These things have been said by us for the present in due proportion concerning the eternal life, which is the final teaching and the end of those things promised in the Faith. May it be granted to us all, both those who teach and those who hear, to enjoy it, through the grace of God!
XXXII. Catechesis XVIII. On the Resurrection of the Flesh, etc.
Furthermore, beloved brothers, the word of instruction urges you all to prepare the soul for the reception of B the heavenly gifts. Regarding the holy and apostolic faith handed down to you for confession, we have spoken as many catechetical instructions as time allowed, through the grace of the Lord, during these past days of Lent; not that these were the only ones that ought to be spoken—for many things were left out, and perhaps things that might be comprehended more profoundly by better teachers. But with the holy day of C Pascha now at hand, and your charity in Christ being illuminated through the laver of regeneration, you shall be taught again the things that are appropriate, God willing: with how much piety and order it is necessary for those called to enter; for what reason each of the holy mysteries of baptism is performed; and with how much reverence and order it is necessary to proceed from baptism to the holy altar of God, and to enjoy the spiritual and heavenly mysteries D distributed there, so that your soul, having been enlightened first through the word of teaching, may perceive through each individual part those spiritual, heavenly, uncontaminated, life-giving, and fearful mysteries of Christ to partake of, for the sanctification of souls and bodies, for the remission of sins, and for the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven.
A ...of [your] soul through the word of teaching being enlightened, the magnitude of the gifts bestowed upon you from God may be recognized in each one.
XXXIII. But after the holy and salutary day of Pascha, beginning from the second day of the week, immediately, on each of the following days of the week, entering after the synaxis into the holy place of the Resurrection, you shall hear other catecheses, God willing; in which you shall again be taught the reasons for each of the things that have taken place, and will receive the proofs from the Old and New Testaments: B first, concerning the things that occurred immediately before baptism; then, how you were cleansed of sins by the Lord through the laver of water in the word; and how you have become partakers of the appellation of Christ in the manner of the priesthood, and how the seal of the communion of the Holy Spirit was given to you; and concerning the mysteries on the altar of the New Testament, which take their beginning from thence: what the divine Scriptures have handed down, what is the power of these, and how it is fitting to approach them, and when, and how they should be held. But at the end of all, how it behooves you in the time to come, both by deeds and words, to conduct and live your lives worthily of the grace received, that you may all be able to enjoy eternal life. And these things, if God will, shall be spoken of.
XXXIV. As for the rest, brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice: C for your redemption has drawn near, and the heavenly host of angels awaits your salvation. And the voice is already heard of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord.
A But the prophet cries out: "You who thirst, come to the water"; and immediately following: "Hear me, and eat what is good, and your soul shall delight in good things"; and not long after, you shall hear the good reading saying: "Be enlightened, be enlightened, O new Jerusalem; for your light has come." Regarding this Jerusalem, the prophet has said: "And after these things you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful metropolis of Zion," because of the law that went forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, which from thence rained down upon the whole inhabited world. To her also, the prophet says concerning you: "Lift up your eyes round about, and see your children gathered together." She answers, saying: "Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves with their young ones unto me?" Clouds, because of their spiritual elevation and lightness; and doves, because of their simplicity. And again: "Who has heard such things, or who has seen thus? If the earth has travailed in one day, and a nation been born at once; for Zion has travailed and brought forth her children." And all things shall be filled with ineffable joy, because of the Lord who says: "Behold, I make Jerusalem an exultation, and my people a joy."
B XXXV. And may it also be permitted to say of you even now: "Rejoice, O heavens, and let the earth exult," and the rest, "because God has had mercy on his people, and has comforted the humble of his people." These things shall be because of the loving-kindness of God, who says to you: "Behold, I will blot out your iniquities as a cloud, and your sins as darkness." And you, having been deemed worthy of the name of the faithful (of whom it is written: "To those who serve me, a new name shall be called, which shall be blessed upon the earth"), will say with joy: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us," and the rest; and again: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, quickened us together with Christ," and the rest. And again, in the same manner, praise the Lord, the author of good things, saying: "When the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior towards man... C
A likewise praise the Lord of all good things, saying: Glory, honor, and power through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto all the endless ages of ages. Amen.
For when the kindness and the love of God our Savior appeared—not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us—through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord, that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs according to hope of eternal life. B May God Himself and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your mind enlightened; and may He keep you at all times in good deeds, words, and thoughts. To Him be glory, honor, and dominion through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and unto all the infinite ages of ages. Amen.
FIVE MYSTAGOGICAL CATECHESES
CATECHESIS NINETEENTH
MYSTAGOGICAL I.
CONCERNING THE CEREMONIES PRELIMINARY TO BAPTISM.
PREFACE
I. There follow five catecheses of a new argument. For since in the previous ones he had imbued those to be baptized with the precepts of Christian doctrine, in these he instructs the baptized regarding the three sacraments which were simultaneously received in antiquity, namely, Baptism, holy Chrism or Confirmation, and the Eucharist. And the first indeed deals with the ceremonies employed in the porch of the baptistery before the actual baptism, namely, the abjurations and the confession of faith; the second, concerning the anointing with exorcized oil, and the act of baptism itself; the third, concerning the anointing of the sacred Chrism; the fourth, concerning the Eucharist; the fifth, concerning the sacred liturgy and communion. It was not permitted to disclose these mysteries to those not yet initiated. However, lest they be entirely ignorant of them, during the paschal vigil itself, briefly and summarily, as much as the account of time allowed, the force and reason of each of them was disclosed; but full and accurate information regarding them was deferred to the paschal days, at which time, beginning from the second feria, Cyril delivered these discourses after the synaxis. All these things he commemorates in cat. 18, num. 32 and 33. The custom of the other Churches was almost the same, out of which arose discourses of similar argument to these Cyrillian ones: those of Gaudentius to the Neophytes, the book of Ambrose *De mysteriis*, and another by an uncertain author *De sacramentis*, composed from their discourses; and the sermons of S. Augustine and others *Ad infantes*.
II. That these catecheses, no less than the former, are truly those of our Cyril, and have reached us entire and not interpolated with additions, we hope we have clearly proven in our second dissertation, by Cyril’s own testimony, by the similarity of language, doctrine, and method, and by the authorities of the most ancient writers; nor is it obscure that either the opinion of Rivet or the doubt of Albertini proceeded from nothing other than hatred for the Catholic dogma contained in them: for if they had thought they had found therein some things conformable to their own tenets, they would assuredly have extolled the antiquity and excellence of the author and the work with the highest praises. They are called mystagogical catecheses,
A as if they were explanations of the holier mysteries; or simply mystagogies: a name attributed to them by Eustratius, an author of the sixth century, and by the one who wrote the unpublished book in the Royal Library, *On the Divine Mysteries*. Cyril himself, in cat. 19, no. 11, and cat. 20, no. 1, so refers to them. Yet he calls them catecheses in cat. 18, no. 33, and Anastasius Sinaita, along with others, does the same. Manuscript codices present them inscribed under the name of "Mystagogical Catecheses."
III. In these, he briefly and clearly explains the ceremonies of the three sacraments and of the liturgy, and he declares and fortifies them by the testimonies of the Scriptures, as far as that could be done. One should not, however, think that he commemorated every single sacred rite and ceremony. For in the first, he speaks nothing of exorcisms, the imposition of hands, and the various prayers which were in use either before or after the renunciations; in the second, he says nothing of the blessing of the fonts, the imposition of the white garment, the carrying of a taper, etc.; in the third, nothing of the imposition of hands joined with chrismation, nor of the prayers and the formula of words which accompanied both; in the fifth, he reports nothing of many liturgical actions, having omitted everything which preceded the washing of the hands and the kiss of peace. But just as it is certain that some rites which are passed over by Cyril were observed at Jerusalem, so we do not doubt that the sacred actions in that age were simpler than in succeeding times.
IV. These catecheses are much shorter than the preceding ones: either because the nature of the feast days on which the synaxis was performed did not allow for a sermon to be drawn out too long after the synaxis; or because so great a mass of arguments and Scriptural testimonies was not necessary in matters which, for the most part, proceeded from secret tradition without the Scriptures; or, finally, because, since they had already been instructed in these matters on the paschal vigil and had made a certain profession of our faith in baptism, it was not necessary to accumulate so many arguments to produce faith. They were delivered not in the middle of the synaxis, but after it was completed; and not in the major church, but in the very cave of the Lord’s Resurrection (from cat. 18, no. 22), which, having been amplified by the magnificent works of Constantine, could easily hold the people for hearing the sermons.
V. In previous editions, these catecheses constitute a different order and class from the preceding ones, and are not numbered with them; in this matter, the editors have followed the authority of all the manuscripts. We, attending to the convenience of citation, have judged that these should be called by numbers continuous with the preceding ones: and we count this first mystagogical [catechesis] as the nineteenth, and the rest thereafter in order; keeping in the Greek inscriptions and the Latin translations that old method of numbering, B which we attach to our Latin inscriptions.
VI. Furthermore, in this first of the mystagogical [catecheses], Cyril—having reserved the ceremonies of baptism which were performed in the baptistery itself for another oration—explains those which were accustomed to be observed in the vestibule of the baptistery: namely, the renunciations of Satan himself, his works, his pomp, and all his service; the force of which he explains most accurately and clearly; then, the pact with Christ entered into by the person being baptized through a brief promise of faith. Whatever he discourses upon regarding the force and manner of the renunciations, the same is read in all those who have written about them.
VII. Moreover, one must observe the singular rites of the Church of Jerusalem in this catechesis. First, at Jerusalem, the renunciations were performed in the vestibule of the baptistery; which is sufficiently in accordance with the custom of the Greek Churches, in which the renunciations were performed either in the church or elsewhere outside the font, as is evident from the Euchologion and from the author of the book *On the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy*, cap. 2, part 2, no. 6; and the author of the *Questions to the Orthodox*, in the name of Justin, quest. 137; and the same was the custom of the Roman Church, as is evident from Roman orders and rituals. But in the Apamean Church, they took place in the baptistery itself, from the letter of the clergy of Apamea in the council under Menas, page 229, tom. V. In the Gallican Church, they were performed at the font itself, which appears in the ancient Gallican Missal and Sacramentary edited by Thomasius and Mabillon; to say nothing of the ecclesiastical authors who testify to the same, such as Salvian, lib. vi, *De gubern. Dei*, Bib. PP. Lugd. tom. VII, page 364; the author of the three sermons in the Augustinian appendix, tom. VI, page 289; and Faustus of Riez, preface to *De Spiritu sancto*, under the name of Paschasius. The same custom of the Church of Milan is confirmed by Ambrose, *De myst.*, c. 2, n. 5, and that of another church near it, from lib. 1, *De sacram.*, c. 2, n. 5; that of the African [Church] can be concluded from Optatus, lib. v, num. 7; and that of the Spanish [Church] is gathered from Hildefonsus, *De ord. baptismi*, c. 110 and 111, Baluz. Miscell. tom. VII. Second, at Jerusalem, the renunciations were performed before the blessing of the font. Similarly in the Greek Churches, as is evident from the *Constit. Apost.*, lib. vii, cap. 41, 42, 43, from the author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy* cited above, the order of baptism of Severus of Antioch, and the modern Euchologion. The same is the custom of the Roman [Church]: the opposite of the Gallican and Spanish, from Hildef. cap. 109. The anointing of the one to be baptized preceded the renunciations in the church, [according to] the author of lib. *De sacram.*, lib. 1, cap. 2, num. 4, but [in Jerusalem] the renunciations [preceded] the blessing of the font. Third, Cyril signifies that they renounced while clothed, contrary to the custom of the other Greek Churches, as is evident from the Euchologion, page 338, Elias of Crete on the fourth oration of Nazianzen, num. 24, page 448; the epistle of the clergy of Apamea in the council of Constantinople under Menas, page [missing], perhaps they had taken off their garments beforehand. The author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy* teaches that the girdle was loosened and some part of the garments was removed. Fourth, the renunciations in the Latin and Greek Churches generally took place by way of a response to an interrogation of the minister saying: "Do you renounce Satan?" etc. At Jerusalem, the minister commanded: "Renounce," etc., which is also conformable to the author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy* and the order of Severus. The same must be said of the profession of faith following the renunciations, which elsewhere was expressed by interrogating, but at Jerusalem and Antioch by commanding.
