When is Cyril’s name day?

Cyril can be celebrated on 4 feasts in the Orthodox calendar. People keep the feast of the saint they were named for, or the one their family has always kept.

Every feast on which Cyril is celebrated

The saints behind the name

• Cyril of Alexandria

  January 18, Hierarch, Κύριλλος Αλεξανδρείας

  St. Cyril was Archbishop of Alexandria in the fifth century. He presided at the Third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus in 431, which condemned Nestorius and confirmed that the Virgin Mary is truly Theotokos, the Mother of God.

  Name days: Kyrillos, Kyril, Kyrilos, Cyril

• 

  Cyril of Jerusalem

  March 18, Hierarch, Κύριλλος

  St. Cyril was Archbishop of Jerusalem in the fourth century, a gentle and learned shepherd of the Holy City. His famous Catechetical Lectures, delivered to those preparing for baptism, remain one of the treasures of the ancient Church, setting forth the faith and the holy mysteries with clarity and warmth.

  Name days: Kyrillos, Kyril, Kyrilos, Cyril

• 

  Cyril and Methodios, Enlighteners of the Slavs

  May 11, Apostle, Κύριλλος και Μεθόδιος

  Cyril (baptized Constantine) and his elder brother Methodios were born in Thessalonica in the ninth century. Sent by the Emperor and Patriarch Photios to Moravia, they devised an alphabet for the Slavonic language and translated the Scriptures and services, so that the Slavs might worship in their own tongue.

  Name days: Kyrillos, Kirillos, Cyril, Kyril, Methodios, Methodius

The other feasts are listed in the table above, each with a link to the saint’s life.

Also celebrating with Cyril

These names share the feast, many of them other forms of the same name:

Kyrillos, Kyril, Kyrilos, Kirillos, Methodios, Methodius

What to say on a name day

The Greek wish is Χρόνια Πολλά (Chronia Polla), “many years.” A call or a short message on the day is what people remember. See name day wishes you can send and what a name day is.