known as Cyril of Alexandria) lived from approximately AD376 to 444. He was Patriarch of Alexandria from 412 to 444, when the city was at the height of its power and influence in the Roman Empire. Cyril was a prolific author and was a leading voice in the controversies surrounding the person and work of Jesus Christ. His writings and theology are still considered fundamental to the tradition of the Church Fathers and all Orthodox Christians to this day.