VIII. Fifth, the renunciations at Jerusalem were performed with the hand extended toward the West, cat. 19, num. 2: C a similar gesture [according to] the author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy*, who says the one renouncing turns the hands away and throws them toward the West. But in the Constantinopolitan Church, whose rite was afterward received in the whole East, the renunciation was performed with hands held upright; as is evident from Nicetas in the oration of Gregory Nazianzen, num. 57, and Elias of Crete in the fourth oration of the same, num. 24, page 448, as well as the modern Euchologion, page 333. Sixth, the often-cited author of the *Ecclesiastical Hierarchy* orders that the renunciations...
A be preceded by the words commanding the candidate to blow upon the devil three times. The Euchologion prescribes the same; or, after the same have been pronounced, that this be done once, and further commands that the devil be spat upon. Nazianzen, orat. 4, num. 24, page 121, seems to refer to a double insufflation: some by which he was blown upon, others by which the one being baptized blew, *insufflations and counter-insufflations* [φυσήσεις τε καὶ ἀντιφυσήσεις]. St. Ephrem also mentions insufflations in the act of renunciation in *On the Second Coming*, Gr., page 349, and Chrysostom in *On the Sinful Woman* [In peccatric.], among the works of St. Ephrem, Lat., page 719. Whether this rite flourished in Jerusalem is uncertain. St. Cyril does not mention it.
Seventh, after the words of renunciation, there followed in all Greek Churches a B formula of the pact entered into with Christ: *I unite myself to Christ* [Συντάσσομαι τῷ Χριστῷ], or *to you, Christ*; or, *I pass into your camp*, by those turned toward the East before the formula of faith was to be pronounced, and sometimes joined with an adoption, as in the cited passage of St. Ephrem *On the Second Coming*: *We have united ourselves to Christ, worshipping him* [τῷ Χριστῷ συνεταξάμεθα, προσκυνήσαντες αὐτῷ]. We have aggregated ourselves to Christ, worshipping him himself. Cyril does not mention this; however, he seems to indicate it with these words, num. 8: *After the renunciation of Satan, and the union with Christ* [μετὰ τὴν ἀπόταξιν τοῦ Σατανᾶ, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Χριστὸν σύνταξιν]. But in Latin Churches, the Creed was pronounced immediately after the renunciations. This is clear regarding Africa, from Optatus, lib. v, num. 5; regarding Gaul, from Salvian, lib. VI *De gubernat. Dei*, Bib. PP. Lugd. tom. VII, page 364. In the Roman Church, however, the renunciations were separated from the interrogation of faith by anointing and the blessing of the font.
Eighth, after the renunciations in Jerusalem, a C shorter Symbol was pronounced: elsewhere, usually the whole Symbol. This is proven regarding the Antiochene Church, from the order of Severus and the author of the book *On the Celestial Hierarchy*; regarding the Constantinopolitan Church, from the Euchologion, page 338; regarding the Alexandrian, from Cyril of Alexandria *Glaphyr. in Levit.*, page 367, and Cosmas Indicopleustes lib. v, page 208; regarding the Churches of Syria, from *Const. apost.* lib. VII, cap. 41; regarding the Gallican Church, from the aforementioned Salvian; regarding the African, from Augustine, serm. 58, num. 13. But in Rome, the Symbol was more contracted; in the Milanese Church, the confession of the Trinity alone was employed, as also in Spain, from Ildefonsus, cap. 110 and 111, which was sometimes done in Gaul, and that the same was used in the Churches of Cappadocia can be gathered from Gregory Nazianzen and Basil.
Ninth, finally, in Jerusalem, besides this brief confession of faith after the renunciations, another confession was made by the one being baptized concerning the Trinity at the interrogation of the minister before he was plunged into the font, cat. 20, num. 3. I recall having seen no other example of this double profession before baptism.
IX. This oration was delivered on Monday of Easter week. We have reviewed it according to the authority of the Coislin codices, two Ottoboniani, the Roe and Casaubon codices, the Greek edition of William Morell, and the variant readings inscribed in the margin of the Genevan volume. D
CATECHESIS XIX. MYSTAGOGICA I. FIVE CATECHETICAL ORATIONS OF THE SAME TO THE NEWLY BAPTIZED. MYSTAGOGICAL CATECHESIS I.
To those who have been newly illuminated. And the reading from the first Catholic Epistle of Peter, from these words: "Be sober, be vigilant;" unto the end of the Epistle. 1 Petr. v, 8.
A I. I have long desired, O genuine and dearly beloved children of the Church, to discourse to you concerning these spiritual and heavenly mysteries. But because I knew clearly that the testimony of the eyes is much more trustworthy than the testimony of the ears, I awaited the present time, that, taking you after you had been made more tractable toward the things being said through this experience, I might lead you into the more luminous and more fragrant meadow of this paradise. For truly, you have already been made capable of the more divine mysteries, having been deemed worthy of the divine and life-giving laver. Since, therefore, it is time that the table of the more perfect teachings should be set, come, let us instruct you in these things more accurately, so that you may know the depth of the
A impression which took place with regard to you on that evening of the baptism.
II. You first entered the vestibule of the baptistery, and standing toward the west, you heard, and you were commanded to stretch out your hand, and as if he were present, you renounced Satan. You ought, however, to know that this type is contained in ancient history. For when Pharaoh, that most bitter and cruel tyrant, was oppressing the free and noble people of the Hebrews, God sent Moses to lead them out of the wretched slavery of the Egyptians. And by the blood of a lamb, the doorposts were anointed, so that the destroyer might pass over the houses marked with the sign of the blood; and the people of the Hebrews were delivered in a truly miraculous way. But when the enemy pursued them after their deliverance, and saw the sea dividing for them in a miraculous way, he still pressed on, following in their footsteps; and straightway he was plunged beneath the water, sinking into the Red Sea.
III. B Now, move with me from the ancient things to the new, from the type to the truth. There, Moses is sent into Egypt by God; here, Christ is sent from the Father into the world. There, to lead a suffering people out of Egypt; here, Christ, to deliver those who are suffering in the world under the burden of sin. There, the blood of a lamb was a protection against the destroyer; here, the blood of the spotless Lamb, Jesus Christ, has become a place of refuge that puts demons to flight. That tyrant pursued that ancient people as far as the sea; the shameless and primordial demon, this tempter, followed you even to the very waters of salvation. C That one was engulfed in the sea; this one disappears in the saving water.
IV. But yet, you hear, you are told with outstretched hand, as if to one present, to say: "I renounce you, Satan." I wish D
A also to tell you why you stand towards the west; for it is necessary. Since the west is the place of visible darkness, and he, being darkness, has his dominion in darkness, therefore, looking symbolically toward the west, you renounce that dark and gloomy prince. What then did each one of you standing there say? "I renounce you, Satan, you wicked and most cruel tyrant." No longer, you say, do I fear your power. For Christ has destroyed this, having become a partaker of my blood and flesh, that through these he might abolish death by death, so that I might not remain a slave forever. "I renounce you, the crafty and most wicked serpent. I renounce you as a plotter, who under a pretence of friendship practiced every iniquity, and inspired our first parents with apostasy. I renounce you, Satan, the author and accomplice of all evil."
V. Then in the second phrase you learn to say: "And all your works." The works of Satan B are all sin, which it is necessary to renounce; just as if one having fled from a tyrant has by all means fled from his weapons also. Every species of sin, therefore, is counted among the works of the devil. But know this, that whatever you say, especially in that most fearful hour, is written in the books of God. When, therefore, you do anything contrary to these, you shall be judged as a covenant-breaker. You renounce, therefore, the works of Satan, that is to say, all deeds and thoughts which are contrary to reason.
VI. Then you say: "And all his pomp." The pomp of the devil is the madness of the theaters, and horse-races, hunting, and all such vanity; from which the saint, praying to be delivered, says to God: "Turn away my eyes lest they behold vanity" (Ps. CXVIII, 37). Let not the madness of the theater be a target of your zeal, where you behold the petulance of mimes, C teeming with all insults and indecency, and the frenzied dances of effeminate men; nor those of men in the hunting shows who deliver themselves to wild beasts
A so that they may flatter a miserable belly; or rather, that their bellies—being themselves truly the food of untamed beasts—may be nourished. Or, to speak more justly, on behalf of their own god, the belly, they cast their own lives into the precipice of single combat. Shun also the horse races, that frenzied sight which unhinges the soul; for all these things are a pomp of the devil.
VII. But furthermore, those things which are accustomed to be hung up at the festivals of idols—whether meats, or loaves, or other things of this kind that have been defiled by the invocation of those most abominable demons—are joined to the pomp of the devil. For just as the bread and wine of the Eucharist, before the holy invocation of the adorable Trinity, are mere bread and wine, but after the invocation has taken place, the bread becomes the Body of Christ and the wine the Blood of Christ; in the same way, such foods pertaining to the pomp of Satan, while by their own nature they are common and mere, become defiled by the invocation of demons. B
VIII. After this you say: "And all his worship." The worship of the devil is the prayer offered in the idol temples: those things done for the honor of soulless idols; the lighting of lamps or the burning of incense beside springs or rivers, as some who have been deceived by dreams or by demons have approached these, believing they would find a cure for their bodily infirmities; C or any such things D
A do not then meddle with them. Augury, divination, omens, or amulets, or inscriptions on metal plates, magic, or other ill-favored arts, and all that is like to these, are the worship of the devil. Flee, therefore, from these. For if you should succumb to these after your renunciation of Satan and your commitment to Christ, you will be tempted by a more bitter tyrant; who perhaps once treated you as a familiar, and relaxed his bitter servitude toward you, but now, being greatly angered by you, and having been deprived of you by Christ, you will be tempted by him as well. Have you not heard B the ancient history that tells us about Lot and his daughters? Was he not himself saved with his daughters, because he had reached the mountain; while his wife became a pillar of salt, standing as a monument for all time, holding the memory of a wicked choice and a turning back? Watch yourself, therefore, and do not turn back again, having set your hand to the plow, and returning again to the bitter practice of this life; but flee to the mountain, to Jesus Christ, the stone cut without hands, who has filled the whole world. C
IX. When, therefore, you renounce Satan, having thoroughly broken every compact with him, and the old agreements with hell, the paradise of God is opened to you, which He planted in the East, from which our first forefather was expelled because of his transgression. And a symbol of this is your turning from the West to the East, the region of light. Then you were commanded to say: "I believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, and in one baptism of repentance." Regarding these, as the grace of God has granted, we have discoursed at length D in the previous catecheses.
X. Fortified therefore by these words, be vigilant. For our adversary, the devil, as has just been read, walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. But in the times before this, death prevailed and devoured; A however, in the holy laver of regeneration, God has taken away every tear from...
tear from every face. For you will no longer mourn, having put off the old man; but you will keep festival, having put on the garment of salvation, Jesus Christ. [XI] And these things, indeed, were done in the outer chamber. But God willing, when in the following Mystagogies we shall enter into the Holy of Holies, there we shall know the symbols of those things which are performed therein. To God the Father, therefore, be glory, power, and majesty, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS TWENTIETH
MYSTAGOGICA II. ON THE RITES OF BAPTISM.
MONITUM
I. The author explains the power and secret meaning of the rites performed in the inner chamber of the baptistery, after the renunciations and the profession of faith have been uttered in its vestibule. He treats, namely, of the laying aside of the tunic (num. 2), which alone seemed to remain on those to be baptized; and of the baring of the body, imitating the nakedness of innocent Adam, and of Christ hanging on the cross. He mentions afterward the anointing with exorcized oil over the whole body of those to be baptized (num. 3); by which, he teaches, the richness of Christ is communicated to us, the traces of sins are burned away, and demons are driven off. Then he records the questioning of the faith, and the subsequent threefold immersion and emersion in the baptismal pool (num. 4); by which he says the three-day burial of Christ and his resurrection are so expressed by us that, to us who suffer nothing, the fellowship and fruit of the true sufferings and death of Christ are attributed.
II. To be noted in this entire catechesis: the nakedness of the candidates for baptism, after the example of Christ hanging on the cross; the power of the exorcized oil; the threefold effect of Christian baptism: remission of sins, the gift of adoption and of the Holy Spirit, and the imitation of the sufferings of Christ; whereas the baptism of John was single, merely a forgiveness of sins (num. 2 and 3).
