Cyril of Jerusalem

“ Cyril, therefore, had been one of the first to return to his own See. During his long absence the Church of Jerusalem had been the prey both of Arianism and of the new heresy of Apollinarius, which had spread among the monks who were settled on Mount Olivet. Egyptian Bishops, banished for their orthodoxy, having taken refuge in Palestine, there found themselves excluded from communion. Jerusalem was given over to heresy and schism, to the violent strife of rival factions, and to extreme licentiousness of morals. ”

“ The first year of Cyril's episcopate was rendered memorable by the appearance, May 7, 351, of a remarkable parhelion, or other atmospheric phenomenon, over Jerusalem, which was regarded as a miraculous manifestation of the symbol of redemption intended to establish the faith and confute gainsayers, and produced great excitement in the city. The churches were thronged with worshippers, and many Jews and Gentiles were converted to the faith. So important did the phenomenon appear to Cyril that he wrote to the emperor Constantius describing it. ”

“ In refutation of Jerome's account, Cyril's advocates triumphantly point to the synodical letter to pope Damasus of the bishops assembled at Constantinople, the year after the second oecumenical synod, A.D. 382, which speaks of Cyril in terms of high eulogy, as a champion of the orthodox faith against Arian heresy, and affirms his canonical election to the see of Jerusalem (Theod. H. E. v. 9) . But this does not touch the point at issue. Acacius was the metropolitan of Cyril's province. ”

“ Cyril’s care for the poor, and his personal poverty, were manifested by an incident, of which the substantial truth is proved by the malicious use to which it was afterwards perverted. “Jerusalem and the neighbouring region being visited with a famine, the poor in great multitudes, being destitute of necessary food, turned their eyes upon Cyril as their Bishop. As he had no money to succour them in their need, he sold the treasures and sacred veils of the Church. ”

“ Everywhere the timid, cowering before the prospect of popular fury, sought to save themselves by sacrificing some one else, and the bold rejoiced cynically in the chance of ridding themselves of a severe master. The scapegoat was the same in both cases. All the Hebrews who conceived themselves to have any grudge against Cyril—Texelius, the theoretical republican Rubenssohn, the English Jews, the schemers he had disappointed at Jerusalem and Alexandria—displayed the most engaging ignorance of any political designs on the part of their nation. ”

“ Milles collected a large number of passages bearing on the life and writings of S. Cyril, of which it will be sufficient to quote a few which refer expressly to his Lectures.
S. Jerome, in his Book of Illustrious Men, or Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers, composed at Bethlehem about six years after Cyril’s death, writes in Chapter 112: “Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, having been often driven out from the Church, afterwards in the reign of Theodosius held his Bishopric undisturbed for eight years: by whom there are Catechetical Lectures, which he composed in his youth.” ”

“ But of the Church in Jerusalem, the mother of all Churches, we declare that the most reverend and religious Cyril is Bishop, both as long since canonically elected by those of his province, and as having struggled much against the Arians in different places. Whom, as being lawfully and canonically established by us, we invite your piety also to congratulate, through spiritual love, and the fear of the Lord, which represses all human affection, and accounts the edification of the Churches more precious than sympathy with, or favour of, individuals. ”

“ Let them enjoy the comfort we can give, and strengthen us with blessings.”
One member only of Cyril’s family is mentioned by name, his sister’s son Gelasius, who was appointed by Cyril to be Bishop of Cæsarea on the death of Acacius, a.d. 366 circ.
Cyril himself was probably born, or at least brought up, in or near Jerusalem, for it was usual to choose a Bishop from among the Clergy over whom he was to preside, a preference being given to such as were best known to the people generally [1] . ”

“ Every day the agent forwarded from Jerusalem a huge pile of letters and telegrams, dealing with all the complicated issues raised by the political situation, and Cyril dictated the answers from his divan while Mansfield and Paschics, who had joined the party from Jerusalem, took it in turns to write, and Mr Hicks lounged in the verandah, looking in at the workers now and then with a benevolent caution not to overdo things. ”

