Cyril of Jerusalem (
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
Κύριλλος Α΄ Ἱεροσολύμων) was a distinguished theologian of the early Church (ca. 313 – 386). He is venerated as a
saintSaints, individuals of exceptional holiness, are significant in many religions, particularly Christianity.-General characteristics :Though the term is mostly used for Christians considered holy or virtuous, many religions use similar concepts to elevate people worthy of respect, e.g. see Hindu...
by the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
, the
Eastern Orthodox ChurchThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
, and the
Anglican CommunionThe Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy...
. In 1883, Cyril was declared a
Doctor of the ChurchDoctor of the Church is a title given by a variety of Christian churches to individuals whom they recognize as having been of particular importance, particularly regarding their additions to theological or doctrinal matters.-Catholicism:In Catholicism, this title is given to a saint from whose...
by
Pope Leo XIIIPope Leo XIII , born Count Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci, was the 257th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903, succeeding Pope Pius IX. Reigning until the age of 93, he was the oldest pope, and had the third longest pontificate, behind Pius IX and John Paul II...
.
Life and character
Little is known of his life before he became bishop but some is known ; the assignment of the year "315" for his birth rests on mere conjecture. It seems with, more assurance, closer to 313. St. Cyril was ordained
deaconDeacon is a role in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
by Bishop
St. Macarius of JerusalemSaint Macarius of Jerusalem was Bishop of Jerusalem from 312 to shortly before 335, according to Sozomen.St. Athanasius, in one of his orations against Arianism, refers to St. Macarius as an example of "the honest and simple style of apostolical men." The date 312 for Macarius's accession to the...
about 335, and
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
some eight years later by Bishop
St. MaximusSaint Maximus of Jerusalem was an early Christian saint and bishop of Jerusalem from roughly 333 A.D. to his death in roughly 350 A.D...
. About the end of the year 350, he succeeded St. Maximus in the
SeeAn episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Jerusalem. Naturally inclined to peace and conciliation, St. Cyril took at first a rather moderate position, distinctly averse from
ArianismArianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heretic at the First Council of Nicea of 325, later exonerated in 335 at the First Synod of Tyre, and then pronounced a heretic again after his death at the First Council of Constantinople of 381...
, but (like not a few of his undoubtedly orthodox contemporaries) by no means eager to accept the uncompromising term
homooussios (ὁμοούσιος). Separating from his
metropolitanIn Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital...
,
Acacius of CaesareaAcacius of Caesarea in Greek Ἀκάκιος Mονόφθαλμος was a Christian bishop, the pupil and successor in the Palestinian see of Caesarea of Eusebius AD 340, whose life he wrote. He is remembered chiefly for his bitter opposition to St. Cyril of Jerusalem and for the part he was afterwards enabled to...
, a partisan of
AriusArius was a Berber Christian priest from Alexandria, Egypt in the early fourth century whose teachings, now called Arianism, were deemed heretical by the Church....
, St. Cyril took the side of the
EusebiansEusebius of Caesarea became the bishop of Caesarea Palaestina, the capital of Iudaea province, c 314...
, the "right wing" of the post-Nicene conciliation party, and thus got into difficulties with his superior, which were increased by Acacius's jealousy of the importance assigned to St. Cyril's See by the
Council of NicaeaThe First Council of Nicaea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325 CE...
. A council held under Acacius's influence in 358 deposed St. Cyril and forced him to retire to
TarsusTarsus is a historical city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from Mediterrenean Sea. It is part of Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, fourth largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
. At that time he was officially charged with selling church property to help the poor, although the actual motivation appears to be that St. Cyril was teaching
NiceneThe Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325...
and not
ArianArianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heretic at the First Council of Nicea of 325, later exonerated in 335 at the First Synod of Tyre, and then pronounced a heretic again after his death at the First Council of Constantinople of 381...
doctrine in his catechism. On the other hand, the conciliatory
Council of SeleuciaThe Council of Seleucia was an early Christian church synod at Seleucia Isauria .In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of the eastern bishops at Nicomedia to resolve the Arian controversy over the nature of the divinity of...
in the following year, at which St. Cyril was present, deposed Acacius. In 360 the process was reversed through the metropolitan's court influence, and Cyril suffered another year's exile from Jerusalem, until Emperor
JulianFlavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian, Julian the Apostate or Julian the Philosopher , was Roman Emperor , last of the Constantinian dynasty...
's accession allowed him to return. The
ArianArianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heretic at the First Council of Nicea of 325, later exonerated in 335 at the First Synod of Tyre, and then pronounced a heretic again after his death at the First Council of Constantinople of 381...