There now occur the peculiar rites of the Church of Jerusalem. For the anointing of the whole body with oil was common to all the Greek Churches, as is evident concerning the Antiochene Church from the 6th homily of Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Colossians, as cited by the Church historian in book 2, part 2, num. 6; and concerning the Emperor Severus of Antioch on the order of baptism; and concerning the Church of Constantinople, from the Euchologion, page 354. But in the Latin Churches only certain parts were anointed; in the Roman, the chest and the space between the shoulders, from the Gelasian Sacramentary and the Roman Orders and Rituals; in the Gallican Churches, the ears and the nose, from the sermon to the Neophytes, Appendix vol. VI, pages 288, 289, and also the chest from the Gallican Sacramentary and the Bobbio ms. edited by Mabillon; in Spain, the ears and the mouth, but before the tradition of the Creed, from Ildefonsus, *On the Order of Baptism*, chapter 19, and Isidore.
Concerning the threefold immersion, the matter is too well known for it to be necessary to say anything about a practice that proceeded from the apostles and was at that time in use in the whole Church. Concerning the questioning of the faith preceding baptism, I have already noted in the introduction to the previous catechesis that at Jerusalem a double profession was made after the renunciations, whereas elsewhere it was a single one, either immediately after the renunciations, as in most Latin and Greek Churches, or before the immersion into the font, as in the Roman. Here, however, I note only two things. First (num. 4), the singular formula of this second profession, which is gathered from Cyril to have been as follows: "I believe in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit"; elsewhere it was said: "in the Father and the Son," etc. Even so, certain testimonies of St. Gregory Nazianzen, oration 15, page 212, signify that it was pronounced in the same manner as at Jerusalem: "This our great mystery desires; this is the faith and regeneration in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the common name."
that this is what the great mystery signifies; it is faith and regeneration in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and their common name. A similar passage is found in Orat. 26, p. 442, where he says that we are confessed and baptized, not into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit simply, but also into their common name. Secondly, in Jerusalem this interrogation happened only once, whereas in many churches there was a triple repetition, either of the Creed or of the profession of faith. Regarding the Alexandrian Church, this is certain from Cyril, the primate of this Church, in *Joann.*, cap. XXI, p. [1119]; regarding the Constantinopolitan [Church], from the *Euchologion*; regarding the Church whose customs pseudo-Dionysius represents, which I suspect to be the Antiochene or one bordering on it, from the book *De ecclesiast. hierar.*, cap. 2, part 11, num. 7. The Order of Severus of Antioch seems to enjoin the same.
III. This mystagogy was held on A the day following the previous one, according to num. 1, and thus on Easter Tuesday. It has also been emended from the same books as the former.
CATECHESIS MYSTAGOGICA II.
On Baptism
: And a reading from the Epistle to the Romans, from that place: “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death?” until the words: “For you are not under law, but under grace.”I. Useful to us are the daily mystagogies, and the teachings B that are newer, as they are announcers of newer things; and especially to you, who have been renewed from oldness into newness. For this reason, I must necessarily set before you the following parts of yesterday’s mystagogy, that you may learn of what things those deeds, which were performed by you in the inner chamber, were symbols.
II. Immediately, therefore, upon entering, you cast off your tunic. And this was an image of putting off the old man with his deeds. Being stripped, you were naked, imitating in this also Christ, who was stripped on the cross; and by His nakedness, He despoiled the principalities and powers, and made a public spectacle of them on the tree. Since, therefore, the adverse powers were dwelling C in your members, it is no longer permitted for you to wear that old tunic. I do not mean this sensible one at all, but the old man, who is being corrupted in the desires of deceit. May it not be that any soul, having once put him off, should ever put him on again; but rather let it say according to her who speaks in the Song of Songs of Christ: “I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on?”
A O marvelous thing! You were naked in the sight of all, and were not ashamed. Truly, you bore the image of the first-created Adam, who was naked in Paradise, and was not ashamed.
III. Then having stripped, you were anointed with the exorcised oil, from the very hairs of the head to the feet, and you became partakers of the good olive tree, Jesus Christ. For having been cut off from the wild olive, you were grafted into the good olive tree, and became sharers in the fatness of the truly good olive. The exorcised oil, therefore, was a symbol of the communion of the fatness of Christ, serving as a means to put to flight every vestige of adverse power. B For just as the breathings of the saints and the invocation of the name of God, like a most vehement flame, burn and put to flight demons: so also this exorcised oil, by the invocation of God and prayer, takes on such power that it not only purges the traces of sins by burning, but also puts to flight all the invisible powers of the wicked one.
IV. After this, you were led to the holy pool of divine baptism, just as Christ was led from the cross to the tomb prepared before him. And each one was asked whether he believed in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And you confessed the saving confession, and were submerged three times into the water, and rose up again; and here, by a symbol, you signified the three-day burial of Christ. C For just as our Savior passed three days and three nights in the belly of the earth, so you also in the first emergence imitated the first day of Christ in the earth, and in the submersion the night. For just as he who is in the night no longer sees, but he who is in the day lives in the light: so in the submersion, as in the night, you saw nothing; but in the emergence again, you were as if in the day. And in the selfsame moment you died and were born; and that saving water was to you both a tomb and a mother. And what Solomon said about other things D may most fittingly apply to you: he said: Time
A to be born and a time to die; but for you, the reverse: a time to die and a time to be born. And one and the same time is productive of both of these; and your birth was concurrent with your death.
V. O new and unheard-of thing! We did not truly die, nor were we truly buried, nor were we truly crucified and raised again; but the imitation is in an image, while the salvation is in truth. Christ was truly crucified, and truly buried, and truly rose again; and all these things have been graciously granted to us, so that by sharing in B the imitation of his sufferings, we might attain salvation in truth. O exuberant love for humanity! Christ accepted nails in his undefiled hands and feet, and suffered pain; and to me, without pain and without labor, through the communion of suffering, He grants salvation.
VI. Let no one, therefore, imagine that Baptism consists only in the remission of sins and in the grace of adoption, as was the case with the baptism of John, which offered only the remission of sins. But let us know accurately that, just as it is a purgative for sins, and a mediator of the gift of the Holy Spirit, C so it is also the antitype of the sufferings of Christ. For this reason, Paul also recently cried out and said: Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death. Hæc ad eos dicebat, qui in D
They had turned their mind to the belief that baptism indeed conveys the remission of sins and adoption, but that it does not also involve a participation in the true sufferings of Christ, even by way of a certain imitation. B
VII. In order, therefore, that we may learn that all the things which Christ endured, he endured for our sake and for our salvation in truth and not in appearance, and that we also become partakers of his sufferings, Paul cried out with the utmost precision: "For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall also be [partakers] of his resurrection." He used the word "united" well; for since the true vine has been planted here, we also, through the communion of the baptism of his death, have been united with him. But apply your mind with great attention to the words of the Apostle. He did not say: "If we have been united with him in death," but, "in the likeness of his death." For the death of Christ was real, C for the soul was truly separated from the body; and the burial was real, for his holy body was wrapped in a clean shroud; and all things happened to him in reality. But in your case, there is a likeness of death and sufferings, but of salvation there is not a likeness, but the reality.
VIII. Being sufficiently instructed in these things, endeavor, I pray, to retain them in your memory, so that I, though unworthy, may say of you what is written: "I love you, because you always remember me, and keep the traditions which I delivered to you." God is able, having presented you as living from the dead, to grant you to walk in newness of life; for to him D be the glory and the power, now and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
CATECHESIS TWENTY-FIRST. MYSTAGOGICA III. ON THE SACRED CHRISM. ADMONITION.
I. The sacrament of Chrism or Confirmation, which was conferred upon the baptized immediately upon their ascending from the font, is expounded in this discourse by the author, who reveals its origin, power, rite, figures, and efficacy. He teaches that we are anointed with the sensible chrism, the antitype or symbol of the Holy Spirit (nn. 1 and 2), in imitation of Christ who, after his baptism, was anointed with the visible descent of the Holy Spirit, so that we might be rendered similar to Him and partakers of Him. He teaches that this chrism, through the blessing of the ecclesiastical prayers, effects the Holy Spirit within us, and as it is applied to the forehead, ears, nostrils, and chest, becomes the instrument of manifold grace, and especially of strengthening (nn. 3 and 4); and that by the fruit of this sacrament we are rendered truly worthy of the name of Christians (n. 5). Then, having lightly touched upon certain figures of this mystery in the Old Law and commended its efficacy for our protection in soul and body, he concludes the discourse with a moral exhortation (n. 6). A
II. Memorable things are related here concerning the blessing and efficacy of the chrism. The author describes the rite of the Church of Jerusalem in conferring confirmation, yet he observes the religion of silence regarding the words usually said when signing the neophyte; although in Cat. 18, n. 33, he intimates they were these: Σφραγὶς κοινωνίας τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος, “The seal of the communion of the Holy Spirit.” He does not mention the imposition of hands and the prayer accompanying it; yet he clearly intimates that the imposition of hands was employed in the sacrament of chrism in Catech. 16, n. 26. At Jerusalem, the forehead, ears, nostrils, and chest were anointed. B The principal unction, however, was that of the forehead, which he alone commemorates in Cat. 22, n. 7, when reviewing this sacrament. That alone was anointed in Latin Churches by the confirming bishop; while the presbyter anointed only the crown of the head, although in some places they anointed the forehead itself. But in the Greek Churches, other members besides the forehead were smeared with chrism. In the canon 7 of the Council of Constantinople, it is reported that the forehead, eyes, nostrils, and mouth are signed with chrism. Indeed, concerning the eyes, Greg. Naz., *Orat.* xix, p. 362, says: βλεφάρων μυστικῶς σφραγισθέντων. In the *Euchologium*, p. 356, the forehead, ears, nostrils, eyes, and feet are anointed; however, in another Order, p. 360, the unction of the feet is omitted; conversely, in the third, p. 392, the forehead, eyes, nostrils, ears, the palms of the hands, and the place of the heart are reported to be anointed. C In the Order of Severus of Antioch, the forehead is signed three times, and finally all members are signed. Although Cyril does not mention that the unctions were made in the form of a cross, the most ancient custom of all the Churches does not allow us to doubt that it was done thus at Jerusalem: which would be confirmed by the testimony of Cyril, Cat. 12, n. 8, if it were certain that mention was made there of the chrism, and not merely of the sign of the cross. The chrism at Jerusalem was, as is common among the Greeks, a composition of the most fragrant ointment, whence it itself derives the name *myron*, but Cyril intimates that it consisted mostly of oil, when in Cat. 22, n. 7, he applies to that sacrament the Davidic verse: "You anointed my head with oil" (Ps. xxii, 5). D
III. It is inscribed, *On the Chrism*. For what we designate among the Latins by the name of Confirmation, the Greeks have been accustomed to call *Chrisma*, or *Myron*, which means "ointment"; for they have always viewed the unction in this sacrament as its principal part; whereas the Latins in antiquity seem to have held the imposition of hands in a higher place. This discourse was delivered on the Wednesday of Easter; and it has been reviewed by us according to the same codices as the two preceding. Stanislaus Hosius recites a slight fragment of this from the Scirletian codex, when he deals with the sacrament of Confirmation: the variants of which codex we have noted.
CATECHESIS MYSTAGOGICA III.
Of the Chrism; and a reading from the first Catholic Epistle of John, from the words: *"And you have an unction from the Lord, and know all things,"* down to: *"And let us not be ashamed before him at his coming."*
A I. Having been baptized into Christ and put on Christ, you have been made conformable to the Son of God. For God, having predetermined us unto adoption, has made us conformable to the glorious body of Christ. Having therefore become partakers of Christ, you are rightly called Christs; and concerning you God said: *"Touch not my Christs."* And you became Christs by receiving the antitype of the Holy Spirit; and all things have been performed in you in an image, since you are images of Christ. And He indeed, having been washed in the river Jordan, and having imparted the fragrance of His divinity to the waters, ascended from them; and the substantial indwelling of the Holy Spirit came upon Him, B like resting upon like. And to you also, in the same way, having ascended from the pool of sacred waters, the unction was given, which is the antitype of that with which Christ was anointed. And this is the Holy Spirit, of whom the blessed Isaiah, in his prophecy concerning Him, said in the person of the Lord: *"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor."* For Christ was not anointed by men with oil or aromatic ointment, but the Father, having before appointed Him to be the Savior of the whole world, anointed Him with the Holy Spirit; as Peter says: *"Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit."* And the prophet David the king cried out, saying: *"Thy name is as ointment poured forth; therefore have the virgins loved thee."* C And see that you do not think this is mere ointment. For just as the Bread of the Eucharist after the invocation of the Holy Spirit is simple bread no longer, but the Body of Christ, so also this holy ointment is no longer simple ointment, nor, so to speak, common, after the invocation, but it is the gift of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, made efficacious by the presence of His divinity. It is symbolically applied to your forehead and your other senses; and while the body is anointed with the visible ointment, the soul is sanctified by the Holy and life-giving Spirit. D You were first washed in the waters, cleansed of your sins; then, at the opening of the senses, you are anointed, that you may be, as it were, Christ, having put on the coat of salvation which is Christ the Lord. And you are anointed with the Holy Spirit, who is the chrism of the spiritual sweetness of God, who prepares for you the grace of the spiritual and heavenly gifts.
