Fathers of the Church
6 total works
The Works of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Volume 2
by Cyril and Leo P. McCauley
Published 5 September 2000
Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop of the Holy City in the middle of the fourth century, delivered eighteen catechetical lectures during Lent to his candidates for baptism at Easter; actually, there were nineteen including the preliminary instruction, or Procatechesis. An earlier volume of the Fathers of the Church series contains the preliminary material and the first twelve lectures. The present volume contains Catechetical Lectures 13-18 and Cyril's five Mystagogical Catecheses, which, delivered during the week after Easter, describe and explain the rites of Baptism, Chrismation, and Eucharist, all of which Cyril's newly baptized adult listeners have just experienced. In addition, this volume includes Cyril's only extant sermon (on the paralytic of John 5) and a letter to the newly crowned Emperor Constantius, in which Cyril interprets the apparition of a shining cross in the sky over Jerusalem.
Cyril's life of some seventy years, placed in the very center of the fourth century, epitomizes much that was characteristic of the period and the locale. Bishop of Jerusalem for nearly forty years, he experienced three expulsions from his see, these due as much to politico-ecclesiastical rivalry as to his participation in the contemporary theological controversies, in which Cyril played an important and still disputed role. The present volume carries about half of the bishop's most valuable production, a series of catechetical lectures for Lent and Easter week.
The introductory lecture (the Procatechesis) admitted the catechumens to the instructions to follow. Of these, the Catecheses proper, the first twelve appear in this first volume, the remaining six, with the five Mystogogical Lectures (for Easter Week), to come in Volume 2. The conferences are based firmly in the sacraments and in the successive articles of the Creed. It is upon the Creed and the various forms of it with which Cyril was involved that much of the extended Introduction centers. Cyril's body of catechetical lectures, which has been called "one of the most precious treasures of Christian antiquity," can make a telling contribution to the catechetical renewal within the Church of today and to the study and devotion of clergy and layfolk alike.
This second and final volume of the letters of St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria (412-444), takes up in medias res the great Christological controversy about the term Theotokos and the events which lead up to its resolution at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Defending the doctrines of the Trinity and the Person of Christ in the Alexandrian tradition of St. Athanasius these letters reveal Cyril's brilliant theological acumen and deep personal faith. Letters 51 to 61 are concerned with the question of John of Antioch and the bishops who, with him, supported Nestorius in the tradion of the Antiochene School, set up a rival council, and this went so far as even to depose Cyril. Of this group Letters 50 and 55 are exceptional for their theological content. Letter 66 to 74 deal with the extension of the Nestorian heresy by eastern bishops who, although they agreed to the deposition of Nestorius and the anathemas against him, began to uphold the ideas of his teachers Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia. Letters 77 to 79 and 85 are purely administrative and, as such, are noteworthy examples of Cyril's patriarchy. Letter 89, an exegetic explanation of the punishment of Cain, is a partial copy of letter 260 of St. Basil. Three letters are spurious; 86 and 87, which deal with the date of Easter, and 88, a supposed letter from Hypatia to Cyril. Perhaps the most unusual letter is 96, a breve or catalog of treasures sent from Alexandria as bribes to the imperial court at Constantinople, not an uncommon practice it would seem since Cyril writes about it quite openly. The translator has appended five letters to the corpus. The first four are addressed to Cyril and are important for the light they shed on the Nestorian controversy. The last, an alternate version of letter 85 translated from the Latin text, contains a response to the synod at Carthage concerning the date of Easter, different in the two versions.