“ The episcopate of Maximus terminated at the close of 350 or the beginning of 351, and Cyril was chosen to fill the episcopal chair of Jerusalem. A cloud of doubt and difficulty hangs over his elevation to the episcopate. Jerome can hardly have been mistaken as to the main fact, though theological prejudice and personal dislike may have warped his judgment and caused him to represent the case in the least favourable light. On some leading questions Cyril and Jerome were decidedly opposed. In the great controversy of the day Cyril belonged to the Asiatic party, Jerome to that of Rome. ”

“ This being the custom at Jerusalem in Cyril’s time, we may conjecture that Cat. iv., which corresponds closely to the description of John’s discourse, was delivered, like that, on a Sunday before the whole congregation: and this is in fact suggested by Cyril’s own words in § 3: “Let those here present, whose habit of mind is mature, and who have their senses already exercised to discern good and evil, endure patiently to listen to things fitted rather for children.” ”

“ When Helena, the mother of Constantine, visited Palestine in 326 A. D., she was shown nothing at Jerusalem except the two footprints of Christ on Olivet.4 The story of her discovery of the true Cross11 is not noticed till about a century later,5 though as early as 348 A. D. St. Cyril of Jerusalem6 speaks of fragments of the Cross as being distributed “piecemeal throughout the world.” The site of the Ascension is thus the first of all to be mentioned. ”

“ The pilgrims also, who thronged to Jerusalem during a long course of years, were always eager, and often successful, in obtaining a small fragment of the cross for themselves; so that at length, according to the strong expression of St. Cyril, the whole earth was filled with this sacred wood. Even at present, there is scarcely a Roman Catholic cathedral which does not display some pretended pieces of this relic ”

“ Martius Hurbo sent against, 2, 398.245 join an expedition against the Christians of Tyre, 3, 20. in the twelfth century, 3, 424–5. Cyrenaica, the Judæans of, have a synagogue in Jerusalem, 2, 201. the Jews of, rebel against Trajan, 2, 394, 395, 396. Cyrene, Judæans settle in, 1, 419. position of the Judæans in, 1, 503. given to Ptolemy VII, 1, 507. the Judæans of, make annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem, 2, 220. Zealots take refuge in, 2, 317, 318. Jewish revolt in, 2, 331. the Jews of, revolt from Trajan, 2, 395, 397. Cyril, bishop of Alexandria, ill-treats the Jews, 2, 618–19; 3, 23. ”

“ To fight with the king of Persia - To remove all the scruples of Cyrus, and to excite him to do all that God designs him to do for the restoration of my people, and the rebuilding of the city and temple of Jerusalem. Nothing less than a supernatural agency in the mind of Cyrus can account for his decree in favor of the Jews. ”

“ Thus the prophet consoled Israel, on the banks of Chebar; but he lived not to witness the deliverance which he announced. Not long however after his death, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, the king of Persia, (who had conquered Assyria and Babylonia) by the means of the astonishment excited in him by the prophecies communicated to him by Daniel. Cyrus caused proclamation to be made through all his dominions, saying, 'Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia; The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. ”

“ Turning to Egypt, always a place of importance in Jewish history, we learn that there were, about the middle of the reign of the Emperor Theodosius II., great disturbances, caused mainly by the continual feuds between the Christians and Jews. The latter had always been conspicuous, not more on account of their wealth and numbers, than of their turbulent spirit. This, however, was in a great measure stirred into action by the accession of Cyril to the bishopric of Alexandria, vacated by Theophilus, A.D. 412. Cyril was a man of great force of character, but vain, hasty, and imperious. ”

“ But, as Kuenen points out, [591] we have yet further evidence for the probability of a Return under Cyrus, in the explicit predictions of the Second Isaiah that Cyrus would be the builder of Jerusalem and the Temple. “If they express the expectation, nourished by the prophet and his contemporaries, then it is clear from their preservation for future generations that Cyrus did not disappoint the hope of the exiles, from whose midst this voice pealed forth to him.” ”