A Likewise, as the like rests upon the like, so for you also, after you had ascended from the pool of the sacred waters, a chrism was given, the antitype of that with which Christ was anointed. And this is none other than the Holy Spirit, concerning whom the blessed Isaiah also, in the prophecy regarding him, said in the person of the Lord: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to evangelize the poor." (Is. LXI, 1)
II. For Christ was not anointed by men with physical oil or ointment, but the Father, having appointed him the Savior of the whole world, anointed him with the Holy Spirit, as Peter says: "Jesus of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit;" B and the prophet David cried out, saying: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a rod of uprightness is the rod of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Ps. XLIV, 7, 8) And just as Christ was truly crucified, and buried, and rose again, and to you in baptism, by a certain likeness, it is granted by divine favor to be crucified, and buried, and to rise again together with him: so also does it occur in the matter of the chrism. He was anointed with an intelligible oil of gladness, that is, with the Holy Spirit, who is called oil of gladness for the reason that he is himself the author of spiritual gladness; but you were anointed with ointment, having become partakers and fellows of Christ.
III. But see that you do not suppose this ointment to be mere and trivial. C For just as the bread of the Eucharist, after the invocation of the holy Spirit, is no longer simple bread, but the body of Christ; so also this holy ointment is no longer simple or, as one might say, common ointment, after the invocation, but the gift of Christ and the Holy Spirit, which becomes effective through the presence of his divinity, breathing forth fragrance.
This is applied symbolically to your forehead and your other senses. And while the body is anointed with visible ointment, the soul is sanctified by the holy and life-giving Spirit.
D IV. And first, you were anointed on the forehead, that you might be delivered from the shame which the first transgressor, man, carried about everywhere; and that with unveiled face you might reflect the glory of the Lord as in a mirror. Then upon the ears, that you might receive ears capable of hearing in the divine mysteries, regarding which Isaiah spoke: And the Lord gave me an ear to hear; and the Lord Jesus says in the Gospels: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Then upon the sense of smell, that, receiving the divine ointment, you may say: We are the fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved. After this, upon the chest, so that, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, you may stand against the wiles of the devil. For just as Christ, after B his baptism and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon him, went forth and vanquished the adversary; so you, too, after the holy baptism and the mystical anointing, having put on the whole armor of the Holy Spirit, stand against the opposing power and vanquish it, saying: I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.
C V. Being judged worthy of this holy chrism, you are called Christians, becoming true to the name through your regeneration. For before you were judged worthy of this grace, you were not strictly worthy of this appellation, but were journeying forward toward being Christians.
[VI.] It is necessary for you to know that the symbol of this chrism exists in the Old Scripture. For when Moses communicated the divine mandate to his brother, establishing him as high priest, after he had washed in water, he anointed him; and he was called Christ, from the figurative chrism. Thus also the high priest, when leading Solomon forward to be king, anointed him after he had washed in Gihon. But these things happened to them typically; to you, however, not typically but truly; since you were truly anointed by the Holy Spirit. Christ is the beginning of your salvation; for he is truly the first-fruits, and you are the dough; and if the first-fruits are holy, clearly the holiness will pass over to the dough.
[VII.] Keep this chrism unspotted; for it will be instructive about all things if it remains in you, just as you recently heard the blessed John saying, and philosophizing much about this chrism. For this holy chrism is a spiritual guardian of the body and a savior of the soul. Concerning this, the blessed Isaiah prophesied long ago: *And the Lord will make for all nations upon this mountain*—he calls the Church a mountain, as also in other places, as when he says: *And it shall be in the last days that the mountain of the Lord shall be conspicuous*—they shall drink wine, they shall drink gladness, they shall be anointed with ointment. And in order to reassure you, listen to what he says about this ointment as something mystical: *Hand these things over to all the nations; for the counsel of the Lord is upon all the nations.* Being anointed, therefore, with this holy ointment, keep it unspotted and blameless within you, advancing through good works and becoming acceptable to the Author of your salvation, Christ Jesus, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
TWENTY-SECOND CATECHESIS
MYSTAGOGICA IV. ON THE BODY AND BLOOD OF THE LORD.PREFACE
1. The third sacrament which was to be conferred in order was the Eucharist; Cyril describes its power, nature, effect, types, and commendations in the Old Testament most gravely and lucidly. In almost the entire discourse, he strives to prove to his listeners that the Eucharistic bread and wine, although the senses may report otherwise, have been changed into the body and blood of Christ. To remove any doubt regarding this matter, he confirms the truth of this conversion by the authority of St. Paul, by the clear assertion of Jesus Christ, and by other miracles effected by Christ (num. 1, 2, 3). From the fruit and effect of this sacrament noted in the ancient Scriptures, he commends the excellence of the Christian law over that of the Old Testament and over the profane religion of idols; and with a brief exhortation to receive it with certain faith and good hope, he places a limit upon his sermon (n. 4, 5).
II. Scarcely anything more lucid or clearer than this can be found in all antiquity to prove the Catholic faith concerning the real presence and transubstantiation of Christ's body in the Eucharist. He takes pains to explain to the neophytes, still uninstructed in our affairs, in simple and chosen words, before the very sepulcher of the Lord, and with the witnesses as it were removed, what they ought to believe regarding our mysteries: there is no place there for allegory, metaphor, exaggeration, or dissimulation. The frivolous objections of Rivet, Albertin, and Milles, by which they try to elude the force of these testimonies, we refute in the third dissertation in a special article. Here, however, in the notes, we have touched only upon those things which pertain to clarifying the author's meaning and to laying bare the full force of his sentiments and arguments.
III. This discourse was delivered on the Thursday of Passover. We have reviewed it against the Coislin, Roe, Casaubon, Ottobon, and Genevieve codices. Furthermore, we have compared it with the Greek texts of the Scirletian codex represented by Stanislaus Hosius; who provided this catechism in its entirety from that codex in his defense of the confession of the Synod of Petricow, chapter 59, concerning the sacrament of the Eucharist. Moreover, some fragments of this and the immediately following catechism are referred to in an unpublished booklet [Greek: Περὶ θείων μυστηρίων], *On the Divine Mysteries*, Bibl. Reg. cod. 2428, which book seems to have been written against those who claimed that the gifts proposed on the altar are not in truth, but in type and figure, the body and blood of Christ; and, besides the author's preface, it contains nothing but certain select testimonies of the ancients regarding the sacred mysteries; indeed, from the age of those he cites, none of whom is later than the eighth century, it can be gathered that the author of the booklet is ancient. But since it seemed to Albertin that the truth, or at least the integrity, of these catechisms could be called into question on account of some variations that are observed between the published text of Cyril and the words of Cyril transcribed in this booklet, we have judged it necessary to indicate these with the utmost faithfulness at each point of the catechism, after some preliminary observations. The first of which is that all those collectors of testimonies use the greatest license in citing them—by cutting, adding, changing, skipping over intermediate parts that do not pertain to their purpose, and continuously joining the extremes together: for which reason he acts most imprudently who wishes to amend the text of the Fathers, described in full in the codices containing their Works, to the standard of those citations: which, while observed in the rest of the collectors of *Catenae*, *Pandects*, etc., shines forth remarkably in this booklet; in which not only the testimonies of Cyril, but also those of other authors, differ not insignificantly from their published and manuscript texts. Secondly, that codex is highly corrupted by the ignorance of the copyists, and mutilated; insomuch that not only are the passages of the authors cited therein cited most carelessly, but also the text of the author himself, which, as I have said, is contained in one short preface, is so befouled that in certain places scarcely any sense can be elicited. Finally, whatever the negligence of the author or the copyist may be in reporting the text of Cyril, no other variation exists in those very passages that move Albertin's stomach and that more clearly establish transubstantiation, except for a few words which contribute nothing to the meaning; so that in them is contained entirely the Catholic dogma of the real presence and transubstantiation: which, indeed, are brought forward by the author in this booklet for the very purpose of proving this.
CATECHESIS XXII. MYSTAGOGICA IV.
CATECHESIS MYSTAGOGICA IV.
*On the body and blood of Christ. And a reading from the Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, and what follows.*A I. This instruction of the blessed Paul alone is abundantly sufficient to give you certain faith in the divine mysteries: of which, having been held worthy, you have been made of the same body and blood as Christ. For he was just now crying out: “That in the night in which our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed, having taken bread and given thanks, he broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, eat; this is my body. And having taken the cup, and given thanks, he said: Take, drink; this is my blood.” Since, therefore, he himself has pronounced and said of the bread, *This is my body*, who will dare to doubt thereafter? And when he himself has asserted and said, *This is my blood*, who will ever doubt, saying that it is not his blood?
B II. He once changed water into wine, which is akin to blood, in Cana of Galilee; and shall we think him unworthy of our belief, when he changed wine into blood? Called to a bodily wedding, he performed this stupendous miracle: and not
of Galilee He transformed it; and shall we deem him unworthy of belief, when He transformed wine into blood? Being invited to a bodily marriage, He performed this stupendous miracle; and shall we not much more confess that He has deigned to give His own body and blood for the children of the bridal chamber?
[III.] Wherefore with all persuasion let us take the body and blood of Christ as [these things]. For in the figure of bread, the body is given to you, and in the figure of wine, the blood is given to you; so that having received the body and blood of Christ, you may become of the same body and of the same blood as He. For thus we also become Christ-bearers, His body and blood being distributed into our members. Thus, according to the blessed Peter, we become partakers of the divine nature.
[IV.] Once, while Christ was conversing with the Jews, He said: "Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you." But since they did not hear what was spoken spiritually, they were offended and went back, thinking that He was urging them to the eating of flesh.
[V.] There were also in the old covenant loaves of proposition; but those, belonging to the Old Testament, had an end. In the New Testament, however, there is heavenly bread and the cup of salvation, sanctifying soul and body. For just as bread is suited to the body, so also is the Word suited to the soul.
A VI. Do not, therefore, attend to the bread and wine as if they were merely bare and common elements; for they are, according to the Lord’s declaration, the body and blood of Christ. For even if your sense suggests this to you, let faith make you certain. Do not judge the matter by the taste, but be fully assured by faith, without any doubt, that you have been deemed worthy to partake of the body and blood of Christ.
VII. Blessed David will explain the power of this for you, saying: "You have prepared a table before me, in the presence of those who afflict me" (Ps. XXIII, 5). And what he says means this: Before your coming, the demons had prepared a table for men—a defiled, polluted table, filled with diabolical power; but after your coming, O Lord, you have prepared a table before me. When a man says to God, "You have prepared a table before me," what else does he mean but the mystical and intelligible table which God has prepared for us B in opposition to, and in the place of, the table of the demons? And very rightly so; for that one had communion with demons, but this one has communion with God. "You anointed my head with oil." He anointed your head with oil on your forehead, through the seal which you have from God, so that you might become C an impression of the seal, the holy signet of God. And your cup, which inebriates me, is as excellent! You see here the cup…
of which Jesus, having taken it into his hands and given thanks, said, "This is my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
VIII. Therefore, Solomon also, alluding to this grace, says in Ecclesiastes, "Come, eat your bread in joy" (the spiritual bread; he calls the saving and blessed calling "come"), "and drink your wine in a good heart" (the spiritual wine), "and let oil be poured out upon your head" (do you see him pointing to the mystical chrism?), "and let your garments always be white, because the Lord has been pleased with your works." For before you approached the grace, your works were vanity of vanities. But having put off the old garments, and having put on those which are spiritually white, it is fitting for you to be arrayed in white always. We do not say this meaning that you must always wear white garments, but that you must be clothed in those that are truly white and shining B (and spiritual), so that you may say with blessed Isaiah, "My soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for He has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and He has covered me with a robe of gladness."
