CYRIL OF JERUSALEM Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, preached his important and eloquent sermons at a time when the city was the focus of vital developments in the Church. A spectacular new liturgy was evolving in the basilica built by the Emperor Constantine; yet the city was also the centre of fierce struggles inside the Church, as the successors to Arius strove to impose their heterodox teachings, and neighbouring Caesarea fought to maintain its primacy. This illuminating study begins with a comprehensive introduction to Cyril’s life and works. It also considers the growing archaeological evidence for the Constantinian complex, centred on Calvary and Jesus’ tomb, where Cyril preached. A full account of the rites he conducted there is given, along with an assessment of Cyril’s thought in the context of fourth-century theological developments. There follow up-to-date translations of a selection of Cyril’s writings, mostly connected with the instruction of candidates for baptism, and focusing on the Creed and the liturgical rites. Also included are the text of a biblical sermon, and a fascinating letter written by Cyril to the Emperor Constantius. Accessible yet erudite, this volume will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of liturgy, theology and archaeology in the early Church. Edward Yarnold, S.J. is a Research Lecturer at the University of Oxford. His numerous publications include The Study of Liturgy (co- editor, 1976 and 1992), The Study of Spirituality (co-editor, 1986) and Truth and Authority (with Henry Chadwick, 1977). THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS Edited by Carol Harrison University of Durham The Greek and Latin Fathers of the church are central to the creation of Christian doctrine, yet often unapproachable because of the sheer volume of their writings and the relative paucity of accessible translations. This series makes available translations of key selected texts by the major Fathers to all students of the early church. Already published: MAXIMUS THE CONFESSOR Andrew Louth IRENAEUS OF LYONS Robert M.Grant AMBROSE Boniface Ramsey, O.P. ORIGEN Joseph W.Trigg GREGORY OF NYSSA Anthony Meredith, S.J. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM Wendy Mayer and Pauline Allen CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA Norman Russell CYRIL OF JERUSALEM Edward Yarnold, S.J. London and New York First published 2000 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. © 2000 Edward Yarnold All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Yarnold, Edward. Cyril of Jerusalem/Edward Yarnold. p. cm. —(The early church fathers) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Theology—Early works to 1800. 2. Cyril, Saint, Bishop of Jerusalem, ca. 315–387. I. Cyril, Saint, Bishop of Jerusalem, ca. 315–387. Selections. English. II. Title. III. Series BR65.C952 E5 2000 270.2′092–dc21 00–036638 ISBN 0-415-19903-4 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-19904-2 (pbk) ISBN 0-203-13745-0 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-17664-2 (Glassbook Format) CONTENTS List of figures vii Preface ix Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 CYRIL’S LIFE 3 2 JERUSALEM 8 3 WORKS 22 4 LITURGY 33 5 CYRIL’S USE OF SCRIPTURE, AND HIS THEOLOGY 56 Translations TEXTS 67 LETTER TO CONSTANTIUS 68 HOMILY ON THE PARALYTIC BY THE POOL 71 PROCATECHESIS 79 CATECHESES 87 CATECHESIS 3 89 CATECHESIS 4 97 CATECHESIS 5 112 CATECHESIS 6 115 CATECHESIS 10 119 CATECHESIS 11 129 CATECHESIS 12 140 CATECHESIS 13 149 v CONTENTS CATECHESIS 14 164 CATECHESIS 18 167 MYSTAGOGIC CATECHESIS 1 169 MYSTAGOGIC CATECHESIS 2 173 MYSTAGOGIC CATECHESIS 3 176 MYSTAGOGIC CATECHESIS 4 179 MYSTAGOGIC CATECHESIS 5 182 Notes 188 Bibliography 206 Index 209 vi FIGURES 1 The Church of the Martyrium as described by Eusebius 16 2 A reconstruction of the Anastasis, the church built round the Tomb of Christ at Golgotha 19 vii PREFACE Having taught and written on Cyril of Jerusalem for more than thirty years, I was pleased to be given the opportunity of gathering together my thoughts on him when Dr Carol Harrison invited me to contribute a volume to the present series. I have several people to thank for helping me to bring this work to its conclusion: above all my confrère Robert Murray for reading the typescript and from his wide knowledge, especially of the Syriac fathers, making many valuable suggestions, some of which constraints of space unfortunately did not allow me to follow; Dr Alexis Doval, who in our many hours working together over his thesis confirmed my belief that the Mystagogic Catecheses are indeed attributable to Cyril; to colleagues at Campion Hall and Seton Hall where this work was written; and to John and Dawn Willson who provided hospitality and encouragement in the countryside of Provence while I was revising my translation. I gratefully acknowledge permission to reproduce the two drawings from Dr John Wilkinson’s Egeria’s Travels, published by Aris & Philips, Warminster. ix ABBREVIATIONS ad Const. Letter to Constantius Adv. Haer. Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies) Bapt. Hom. Baptismal Homilies Cat. Catecheses CCSG Corpus Christianorum Series Graeca CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina CH A.Cameron and S.G.Hall, Eusebius’ Life of Constantine, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1999 Chron. Chronicon Com. Esa. Commentary on Isaiah Com. Matt. Commentary on Matthew CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum de ob. Theod. de obitu Theodosii (On the Death of Theodosius) de Syn. de Synodis Ep. Epistle ET English Translation FaCh The Fathers of the Church, Washington DC, Catholic University of America Press, 1947– GCS Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte GT S.Gibson and J.E.Taylor, Beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem, London, Palestinian Exploration Fund, 1994 HE Historia Ecclesiastica (History of the Church) Hist. Rom. History of Rome JTS Journal of Theological Studies (de) Laud. Const. De Laudibus Constantini (Praise of Constantine) LCC The Library of Christian Classics, London, SCM Press, 1953– LXX Septuagint xi ABBREVIATIONS MC Mystagogic Catecheses OCA Orientalia Christiana Analecta OCP Orientalia Christiana Periodica Pereg. Peregrinatio Egeriae PG J.-P.Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Graeca PL J.-P.Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Series Latina PO Patrologia Orientalis Procat. Procatechesis RHE Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique RR W.K.Reischl and J.Rupp (eds), S.Patris Nostri Cyrilli Hierosolymorum Archiepiscopi Opera quae supersunt Omnia, Munich, Libraria Lentneriana SC Sources chrétiennes, Paris, Éditions du Cerf StPatr Studia Patristica VC Vigiliae Christianae Vit. Const. Vita Constantini (Life of Constantine) xii Introduction 1 CYRIL’S LIFE We know virtually nothing about Cyril’s early life. He was born shortly before that second spring in the history of the Church, when Constantine’s vision of the Cross heralded his victory over his rival Maxentius in 312 and led him to embrace Christianity, granting the Church first a tolerated, and then an increasingly favoured position in the Roman Empire. Cyril would have been a schoolboy at the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325, and was ordained priest by Maximus who had become Bishop of Jerusalem shortly before the dedication of Constantine’s great basilica there in 335.1 Though W.Telfer suggested a Caesarean origin,2 Cyril seems to have been a native of Jerusalem, for he was ordained to serve that church, and knew the appearance of the site before Constantine’s basilica was built. For it was in a garden that he was crucified. For although it has been largely decorated with royal gifts, it was once a garden, and the signs and remains of it still survive. (Cat. 14.5) The phrase ‘shelter of the rock’ (Cant 2.14 (LXX)) refers to the shelter which at that time stood in front of the door to the Saviour’s tomb, and had been hollowed from the very rock in the way that was customary here in front of tombs. It is no longer visible because some time ago the front chamber was chiselled away when the tomb was given the decoration it has today. For before the Emperor had set this magnificent structure over the tomb, there was a shelter in front of the rock. (Cat. 14.9) Although the year in which Cyril became bishop cannot be established precisely, there are certain pointers to a date of about 3 INTRODUCTION 350. His remark in the Catecheses that the Emperor Probus (276– 282) reigned ‘a full seventy years ago’3 suggests that he had succeeded to the see of Jerusalem by the middle of the century; for although it was not unknown for a presbyter to deliver catechetical instructions (John Chrysostom’s baptismal homilies at Antioch are an example) Cyril gives no hint that the ‘bishop’ in the Catecheses is any other than himself—in contrast to Homily 20, where the reference to ‘our father’s teaching’ (patrikes didaskalias) seems to imply that he had not yet become bishop. His accession was still recent when he wrote his Letter to Constantius in 351, which he calls his ‘firstfruits’, describing the apparition of a shining cross in the sky over Jerusalem (ad Const. 1). Much uncertainty surrounds Cyril’s succession to the see. According to one tradition two militantly Arian bishops of nearby cities, namely Acacius of Caesarea (the metropolitan see) and Patrophilus of Scythopolis, conspired to oust Maximus of Jerusalem because of his staunch defence of the orthodox faith, and appointed Cyril in his place (Socrates, HE 2.38; Sozomen, HE 2.20; 4.20).