St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria for thirty-two years in the first half of the fifth century, was a great champion of the faith against heresy; he opposed Novatianism, Neoplatonism, and Judaism. His principal struggle, however, was with Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople. Cyril vehemently defended the application of the word Theotokos, which means 'Godbearer', to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Nestorius, representative of the Antiochene theological school, held that the Blessed Virgin was the mother only of the humanity of Christ. This great Christological controversy and the Council of Ephesus that was convened in 431 to resolve it provide the subject matter for the entire collection of letters in this volume. Letter 1 is Cyril's response to a group of monks under his jurisdiction who ask for guidance in the Nestorian debate. His remarks take us straight to the heart of the matter: "Therefore, I am amazed if some should question at all whether the Holy Virgin should be called the Mother of God." Through Letter 32 we are involved with the controversy and its development down to and including the Council of Ephesus. Letter 4, addressed to Nestorius, has been called the dogmatic letter, and the Council of Ephesus approved it as maintaining the teaching of Nicaea. Letter 17 is considered an epitome of Cyril's faith. Along with twelve anathemas it condemned Nestorius in the name of the synod convened by Pope Celestine in Rome and later was added to the Acts of the Council of Ephesus Letters 33 to 50 concern the question of John, Bishop of Antioch and a personal friend of Cyril through a longstanding correspondence. When John and his bishops arrived at Ephesus, they set up a rival council and issued a decree of deposition and excommunication against Cyril and Memnon, Bishop of Ephesus. After the Council of Ephesus it was Cyril's task to reconcile the Antiochene bishops who had formed the Conciliabulum with John to restore peace to the Churches in the East. Letter 39 reveals his joy in achieving this reconciliation and in regaining his friendship with John. Together with Letters 4 and 17, Letter 39 has been called ecumenical. Letter 41 is exegetically important for its long discussion of the work "scapegoat," and Letter 45, which contains Cyril's famous formula, for it's doctrinal and theological content.
St.Cyril of Alexandria is best known for his role in the Christological disputes of the fifth century. In recent years, however, scholars have turned their attention to Cyril the exegete. Cyril wrote extensive commentaries on nearly every book of the Bible; in fact, two-thirds of his extant corpus is devoted to biblical interpretation. Yet, despite this strong interest in Cyril as theologian and biblical interpreter, his activity as the Patriarch of Alexandria remains obscure. Doctrinal treatises and biblical commentary reveal little of the daily pastoral duties that occupied Cyril during his years as leader of one of ancient Christianity's most important sees. This new translation of Cyril's ""Festal Letters"" will help fill these gaps. Twenty-nine in all, these letters cover all but three of Cyril's years as bishop. In Alexandria, festal letters functioned primarily as a vehicle for announcing the beginning of Lent and the proper date for the celebration of Easter. They also served an important catechetical purpose by providing the patriarch with an annual opportunity to present his flock with a pastoral version of the theological issues that found more formal and complex expression elsewhere. Thus, Cyril's ""Festal Letters"" offer the modern reader a glimpse into the issues that Cyril himself considered important enough to proclaim to the entire diocese and a sample of how he prepared these ideas for reception by a less sophisticated audience. These letters illuminate other aspects of the ancient church in Alexandria, including that church's complex relationship with the Jews and other religious groups, as well as the ways in which the ascetical movement wound its way into the patriarch's pastoral program. In short, Cyril of Alexandria's ""Festal Letters"" provides modern readers with a rare opportunity to enter the daily reality of the church in ancient Alexandria.
Cyril of Alexandria's contributions to theology are not confined to his prominent role in the fifth-century christological conflict, but are also vital to the development of biblical exegesis. Drawing insights from older contemporaries, Cyril examines in depth the historical contexts of prophetic texts, utilizing his knowledge of events and geographical locations in deriving his interpretations. Imperfect though his knowledge is, his approach is worthy of admiration because it combines historical analysis with moral and spiritual perspectives in achieving a balance that cannot be labeled as either ""Alexandrian"" or ""Antiochene."" This balance is assured by the broad diversity among Cyril's sources, namely, Didymus the Blind, Jerome, and Theodore of Mopsuestia. Cyril in turn has exerted a direct influence on Theodoret of Cyrus, thus forging a link in the succession of patristic exegetical developments.For Cyril, as for the Fathers in general, the internal unity of the Bible guarantees that its texts can be applied to the interpretation of other texts within the scriptural canon. A focal point of Cyril's interpretation is the relationship between God and his people as it unfolds in the course of history, revealing a sovereign God who, while tolerating no infidelity, perseveres patiently in correcting the errant. This relationship is the basis of a motif that unifies the Old and New Testaments, with the prophets serving as precursors of the Savior; thus their proclamations, though often aimed at the events of their own times, speak to believers of all eras.