IX. Instructed in these things, and imbued with the most certain faith that what appears to be bread is not bread, even if it is sensible to the taste, but the body of Christ; and that what appears to be wine is not wine, even if the taste wills it so, but the blood of Christ; and that regarding this, David long ago sang in the Psalms: "And bread strengthens man's heart, to make his face cheerful with oil" (Ps. CIII, 15): "Strengthen" your heart by partaking of it as spiritual, and "make cheerful" the countenance of your soul. C Would that, having your countenance unveiled in a pure conscience, you might contemplate the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, D rendering an impression of the seal, and should the soul of a man, which on its forehead or indeed in its soul must offer a likeness of the imprint, render it in its character: that just as a plate exhibited the words, "Holy to the Lord," so the soul, consecrated with a certain priestly holiness, might prove itself to God by worthy character.
...from glory to glory, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be honor and power, and glory forever and ever. Amen.
CATECHESIS XXIII. MYSTAGOGICA V. ON THE SACRED LITURGY AND COMMUNION. ADMONITION.
I. In this final instruction, Cyril sets forth the individual parts of the unbloody sacrifice, which he illustrates with brief and clear expositions, as well as the procedure for partaking. Setting aside those portions pertaining to the beginning of the liturgy, he recounts only those things which, once all those who had no right to be present for the sacred rites were dismissed, were proper to the action or Mass of the faithful.
II. He begins with the washing of hands by the priest and the presbyters, performed by the deacon; he teaches that this is a symbol of the purity of souls (no. 2). Next, he speaks of the kiss of peace, the sign of the reconciliation of souls (no. 3). He explains with piety the priest’s exhortation to lift up the hearts and render thanks to God, and the people’s consenting response (nos. 4 and 5). He then mentions the prayer offered by the priest to render thanks to God for all good things: in which there is a recounting of the nine angelic orders (no. 6). Then, the trisagion hymn sung by the whole people: and finally the invocation of the Holy Spirit to transform the bread into the body of Christ, and the wine into the same’s blood (no. 8). When the unbloody sacrifice is finished, there are made over the holy host of propitiation, first, intercessions for all the needs of everyone; then, the remembrance of the deceased: in which God is asked to accept our prayer through the petitions of the saints; and the mercy of God is invoked for the rest of the deceased for their relief (no. 9). A Incidentally, he defends the utility of prayers for the dead against many who, doubting this matter, questioned it, and clarifies it by a cited example (no. 10). Afterward, he proceeds to explain the Lord’s Prayer, the individual parts of which he interprets with an admirable brevity and ease (nos. 11-18). He explains the fourth petition, which concerns the supersubstantial bread, as being about the Eucharist (no. 15). He relates the voice of the priest, *Sancta sanctis* ("Holy things to the holy"), and the words the people respond, B and the cantor’s invitation to partake of communion through a psalm verse (no. 19). He prescribes the demeanor of body and soul (no. 20) with which one should approach the sacred mysteries; and that the body of Christ should be received in the hand, and then brought to the eyes and mouth; and that the blood of Christ should be adored with prostrate body and received from the chalice. Finally, having commended the keeping of his precepts, and the participation of the sacred mysteries not to be interrupted, he concludes the catechesis with a prayer for favor (nos. 21 and 22). It was delivered, as we suppose, C on the Friday after Easter.
III. This catechesis is one of the preeminent monuments of ecclesiastical antiquity; nor is there any work of that age in which more rites of the ancient liturgy and sacred communion are learned of, asserted, and explained. However, certain observations regarding the liturgy as explained by Saint Cyril must be premised by us. First, although I do not deny—indeed, it must be confessed—that the action of the liturgy in these times was much shorter and simpler, and that it grew as time went on D through the addition of new prayers, ceremonies, and rites; yet it is not to be thought that all the ceremonies, prayers, and actions of the sacrifice mentioned by Cyril were those alone. For he says nothing here of the frequent salutations of the bishop to the people; nothing of the offering of the gifts at the altar and the prayers by which they are offered to God; nothing of the recitation of the evangelical supper and the sacred words; nothing of the signs of the cross made over the gifts to be consecrated or already consecrated; nothing of the elevation and fraction of the host; nothing of the prayers before communion and the formula for administering communion; or other rites which, from the monuments of this age and earlier, we cannot doubt were in use at this time in the action of the sacrifice.
IV. Secondly, the liturgy which he recounts here was without doubt that of the Church of Jerusalem. Furthermore, that which we now have under the name of Saint James, and which is asserted as such by the Council in Trullo, canon 32, was in use locally in this Church for a long time; and it was constantly in use in the times of Charlemagne, King of the Franks, and for many centuries afterward; until the Patriarch of Constantinople compelled his own liturgy, and then all the other Churches of Greek rite, partly by persuasion and partly by force, to be accepted. But our liturgy of Saint James disagrees in many points with the Cyrillian; although such differences are either of things passed over by Cyril, or added...
either in words or in rites, which have been joined to the sacred action since the time of Cyril; or finally of the sacred formulas, which are reported in other words by Cyril than in the liturgy of Saint James: some of which we have noted in our observations. Otherwise, they agree completely; so that you may observe the same body of the liturgy throughout; although, as usually happens in such matters, it has been changed by some increments and variations. Yet one must admit that there are very few things in Cyril that are so characteristic of the liturgy of Saint James that they are not found in the same way in other Greek liturgies. The reason is that Cyril has pursued only the main parts of the liturgy, which were common in all churches, at least in the Greek ones.
V. Thirdly, many things in the Cyrillian liturgy are common with that liturgy which is described in full in the *Apostolic Constitutions*, book ii, chapter 57, and book viii, chapters 5 and 6 and following: if indeed it is one and the same that is found in the second book and in the eighth; for some variety can be discerned between those different places. It has already been observed by many before us that the *Apostolic Constitutions* were expressed to a great extent for the use of the Palestinian and Jerusalemite Church: which, if there were place for this matter, we could illustrate by new observations. Certainly in some places the similarity of the Cyrillian liturgy is greater with that of the *Apostolic Constitutions* than with the liturgy of Saint James; but in other parts, conversely, the Cyrillian approaches the latter more than the former. That will seem no wonder to him who remembers that the *Apostolic Constitutions* were not expressed from the customs of one Church, but of many. We have often compared those three liturgies in our notes.
VI. Fourthly, concerning the rites of communion, few things are to be observed by us. For the fact that the body of Christ and the blood from the chalice are offered separately, although it is contrary to the current custom of the Greeks, who have for a long time—since the eleventh century—presented the sacred bread dipped in the blood on a spoon, this was the ancient custom of the Greek and Latin Church in those times: a custom which Cardinal Humbert, writing against the slanders of the Greeks, congratulates the Jerusalemites for having constantly retained in the middle of the eleventh century (*Bib. PP. Lugd.*, vol. XVIII, p. 397). That the body of Christ was given into the hands was also the common practice of all the churches. But as for Cyril’s instruction that the hands be so shaped that the left hand supports the right hand to receive the sacred body: this is what the Greeks intend when they command the hands to be composed in the shape of a cross. Thus the Trullan Council, canon 101, and John of Damascus, *De fide*, book iv, chapter 13: A *Let us draw near shaping our palms in the form of a cross.* I will also say nothing about the communicant’s response, *Amen*, to the old and simple formula of distributing communion, *The Body of Christ, and the Blood of Christ*; by which the communicant assents to the truth of the real presence of the Body and Blood of Christ given to him. But the fact that Cyril orders that before the sacred bread is taken into the mouth, it should be brought to the eyes; and after the blood of Christ has been drunk from the chalice, the moisture adhering to the lips gathered by the fingers should be applied to the eyes, the forehead, and the senses; since this might perhaps seem singular, it is to be confirmed by the examples of other authors.
VII. And first, John of Damascus, in the place already praised, orders that not only the eyes but also the lips through a kiss, and the forehead, be brought to the body of Christ: B *Let us receive the body of the Crucified; and applying our eyes and lips and foreheads, let us partake of the divine coal.* Let us receive the body of the Crucified; and applying [it to] our eyes, lips, and forehead, let us receive the divine coal. Theodoret, *in Cant.* 1, 1: *Let him consider how in the time of the mysteries we kiss the members of the Bridegroom as we receive them, and embrace them and place them upon our eyes.* A witness of this ancient custom is Theodore Phurnes in Allatius, book iii, *De consensu, etc.*, chapter 15. Regarding the other custom, of applying the moisture collected from the lips after the consumption of the chalice to the eyes, the forehead, and the other senses; some monuments persuade us that this was not a singular rite at Jerusalem. For Cyril of Alexandria, in his second book of *Glaphyra on Exodus*, pages 270 and 271, explaining the figure of the blood of the lamb being smeared on the doorposts of houses as the blood of Christ taken by the faithful, says that our doors, that is, our senses, are smeared with the blood of Christ; C *But by doors understand the senses within us... through which the devil invades, unless they are smeared with the blood of Christ; for they were not smeared with the blood of Christ.* Theodore Balsamon seems to have truly had this place before his eyes when, in his letter *On Fasting* (no. 14, Coteler, *Monum.*, vol. II, p. 505), he wrote: *Anointing and sanctifying the gates of our senses with the blood and body of Christ.* Theodore the Studite seems to have referred to this custom when he says in sermon 46: *Nor let the eyes, cleansed by the august blood, behold base things.* I also believe that Apollinaris, or whoever is the author of the *Tragedy of Christ Suffering*, printed in Nazianzen, vol. II, 325, page 272, had this before his eyes, saying that the centurion who pierced the side of Christ and called out, *This was the Son of God*, collected the blood flowing from the side of Christ with his hands and applied it to his eyes.
D *He draws from the fountain with his hands, and anointed his pupils,* *As it seems, that he might have a cleansing.* From the fountain he draws with his hands, and anointed his eyes, As was fitting, seeking holiness from it.
There is nothing in this, unless one translates it as superstitious and contrary to the Scriptures, which Rivetus accuses in Cyril, that it is a commendable custom. By the same right, let him accuse Gorgonia, the sister of Gregory Nazianzen, who applied particles of the Body and Blood of Christ, mixed with her own tears, to her aching limbs by way of medicine: let him accuse [Gregory] also.
VIII. We have compared this catechesis with the manuscripts noted above, from which number the Coislinian must be removed, which on its last page, perhaps through the weariness of the scribe, contains only the title of this oration. Moreover, we have compared it with fragments cited by Nicon the monk in his *Pandects*, by Eustratius, and by the author of the little book. It lacks a title and argument in all the codices. We have fashioned the one that the very nature of the subject matter demanded. The reader will excuse the frequency and length of the notes on account of the dignity and richness of the subject treated. There is one thing which we have relegated to the third dissertation, namely that which pertains to the invocation of the Holy Spirit, which is customary in the Greek Churches at the consecration.
CATECHESIS MYSTAGOGICA V.
From the Catholic Epistle of Peter: *Wherefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and all evil speakings, and so forth.*
A I. By the loving-kindness of God, in the preceding synaxes, you have heard sufficiently concerning baptism, and chrism, and the participation of the Body and Blood of Christ; now it is necessary to pass on to what follows, today about to place the finishing touch upon the spiritual building of your instruction.
B II. You have therefore seen the deacon presenting water for the washing of hands to the priest, and to the presbyters who surround the altar of God. He did not give it at all on account of bodily dirt; that is not the case. For we did not enter the church in the first place bearing bodily dirt. But the washing is a symbol that you ought to be clean from all sins and transgressions. For since the hands are a symbol of action, by washing them, we signify the purity of our deeds and their immunity from all blame. Have you not heard the blessed David revealing this very mystery to us, and saying: *I will wash my hands among the innocent, and will encompass thine altar, O Lord* (Ps. XXVI, 6)? C Therefore, the washing of hands is a symbol of being blameless from sins.
A III. Then the deacon cries out: "Receive one another, and let us kiss one another." Do not suppose that this kiss is such as that which is common among friends in the marketplace. This kiss is not of that kind; for it unites and mingles souls together, and promises them an oblivion of all injuries. This kiss, therefore, is a sign that souls are mingled together with one another, and that all memory of injuries is banished. Therefore Christ said: "If you offer your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you; leave your gift at the altar, and go first and be reconciled to your brother, and then coming back, offer your gift" (Matt. v, 23, 24). Therefore the kiss is a reconciliation, and for this reason it is holy; as somewhere the blessed Paul cried out saying: "Greet one another with a holy kiss" (1 Cor. xvi, 20); and Peter: "With a kiss of charity" (1 Pet. v, 14).
