Kyrillos 1 | Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire |
| Sex | M |
| Floruit | E/M IX |
| Dates | 820 (tpq) / 829 (taq) |
| PmbZ No. | 4206 |
| Religion | Christian |
| Locations | Gortyna (Crete) (officeplace); Gortyna (Crete) |
| Occupation | Bishop |
| Titles | Bishop, Gortyna (Crete) (office) |
| Textual Sources | Genesii, Josephi, Regum Libri Quattuor, eds. A. Lesmüller-Werner and I. Thurn, CFHB 14 (Berlin, 1978) (history); Pseudo-Symeon, Chronographia, ed. I. Bekker (Bonn, 1838), pp. 603-760 (history); Theophanes Continuatus, ed. I. Bekker (Bonn, 1838) (history); Zonaras = Ioannis Zonarae Epitome Historiarum, libri XIII-XVIII, ed. Th. Büttner-Wobst, (Bonn, 1897) (history) |
Kyrillos 1 was bishop of Gortyna in Crete in the reign of Michael II (Michael 10); described as a blameless victim (ἄμωμον ἰερεῖον); he was martyred by the Arabs when they captured the island and his blood, still flowing, is said to have worked miracles ever after: Theoph. Cont. II 23 (pp. 77-78) (ὁ Γορτύνης πρόεδρος), Ps.-Symeon 624 (ὁ θαυματουργὸς ἐπίσκοπος Γορτύνης), Zon. XV 24. 7 (ὁ Γορτύνης ἐπίσκοπος), Genesius II 11. There is evidently confusion here with St Cyril of Gortyna in Crete who was martyred in the persecution under Diocletian; see BHG 467b. For the error in the Greek sources, see Treadgold, Revival, p. 429, n. 354, and ODB II, p. 860, s.n. Gortyna (referring to V. Christides, The Conquest of Crete by the Arabs (c.a. 824): A Turning-Point in the Struggle between Byzantium and Islam (Athens, 1984), pp. 92-94). See also Basilios 57.
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