Emperor
ValensFlavius Julius Valens was Roman Emperor , after he was given the Eastern part of the empire by his brother Valentinian I...
banished him once more in 367. St. Cyril was able to return, once more, at the accession of Emperor
GratianFlavius Gratianus , known usually by the anglicised name Gratian, was a Western Roman Emperor from 375 to 383....
, after which he remained undisturbed until his death in 386. St. Cyril's jurisdiction over Jerusalem was expressly confirmed by the
First Council of ConstantinopleThe First Council of Constantinople is recognised as the Second Ecumenical Council by the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox, the Eastern Orthodox, the Roman Catholics, the Old Catholics, and a number of other Western Christian groups...
(381), at which he was present. At that council, he voted for acceptance of the term
homooussios, having been finally convinced that there was no better alternative.
Theological position
Though his theology was at first somewhat indefinite in phraseology, he undoubtedly gave a thorough adhesion to the Nicene orthodoxy. Even if he does avoid the debatable term
homooussiosHomoousian is a technical theological term used in discussion of the Christian understanding of God as Trinity. The Nicene Creed describes Jesus as being homooúsios with God the Father — that is, they are of the "same substance" and are equally God...
, he expresses its sense in many passages, which exclude equally
PatripassianismIn Christian theology, patripassianism is the view that the Father suffers. This view is opposed to the classical theological doctrine of divine apathy. According to classical theology it is possible for Christ to suffer only in virtue of his human nature. The divine nature is incapable of suffering...
,
SabellianismIn Christianity, Sabellianism, is the nontrinitarian belief that the Heavenly Father, Resurrected Son and Holy Spirit are different modes or aspects of one God, as perceived by the believer, rather than three distinct persons in God Himself.The term Sabellianism comes from...
, and the formula "there was a time when the Son was not" attributed to Arius. In other points he takes the ordinary
ground of the Eastern Fathers, as in the emphasis he lays on the freedom of the will, the
autexousion (αὐτεξούσιον), and his imperfect realization of the factor so much more strongly brought out in the West—sin. To him sin is the consequence of freedom, not a natural condition. The body is not the cause, but the instrument of sin. The remedy for it is repentance, on which he insists. Like many of the Eastern Fathers, he has an essentially moralistic conception of Christianity . His doctrine of the Resurrection is not quite so realistic as that of other Fathers; but his conception of the Church is decidedly empirical—the existing catholic Church form is the true one, intended by Christ, the completion of the Church of the
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
. His doctrine on the
EucharistThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
is noteworthy. If he sometimes seems to approach the symbolical view, at other times he comes very close to a strong realistic doctrine. The bread and wine are not mere elements, but the body and blood of Christ.
Catechetical lectures
His famous twenty-three catechetical lectures (
GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
Κατηχήσεις), which he delivered while still a
presbyterPresbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...
in 347 or 348, contain instructions on the principal topics of Christian faith and practise, in rather a popular than a scientific manner, full of a warm pastoral love and care for the catechumens to whom they were delivered. Each lecture is based upon a text of Scripture, and there is an abundance of Scriptural quotation throughout. After a general introduction, eighteen lectures follow for the
competentes, and the remaining five are addressed to the newly baptized, in preparation for the reception of Holy Communion. These last instructional addresses are called
mystagogic (μυσταγωγικαί), because they deal with the
mysteries (μυστήρια) i.e. Sacraments of
BaptismIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
, Confirmation and the
EucharistThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
.
Parallel with the exposition of the
CreedA creed is a statement of belief—usually religious belief—or faith often recited as part of a religious service. The word derives from the for I believe...
as it was then received in the Church of Jerusalem are vigorous polemics against
paganPaganism is a word with several different meanings.In its broadest definition, pagan denotes all non-Abrahamic religions, that is to say it denotes all religions other than Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.Other usages are:*Paganism may mean Polytheism: The group so defined includes most of the...
, Jewish, and
hereticalHeresy is the rejection of one or more established beliefs of a religious body, or adherence to "other beliefs." Christian heresy refers to unorthodox practices and beliefs that were deemed to be heretical by one or more of the Christian churches. The term "heresy" most commonly refers to those...
errors. They are of great importance for the light which they throw upon the method of instruction usual of that age, as well as upon the liturgical practises of the period, of which they give the fullest account extant.
St. Cyril's feast day is
commemoratedIn the Tridentine Mass period of the Roman Rite, when a higher-ranked liturgical celebration impeded the celebration of a lesser that, either permanently or by coincidence, fell on the same day, the prayer of the lower-ranked celebration was usually added to that of the higher...
on March 18.
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