IV. After this, the priest cries out: "Lift up your hearts" (2). For truly, in that most awesome hour, one ought to have the heart lifted up to God, and not downwards toward the earth and earthly things. It is therefore the same as if the priest were to command that at that hour all should lay aside the cares of this life and domestic anxieties, and have their hearts lifted up in heaven to the merciful God. Then you answer: "We lift them up unto the Lord"; agreeing to this command by the confession which you pronounce. Let no one, therefore, be present in such a state that, while saying with his mouth, "We lift them up unto the Lord," B his mind is occupied with worldly matters. Always, indeed, one ought to have the remembrance of God...
C Facies quoque ante communionem abluebatur ex Chrysost. et Augustino. (1) *Vos invicem suscipite*, etc. This is how we translate *ἀπολάβετε*, which can signify either "take hold of with a gesture of the body and an embrace," or "receive with gratified souls, as companions and brothers, with strangers now dismissed." In the liturgy of St. James, after the dismissal of the catechumens, the deacon commands that the faithful should recognize one another, *ἀλλήλους ἐπίγνωτε*. And again, after the burning of incense, the chanting of the cherubic hymn, the offering of the gifts on the altar, and the recitation of the creed, the deacon heralds the kiss of peace with these words: *Ἀγαπήσωμεν ἀλλήλους ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ* — Amemus nos mutuo in Spiritu sancto. A single admonition from Cyril fulfills the place of both; and perhaps both of these arose in the Jerusalem liturgy from the division of that one. In Constit. Apost., lib. viii, cap. 11, there is one admonition: *Ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ* — Salutate vos mutuo in osculo sancto. This, however, precedes—it does not follow, as it does with Cyril—the washing of hands, unless something has been disturbed; for otherwise [the sequence] of prayers and rites is not entirely the same in lib. ii, c. 57, and lib. viii, cap. 9, 10, 11, 12. In all Greek churches, and in almost all Latin ones except for the African and Roman, and those which followed the Roman rites, the kiss of peace was given before the consecration; whereas in the African and Roman [liturgies] it followed the Lord's Prayer.
(2) *Sursum corda*. St. Euthymius, who lived in the Jerusalem region in the fifth century, said: *Ἄνω σχῶμεν τὸν νοῦν καὶ τὰς καρδίας* — Attollamus mentem et corda. This is related in the account of his life by our Bernard de Montfaucon in *Analecta Græca*, page 62. The formula of the liturgy of St. James is the same. But in *Constit. apost.*, lib. viii, cap. 12, it is written thus: *Ἄνω τὸν νοῦν*, Sursum mentem. Preceding this exclamation in almost all Greek liturgies, and in the *Constit. apostolicis*, is the salutation of the priest to the people: "The grace of God Almighty, and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all"; with the people's response: "And with your spirit." This salutation, indeed, which is ancient and dates from the times of Chrysostom, is passed over in silence by Cyril.
(3) *Οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο τοιοῦτον· ἀλλὰ τοῦτο τὸ φίλημα ἀνακίρνησι*, etc.: *Non est hoc ejusdem modi, verum hoc osculum*, etc. Below, instead of *μνηστεύεται*, some editions have *μνημονεύεται*, "it recalls to memory."
(4) *Καὶ διαλλάγηθι*. [The word] *καὶ* is absent in the manuscripts, Roe, and Cas. [They separate] the standard text, which separates *πρῶτον* from *ὕπαγε*, and joins it to *διαλλάγηθι*. From this observation of Cyril, it can be gathered that the kiss of peace was given before the gifts were moved to the altar; [as is] testified by old custom in Justin, *apol. 2*, page 97, *Constit. Apost.*, lib. viii, cap. 12, Council of Laodicea, can. 19, etc. Conversely, in the liturgy of St. James, the gifts are offered at the altar before the kiss of peace. The custom of the churches on this matter was varied.
(5) *Καὶ Πέτρος*, etc. Roe and Cas. add *ἀσπάσασθε ἀλλήλους* before *ἐν φιλήματι*, as in Peter.
(6) *Προστάττει*. In Prevotius and the following editions, it is read incorrectly as *προτάττει*.
(7) *Θεόν*. We have inscribed this noun [as found] in the manuscripts of Roe, Cas., and Grod., although in section 10, in a similar phrase, it is omitted in many copies, so that one sees the God addressed by this title, *ὁ φιλάνθρωπος*.
φιλάνθρωπος*. A Let [the mind] have concern regarding the cares of this life. B Yet it is necessary that we be mindful of God at all times; but if this is impossible on account of human weakness, then one must be most ambitious in this at that hour.
V. Then the priest says: "Let us give thanks to the Lord." For truly we ought to give thanks, because, being unworthy, He has called us to such great grace; because, being enemies, He has reconciled us; because He has deemed us worthy of the Spirit of adoption. Then you say: "It is meet and just." For in giving thanks, we do a meet and just deed; but He, doing not just things, but things beyond what is just, has benefited us, and has deemed us worthy of such great goods.
VI. After these things, we make mention of heaven, and earth, and sea; of the sun and moon; of the stars, and of all creation, rational and irrational, visible and invisible; of angels, archangels, powers, lordships, principalities, authorities, thrones, of the cherubim of many faces; C saying in power that of David: "Magnify the Lord with me" (Ps. xxxiii, 4). We make mention also of the seraphim, whom Isaiah saw in the Holy Spirit, standing round about the throne of God; and with two wings covering the face, and with two the feet, and with two flying, and saying: "Holy, holy, holy Lord Sabaoth" (Isa. vi, 2, 3). For this reason we recite this theology handed down to us from the seraphim, so that we may become partakers of the hymnody with the supercelestial hosts.
VII. Then, having sanctified ourselves through these spiritual hymns, we call upon D the benevolent God, to send forth the holy Spirit upon [the gifts]
that He may make the bread the body of Christ, and the wine the blood of Christ. For whatever the holy Spirit touches, that is sanctified and transformed.
VIII. But after the spiritual sacrifice is completed, the unbloody service, over that propitiatory victim we beseech God for the common peace of the Churches; for the stability of the world; for emperors; for soldiers and allies; for those who labor in infirmities; for those who are weighed down by afflictions; and, to express it simply, we all pray for all who stand in need of help, and we offer this sacrifice.
IX. Then we make memorial also of those who have fallen asleep: first patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs; that by their prayers and intercessions God may receive our petition. Then also for the holy Fathers and bishops who have fallen asleep, and in simple terms for all who have fallen asleep among us; believing that it will be the greatest benefit B to the souls for whom the petition is offered, while the holy and most tremendous sacrifice lies in view.
X. And I wish to persuade you of this by an example; for I know many who say: What does it profit a soul C departing from this world with sins, or not with sins, if it is remembered in the prayer? D
For if any king were to send into exile those who had offended him, and then those who are related to them, having plaited a crown, were to offer it to the king on behalf of those who are in punishment, would he not grant them a relaxation of their penalties? In the same way, we, offering prayers to God for the departed, even if they be sinners, do not plait a crown, but offer B Christ, sacrificed for our sins, seeking to propitiate the merciful God both for them and for ourselves.
XI. Then, after this, we recite that prayer which the Savior delivered to His own disciples, calling God "Father" with a pure conscience, and saying: "Our Father, who art in the heavens." O the exceeding greatness of God's love toward man! To those who had fallen away from Him and ended up in the uttermost evils, He has granted such oblivion of their wrongs and such participation in His grace C that they may even call Him "Father." "Our Father, who art in the heavens." Yet those, too, might be heavens who bear the image of the heavenly, in whom God dwells and walks.
XII. "Hallowed be thy name." The name of God is holy by nature, whether we say it or whether we do not say it. But since it is sometimes profaned among those who sin, according to the text, "Because of you my name is continually blasphemed D among the Gentiles," we pray that in us it may be hallowed...
not that it comes from being not holy A to being holy, but because it becomes holy in us, when we become holy and do things worthy of holiness.
XIII.
Thy kingdom come.
It belongs to a pure soul to say with confidence: "Thy kingdom come." For he who has heard Paul saying, "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body," and has purified himself in action, in thought, and in word, will say to God: "Thy kingdom come."XIV.
Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth.
The divine and blessed angels of God do the will of God, as David said while singing: "Bless the Lord, all his angels, mighty in strength, who do his commands." Therefore, praying with power, B you say this: "As Thy will is done in the angels, so may it come to pass for me on earth, O Master."XV.
Give us this day our daily bread.
This common bread is not daily. But this holy bread is daily; that is to say, it is appointed for the substance of the soul. This bread does not pass into the belly and is not cast out into the draught; but it is distributed into your whole constitution, for the benefit of body and soul. And "this day" is said for "daily," just as Paul also said: "As long as it is called today."XVI.
And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.
For we have many C sins. We offend both in word and in thought, and we do many things worthy of condemnation. And if we say that we have no sin, we lie, as John says. And we make a compact with God, beseeching him to forgive us our sins, as we also forgive our neighbors their debts. Considering, therefore, from what things and for what things we receive, let us not delay, nor D imagine that mutual offenses...are small, and trivial, and easily solvable; while those committed by us against God are great, and in need of His A benignity alone. Beware, therefore, lest, on account of small and trivial sins against you, you shut against yourself the remission of the most grievous sins from God.
XVII. And lead us not into temptation, O Lord. Does the Lord teach us to pray that we should not be tempted at all? And how is it said elsewhere, “A man not tempted is not approved”? And again, “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various temptations.” But perhaps to enter into temptation is to be submerged by the temptation? For temptation is like a torrent, difficult to cross. Those, therefore, who are not submerged in temptations cross over, becoming like expert swimmers, and are not carried away by them at all; but those who are not such, upon entering, are submerged. For example, as an illustration, Judas having entered into the temptation of avarice, did not swim across, B but being submerged, was suffocated both bodily and spiritually. Peter entered into the temptation of the denial, but having entered, he was not submerged; but, swimming across bravely, he was delivered from the temptation. Hear again, elsewhere, the choir of the saints, whole and entire, giving thanks for having been delivered from temptation: “You have tested us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined; You brought us into the snare; You laid afflictions upon our back; You have set men over our heads. We went through fire and water, and You brought us into a place of refreshment.” See you them exulting with confidence that they have crossed over, and have not been pierced? And lead us out—
he says, into a place of refreshment; for to come into a place of refreshment is to be rescued from temptation.
A XVIII. But deliver us from evil. If the phrase, “Lead us not into temptation,” implied that we were not to be tempted at all, He would not have added, “But deliver us from evil.” Now, the wicked one is the opposing demon, from whom we pray to be delivered. Then, when the prayer is completed, you say, “Amen,” sealing by this “Amen”—which means, “So be it”—everything that is contained in this prayer taught by God.
B XIX. After this, the priest says, “Holy things to the holy.” Holy are the things which lie before us, having received the visitation of the Holy Spirit. Holy are you also, having been deemed worthy of the Holy Spirit. The holy things, therefore, correspond to the holy. Then you say, “One is holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ.” For truly He is one and holy, holy by nature; and we are also holy, but not by nature, but by participation, and by exercise, and by prayer.
XX. After this, you hear the chanter, who with a divine-sounding melody invites you to the communion of the holy mysteries, saying, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” C Do not permit the judgment of this matter to the physical palate; no, but to faith that is free from hesitation. For when they taste, they are not told to taste bread and wine, but the antitype [or symbol and sacrament] of the body and blood of Christ.
XXI. Approaching, therefore, not with the palms of your hands stretched out, nor with your fingers spread, but making your left hand a throne for your right, as for a king, and hollowing your palm, receive the Body of Christ, saying after receiving it, “Amen.”
A With all safety, therefore, after you have hallowed your eyes by the touch of the holy Body, partake, taking care that you do not lose any of it. For whatever you lose, you must understand that you are deprived of as if it were a member of your own body. For tell me, if someone gave you gold dust, would you not hold it with all safety, observing diligently that you did not lose any of it and suffer loss? Will you not, therefore, much more cautiously guard against even a crumb falling, which is more precious than gold and precious stones?
B XXII. Then, after you have partaken of the Body of Christ, approach also to the cup of His Blood; not stretching out your hands, but bowing, and in the manner of worship and reverence saying, “Amen,” be hallowed, partaking also of the Blood of Christ. And while the moisture still remains on your lips, by touching it with your hands, hallow both your eyes and forehead and the remaining senses. Then, having awaited the prayer, give thanks to God who has deemed you worthy of such great mysteries.