“ When the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity had elapsed, King Cyrus, by an edict published in the first year of his rule over Babylon, gave permission to all the Jews in his whole realm to return to their native land, and called upon them to rebuild the temple of God at Jerusalem. ”

“ I didn't mean to sandwich a sermon to you between my remarks on Cyril, but your disdainful upper lip compelled that testimony. Let us leave you and your virtues alone. Cyril is weak. He's the weak pink type that may fall to women or drink or anything in fact where an opportunity is given him of being influenced by a stronger character than his own. At the moment he's being influenced by you to go to Confession, and say his rosary, and hear Mass, and enjoy all the other treats that our holy religion gives us. ”

“ I want every one to recognise, as I do, how great you are. It hurts me when they show me all kinds of honour because I happen to wear a crown, and leave you in the background, when every man there ought to be on his knees before you. You pretend not to feel it, for my sake, but I know you do. It makes me tingle with shame. When we are married, I shall be only your wife and nothing else, and no one shall put me before you.”
“Then I hope for both our sakes that the Emperor Sigismund will not pay another visit to Palestine—during our reign, at any rate.” Cyril smiled rather unsteadily. ”

“ Cyrus takes possession of Babylon, and allows the Jews to return.
One year after Cyrus had conquered Babylon, [Pg 222] he issued an edict authorizing the Jews to return to Jerusalem, and to rebuild the city and the Temple. This event had been long before predicted by the prophets, as the result which God had determined upon for purposes of his own. We should not naturally have expected that such a conqueror as Cyrus would feel any real and honest interest in promoting the designs of God ”

“ Cyril took advantage of the excitement by leading a mob to the synagogues, of which he took possession, and then abandoned the property of the Jews to pillage and expelled them from the city, which they had inhabited since its foundation by Alexander. ”

“ Kingsley remarks that though Cyril thought he was establishing the kingdom of God upon earth, he was in reality establishing a sort of devil’s kingdom. The kingdom of God was independent of Cyril. And yet, of course, a great deal of the material success of Christianity was due to Cyril—if Christianity can really have such a thing as material success. Cyril was a sort of Cæsar to whom must be rendered the things that are Cæsar’s. ”

“ It is without reason that you triumph at the application which Thomas Paine makes of the prophecy of Isaiah, in chapters xliv. and xlv. No man that reads the passage can hesitate for a moment to declare it a narrative of the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus, after the seventy years captivity. Cyrus is mentioned by name, as well as his command to rebuild Jerusalem, and his victories over the nations, above one hundred years before the event. ”

“ Among these were the Jews, and it is on account of this that his name is so favourably mentioned in the Old Testament. Cyrus himself says, that he caused all the gods whose statues had been brought to Babylon to be returned to the places whence they had come, and it is clear that, as the Jews had no divine statues, Cyrus did what he could for them, and sent back to Jerusalem the sacred vessels (Ezra i. 7) , and also gave a grant for the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra iii. 7) . ”

“ Educated in that world of practical industrial production as well as of religious exercise, which by its proximity to the great city accustomed monks to that world which they despised; entangled from boyhood in the intrigues of his fierce and ambitious uncle Theophilus, Cyril had succeeded him in the patriarchate of Alexandria without having felt a doubt, and stood free to throw his fiery energy and clear practical intellect into the cause of the Church without scruple, even, where necessary, without pity. ”

“ Each people was permitted to carry back with it its ancestral gods. The Jews alone had no images to take; the sacred vessels of the temple of Jerusalem were accordingly given to them. It was a faithful remnant that returned to the land of their fathers, consisting mostly of priests and Levites, determined henceforward to obey strictly the laws of their God, and full of gratitude to their deliverer. In Jerusalem Cyrus thus had a colony whose loyalty to himself and his successors could be trusted, and who would form, as it were, an outpost against attacks on the side of Egypt. ”