C XXIII. Keep these traditions unstained, and preserve yourselves from stumbling. Do not cut yourselves off from the communion; do not deprive yourselves of these holy and spiritual mysteries through the defilement of sins. “And may the God of peace hallow you wholly; and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. v, 23).
gloria, honor et imperium, cum Patre [et Filio] et sancto Spiritu, nunc et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen. A
SAINT CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF JERUSALEM
HOMILY ON THE PARALYTIC LYING BY THE POOL
ADMONITION
I. The author of this homily, whom we shall presently prove to be our Cyril, explains that portion of the Gospel of John which contains the miracle performed by Christ, who healed the paralytic of thirty years’ standing lying by the Sheep Pool on the Sabbath, while the Jews murmured. He weighs and declares the individual circumstances of this history, inserting exhortations suitable everywhere for the commendation of faith and the amendment of morals.
II. At the beginning he reminds us that Jesus, the physician of both souls and bodies, filled whatever places he visited with his good deeds (nos. 1 and 2); and that he asked the paralytic if he wished to be healed, not in ignorance, but drawing out the will of the sick man, as much in soul as in body (nos. 3 and 4): which is also what he did in the other miracle of the two blind men (no. 5). Then, taking the occasion from the response of the paralytic who denied having a man, he shows the divinity of Christ conjoined with his humanity, and the necessity of confessing both (no. 6); and he demonstrates the omnipotent power of Christ, and how it is potent by itself alone (nos. 7-10). Next, interpreting that command of Christ, by which the paralytic was ordered to carry away his bed on a pallet, he digresses to that place in the Song of Songs where Solomon is recorded to have made a sedan chair for himself; and he refers this allegorically to the passion of Christ, first warning that it is not a common and profane book, but one full of the mysteries of Christ’s passion (nos. 10-12). Returning to the subject, he praises the speed and ease of the miracle performed by Christ (no. 13); noting that the infidelity of the Jews, who viewed the miracle with malignant eyes and reproved it, was much more difficult to cure than the infirmity of the sick man himself, which it was proper to heal by the very sighting of the miracle and the consideration of Christ’s power (nos. 14 and 15). Afterwards, observing that Christ withdrew to avoid the applause of a miracle, he beats back the precipitate boasting of the faithful who gloried in the gifts of miracles received (no. 16), and reviewing the warning of Christ to the healed man, that he should sin no more lest he suffer worse things; he notes that all our evils arise from sins, and warns that they must be diligently cut off, and that one must not abuse the patience of God (no. 17). Then, taking occasion from the sentiment of the Apostle Paul read earlier in the church, and elucidating its meaning, he subjoins various exhortations to virtue (no. 18); and having commended trust in Christ, and being about to make room for the bishop’s prayer, he imposes an end on his own (no. 19).
III. This homily, expressed from the MS codex of the Bodleian Library marked No. 25, was first edited for the light of day by Thomas Milles in the Oxford edition of Cyril of Jerusalem in the year 1703. But such is the fortune of all editions adorned from only one codex, it is mutilated in the middle and sprinkled with innumerable mistakes; for the editor represented the writing of his codex with the greatest fidelity just as it was, with scholia added to the bottom of the pages, in which he proposes his own conjectures for the amendment of the text. We, having obtained one copy of his speech in the library of the most Christian King, in a parchment codex of the eleventh or twelfth century marked 2030, in which B it is held on folio 135 verso, have filled the lacuna in the middle of the homily and corrected many errors of the Anglican codex; yet we confess that another codex is desired by us, so that it may be produced pure and perfectly refined. For although the collation of both codices has brought great momentum to the amendment of the text, there still remain some flaws: especially in that part of the homily which I edited from the one royal codex, which could not be further clarified and amended by the help of a codex. In these places I could do nothing other than supply by conjecture. Where a manifest reason compelled it, I did not hesitate to insert into the text that which I conjectured should be read, lest I foist upon it a barbarous and unusual and alien reading in place of that which undoubtedly seemed Cyrillian. But where nothing certain was available, having represented the MS reading, I indicated my own conjecture in the notes, leaving the hazard of the conjectures of others free.
IV. In the Anglican edition it is represented as if mutilated at the beginning: and thus its beginning is held with some dots placed continuously... οὗ δ’ ἂν φανῇ Ἰησοῦς. And in truth, the particle ὅ signifes that something else had preceded. However, Milles does not declare how many folios, or what part of the folio, is missing in the codex. But in the book of the Royal Library, there is no signal of any defect whatsoever. It begins from these words, ὅπου ἂν φανῇ Χριστός, etc. C
A A letter with a capital, depicting the figure of a fish, because of the mention of the pool. And absolutely nothing is missing from the integrity of this homily; so that if anything has been omitted, it would seem that nothing more than a certain beginning or exordium, which is not at all necessary, or one or two phrases, is missing.
V. It remains now to inquire into the author of this discourse. Both codices, the Anglican and the Gallican, bear the name of Cyril of Jerusalem inscribed upon its front: nor is there anything that can be opposed to this inscription; indeed, there are many things which, in my opinion, abundantly demonstrate Cyril to be the author.
VI. And first, many things confirm the antiquity of this homily. For the custom was still in force that more than one person should preach in a single assembly, with the bishop speaking last of all. For towards the end of the discourse (no. 20) he fears that his own teaching and sermon might be a hindrance to the father, that is, the bishop, on account of its length, and says that more sublime words are to be expected from him. But it is known that Cyril, at the time he was delivering the Catecheses, namely before his episcopate, was accustomed to preach at individual assemblies. At that time, too, the gifts of prophetic dreams, of healings, and of the casting out of demons were common among the faithful, who were not marked by any signal note of sanctity: while he notes (no. 16) that if such successes befall anyone, men are wont to be carried away thereby everywhere, and not to suppress these things in modest silence, but to broadcast them boastfully. But in Cyril’s age, we have observed that these charisms of the first age were frequent, so that they were granted in the ordinary course, along with the grace of baptism, according to the measure of each person's faith. See Cat. 1, no. 5; Cat. 5, nos. 9 and 11; Cat. 13, no. 23; Cat. 17, no. 37. Furthermore, the simple theology of this author has no admixture of theological jargon. See the express and clear confession of the divinity and humanity of Christ, no. 6, just as it is held altogether in Cat. 12, no. B
VII. Secondly, it persuades us that the author wrote at Jerusalem, not only because in no. 2 he provides a description of the pool of Probatica, clearly similar to that which the author of the Jerusalem Itinerary recounted in the same age; but also because, speaking in no. 12 of Gabbatha, or the Lithostrotos existing in the house of Pilate, he says, sending the listener all but to an inspection of the places: in which passage he uses that form of speaking, "The studious of the Church know," (Ἰσασιν οἱ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας σπουδαῖοι), which he used on a similar occasion in Cat. 13, no. 26, "The studious psalmists of the Church know" (Οίδασιν οἱ σπουδαῖοι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ψαλμῳδοί).
VIII. Thirdly, the style itself and the method of speaking are similar to the Cyrillian manner; concise in its various members, not bombastic or grand, but familiar and such as an extemporaneous speech is wont to be, of which kind all the catecheses are. The author cites the Scriptures frequently, explaining them in the manner of a paraphrase; by short sentences, for the sake of exposition, he interrupts their words, and repeatedly returns to them; and so he continues, until he has finished the whole context proposed to him; furthermore, he interrupts either his own speech or the cited words of Scripture with frequent parentheses. This, reader, you have observed in all the catecheses, and you will clearly detect it in this homily, especially in no. 10 and 5. Cyril sometimes uses long digressions, as in Cat. 6, no. 29; Cat. 16, no. 14: you have also here a prolix one, which comprises the entirety of the numbers 10, 11, and 12. He interprets the Scriptures here in a mystical, and as he calls it, contemplative, or allegorical method of commentary, especially from no. 10 onwards. That this habit of explaining the Scriptures was his outside of the catecheses is signified in Cat. 15, no. 9, where he teaches that a catechesis demands a different genre of speaking, more apt for the creation of faith: nor yet in the Catecheses is he so intent on the literal sense that he does not willingly, when the occasion offers, dwell upon the allegorical and mystical, out of custom.
IX. Fourthly, similar sentences, almost repeated word for word, are observed in this homily and in the Catecheses. We have already observed some above in no. 6 and 7. Behold others: he teaches that Christ is the physician of bodies and souls in almost the same words in this homily, no. 2, and in Cat. 10, no. 13; in which place also, as here in no. 19, he exhorts that he who is troubled by bodily diseases should flee to Christ. He says in the same way that Christ is made all things to all men, here no. 9 and in Cat. 10, no. 5. What he discusses here regarding Christ, on one side God, on the other man, no. 6, are clearly similar to the words in Cat. 4, no. 9. Just as he instructs in no. 9 of this discourse that not him who appears but him who worked in him who appeared in Christ is to be considered; so in Cat. 11, no. 20, he denies that one should attend to him who was born in Bethlehem, but that he who was begotten eternally from the Father is to be adored. He says here in no. 5 that Christ was begotten immediately from the Father, which he repeats and explains in Cat. 7, no. 4, and Cat. 11, no. 7. He calls Christ the maker of all things by the will of the Father there in no. 5. In the catecheses frequently, and first of all in Cat. 11, nos. 22 and 24. The sentiment is the same, and the words are the same concerning Christ, prophetically, although by way of derision, saluted by the soldiers as king, in this discourse no. 12, and in Cat. 13, no. 17. In this homily, no. 10, he runs off into a commendation of the sacred book of Canticles, and says it is prophetic of the passion of Christ. This is especially proper to Cyril, who is accustomed to use no other book of Scripture more familiarly and willingly, and contends that many circumstances of Christ's passion were prophesied in it. Things entirely similar regarding the garden in which Christ was crucified and buried are said from the book of Canticles here in no. 11, and in Cat. 13, no. 32, and in Cat. 15, no. 5. Likewise regarding the honeycomb tasted after the resurrection, and the myrrhed wine before the cross, in the Homily on the Paralytic, no. 11, and in Cat. 13, no. 29, and in Cat. 14, no. 11.
X. I omit many other similar sentiments and locutions: e.g., our Paralytic, sick in soul C and body...
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A Cyrillus—Cyril uses "interpret" in a familiar way: thus here, no. 10. The word *meson* signifies something ambiguous in Cyril, cat. 16, no. 15, and so it does also in the *Paralytic*, no. 4. He understands the expression "greater words" (no. 20) to refer to a more sublime doctrine: so also cat. 18, no. 33. When he calls the listener to some book of Scripture, he uses this locution: *come to the first book, Genesis*, *come to the 29th Psalm*, *come to the Proverbs*. *He has filled up what was lacking*, *fill up what is lacking in the faith of the dead person*. *Long-lasting indeed is the disease, but most swift is the plaster*; *many years indeed is the paralysis, but most swift is the bracing of the nerves*. *The matter was performed swiftly, he had a most swift healing*; *long-lasting indeed is the petition, but most swift is the grace... I have decreed most swiftly against Adam; most swiftly I grant to you.* You see there indeed the very same style.
XI. From all these things collected together, it can legitimately be concluded that Cyril is the undisputed author of this homily. However, he delivered it as a presbyter, while Maximus was still bishop, and while he was preaching and acting on his own behalf: for which reason I deem it to have been delivered either in the same year as the catecheses, or rather some numbers of years before, around the year 345; for this oration has a certain quality that reeks of the exercises of a youthful mind, in its frequent parentheses, its frequent and long digressions, its overly abundant and luxuriant paraphrases, and its not-sufficiently-corrected locutions. It seems to have been spoken extemporaneously, just like the catecheses: for the subject matter does not seem to have been sufficiently digested and prepared for the speaker: the allegorization of the Scriptures is careless here, and the interpretations are sometimes forced, such as that about the litter of Solomon and the silver columns, which he supposed to signify the passion, beginning from the silver given to Judas. These things do not prevent the oration from being excellent, comprising as it does many moral precepts, outstanding documents of faith, and notable observations.
XII. If we knew for certain the order of readings used in the Jerusalem Church, we could easily arrive at the knowledge of the day on which this oration was delivered. The Greeks read the Gospel of John from Pascha until Pentecost. At the same time that the Gospel of John was being read, the Epistle to the Romans was being read in the Jerusalem Church; the beginning of whose seventh chapter had been read on the day on which this oration was delivered, no. 17.
OF OUR HOLY FATHER CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF JERUSALEM, HOMILY ON THE PARALYTIC LYING BY THE POOL
I. Ubicunque apparuerit Jesus, ibi A etiam adest salus. Nam et si publicanum in telonio sedentem [Joan. v, 2-16] A *Όπου ἂν φανῇ Ἰησοῦς, ἐκεῖ καὶ ἡ σωτηρία. Κἄν τε γὰρ ἴδῃ τελώνην καθήμενον ἐπὶ τοῦ τε-
τελωνίου, τοῦτον ἀπόστολον ποιεῖ καὶ εὐαγγελιστήν· κἄν τε μετὰ νεκρῶν ταφῇ, νεκροὺς ἐγείρει. Καὶ τυφλοῖς μὲν τὸ βλέπειν χαρίζεται, κωφοῖς δὲ τὸ ἀκούειν· καὶ τὰς κολυμβήθρας περιέρχεται, οὐ τὰς οἰκοδομὰς ζητῶν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς νοσούντας ἰατρεύων. B
II. Ἐν γὰρ τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις ἦν προβατικὴ κολυμβήθρα, πέντε στοὰς ἔχουσα, τέσσαρας μὲν περιτρεχούσας, μέσην δὲ τὴν πέμπτην, ἐν ᾗ κατέκειτο πλῆθος ἀσθενούντων καὶ ἀπιστία ἦν πολλὴ τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Ὁ δὲ τῶν ψυχῶν καὶ σωμάτων ἰατρὸς καὶ θεραπευτὴς, μέτρῳ τὴν ἴασιν ἐχαρίζετο, τὸν πολυχρόνιον πρῶτον θεραπεύων, ἵνα τάχιον ἀπαλλαγῇ τῶν ἀλγηδόνων. Οὐ γὰρ μία ἡμέρα ἦν αὐτῷ κατακεῖσθαι, ὡς οὐδὲ δευτέρα, οὐδὲ πρῶτος μὴν ἢ ἐνιαυτός· ἀλλ᾽ ὀκτὼ καὶ τριάκοντα ἔτη. Κατακείμενος πολυχρονίῳ νόσῳ, γνώριμος ἦν τοῖς ὁρῶσιν, καὶ δεικνύων τοῦ θεραπεύοντος τὴν ἐνέργειαν· ἐγνωρίζετο γὰρ ὑπὸ πάντων διὰ τὸν χρόνον ὁ παραλυτικός. Ὁ δὲ ἀρχίατρος ἐδείκνυ μὲν τὴν δύναμιν, ἠθετεῖτο δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν κακῶς ἐκδεχομένων.
III. Περιερχόμενος δὲ τὴν κολυμβήθραν, ἴδεν· οὐκ ἐξ ἐρωτήσεως μαθῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ θεϊκῆς ἐνεργείας τὸ λεῖπον ἀπεπλήρωσεν. Ἰδὼν, οὐκ ἐρωτῶν, ἐκ πόσου χρόνου κατάκειται. Ἀλλ᾽ ἰδὼν ἔγνω, ὁ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ ἰδεῖν εἰδώς. Εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν κατὰ καρδίαν, οὐ χρείαν εἶχεν ἵνα τις αὐτὸν ἐρωτήσῃ περὶ τοῦ
τοῦ ἀνθρώπου· αὐτὸς γὰρ ᾔδει τί ἦν ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· πολὺ δὲ μᾶλλον περὶ τῶν νοσημάτων, ὧν ἔξωθεν ἡ ἐπαγωγή.
B IV. Vidit quemdam jacentem, et plurima vi morbi degravatum; peccatorum enim onus grave, simul et diutinus morbi dolor ei incubuere. Huic quæstio proposita id quod cupiebat quodammodo exposuit: Vis sanus fieri? nec quidquam adjecit præterea; sed quæstionis eum dereliquit ambiguo; nam quæstio duplex erat. Quoniam enim non corpore solo, verum etiam animo æger erat (secundum illud quod ipsi postea dixit: Ecce sanus factus es, ne posthac pecces, ne tibi deterius aliquid contingat), interrogat illum: Vis sanus fieri? O magnam medici potestatem, qui auxilium ex sola voluntate suspendit. Nam cum ex fide salus sit, idcirco audivit illud: Visne? ut voluntas hæc, [Christi] operationem eliceret. Vox hæc unius Jesu propria est; non enim summorum [etiam] qui corpora curant, medicorum est; nam qui sensibilibus morbis medentur, non possunt omnibus dicere: Vis sanus fieri? Jesus vero ipsum etiam velle dat, et fidem acceptam habet, et donum gratis impertit.
C V. Obambulabat aliquando Salvator in via, et cæci duo sedebant, corpore quidem cæcutientes, animo vero illuminati. Quem enim non noverant Scribæ, hunc demonstrabant cæci, clamantes. Cumque Pharisæi qui legem addidicerant, eamque a pueritia ad senectutem usque fuerant meditati, et in ignorantia consenuerant, dicerent: Hunc nescimus unde sit: (In propria enim venit, et sui eum non receperunt); cæci contra clamabant, dicentes: Fili David, miserere nostri; et quem nescierunt qui legem didicerant, hunc noverunt qui.
A were destitute of the ministry of eyes for reading. Approaching them, the Savior said: Do you believe that I can do this? and that: What do you want me to do for you? He did not say: What do you want me to say to you? but, What do you want me to do for you? For he was the Maker and Giver of life, who was not then beginning to act for the first time (for his Father is always working, and he works together with the Father): and he was the Maker of all things by the will of the Father. But he himself, begotten immediately from the Only One, asks the blind men, saying: What do you want me to do for you? not ignorant of what they wanted; for the matter was open: but intending to bring forth his gift from their words, so that they might be justified by their own words; for he who knows hearts was not ignorant of what they were going to say; but he was awaiting their prayer, so that the interrogation proposed to them might elicit his operation.
B VI. Thus also, presenting himself to this paralytic, and the physician having come of his own accord to the sufferer (nor is it a wonder if he approached the sick man lying by the pool, who descended to us from heaven of his own accord), he asked him: Do you want to be made whole? leading him from this interrogation to knowledge, and soliciting him to ask in turn. This is a great gift of grace; for it cost no price. Therefore he also had the physician hastening to him of his own accord. But he said to him: Indeed, Lord; for the length of my diseases makes health desirable to me. But I indeed desire it, but I have no man. Do not be cast down in spirit, O man, because you have no man. You have God standing by you, C who in one part is man, but in the other is God: for we must confess both. For the confession of humanity separated from the confession of divinity is not useful, nay, it is a procurer of a curse. For cursed is he who has hope in man. If, therefore, we also, hoping in Jesus, hope in a man, not having embraced the divinity at the same time in our hope, we are heirs of a curse. But now, both God and man
A confessi sunt, and both truly: we confess [him who is truly God] born of the true Father; and, worshipping him who was born as man not according to appearance, but in truth, we await true salvation.
VII. I do indeed desire to be made whole, but I have no man. See how, where the hope of salvation was lacking, there He provided the working of his power. For most of the sick had homes, and, furthermore, acquaintances, B or perhaps other people as well. But this man, truly oppressed by every form of poverty, and, having no assistance from external aid, and being left utterly alone, gained the Son of God, the Only-begotten, as his helper. Do you wish to be made whole? "Yes, Lord, but I have no man, in order that, when the water is disturbed, he might put me into the pool." You have the fountain itself, "For with thee is the fountain of life" (Ps. XXXV, 10); the fountain that is the creator of fountains. "Whosoever shall drink of this water, rivers shall flow from his belly," not of water flowing downward, but of water leaping up (for the water which Jesus provides does not make one leap from the heights to the depths, but from earthly things to heavenly things), water, I say, leaping up unto life eternal; for Jesus is the fountain of all good things.
VIII. And why do you expect the pool? You have Him who walks upon the waters, who rebukes the winds with a threat, who is the charioteer of the sea; who did not only have the sea spread out under him like a foundation for himself alone, but also granted to Peter the power of walking in the same manner. For when the night was dark and lightless, and the Light itself was present, He was not recognized (for Jesus walking upon the waters was unknown, in that he was not manifest by the features of his face; but the distinct quality of his voice indicated who was present); and, thinking it was a phantom, C they were afraid. But Jesus said to them: "It is I, be not afraid." And Peter said to him: "If it is you whom I know, or rather whom the Father has made known to me, command me to come to you upon the waters." And He, sharing most graciously with him his own power, says to him: "Come."
A The auriga and maker of the waters was therefore present near the waters of the pool; to whom the paralytic says: "I have no man, that, when the water has been troubled, he may cast me into the pool." The Savior says to him: "Why do you expect a troubling of the waters? Be healed without any troubling. Why do you await a visible movement? My command becomes effective by a word, swifter than thought. Only look upon the energy of the fountain, and perceive God appearing in the flesh; and do not watch him who appears, but rather Him who works through him who appears." "I have no man, that, when the water has been troubled, he may cast me into the pool." But He said to him: "Why do you look to little things, why do you seek the medicine of waters? Arise," the Resurrection said to you. For everywhere the Savior becomes all things to all: bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, resurrection to the dead, physician to the sick, redemption to sinners.
Arise, take up your bed, and walk; but first arise, first cast off the disease; then take up the sinew of faith. Be strong first against the bed that was carrying you; and learn to carry in a wooden vessel that which has long carried you. And that Savior commanded him to carry the wooden pallet, concerning whom it has been said: "The king made a pallet [ferculum] for himself from the woods of Lebanon. He made its pillars of silver, its reclinatorium of purple, and its interior paved with stones." These are the symbols of the Passion, stored up in the Canticle of Canticles, which is full of sobriety and temperance. For one should not interpret the words of this book according to the opinion of the many B or C D.
A consider it to contain amorous or shameful affections; rather, they are nuptial words, filled with sobriety. But if you do not understand the Canticle of Canticles, come to the Proverbs, and by that path and by those steps ascend to the former. "Wisdom hath built herself a house" (as Scripture speaks concerning a woman) "and hath sent her servants." And again elsewhere it says: "Love her, and she shall keep thee." This is not the suggestion of a woman's love, but of wisdom, which banishes base love. For where there is the possession of wisdom, there is the banishment of love. For the passions are not in accordance with wisdom, but thoughts are wise. "They are become as horses, mad after the female"; that impulse is irrational. Therefore, if you hear things said in the Canticles as if about a bridegroom and a bride, do not fall to the ground B, nor hear these things with passion; but, being free from passion and having fixed your gaze upon nothing, let your mind turn toward affection those things which are affectionate.
XI. Therefore, meditate upon the divine Canticles, which are full of sobriety and temperance, and which signify the passion of Christ. For indeed, in narrating those things which pertain to the Savior's passion, it also declares the place. "He entered into a garden," because of him who was buried there. And it made mention of the aromas: "He took my myrrh [full]"; for the economy was fulfilled. And after the resurrection He said: "I have eaten my bread with my honey." For they gave Him a honeycomb. And again the Canticle spoke of the myrrh mixed with wine: "I will give thee to drink of spiced wine." And concerning the myrrh which was poured out upon His head, it said elsewhere: "Until the King C sat down."
Admonition of Cyril concerning the order to be observed in reading the three books of Solomon
The lectica, however, or the palanquin, is usually employed to designate a litter, as in the Testament of Saint Ephrem (Greek edition, page 376), where a noble lady promises the saint that she will no longer ascend a chariot, nor will she again yoke a man to her litter: we have rendered "Vocem" (the word) by "ferculum" (a litter). Following the authority of Scripture, although this Latin word "thensis" seems peculiar to those in which the deities were carried in public processions, or cities and tablets in triumphal parades. But by one word Cyril combines diverse things: the wooden litter, on which the paralytic carried his bed; and that greater litter of Solomon, paved with stone, supported by columns, more like a bedroom than a litter. There were in the use of the ancients D hexaphor and octophor litters, carried by eight or six men or beasts of burden. There were also "lucubratoria," in which one would write or do something as if in a private room. This litter of Solomon was the most magnificent of all.
The author of the preface to the Canticles severely harangues those who asserted that the book of Canticles contained descriptions of profane love. It is thought that he refers here to Theodore of Mopsuestia, whose impious words on this matter are recited in the fifth council, collation 4, in excerpts 68, 69, and 71. There were, however, those before him who felt the same, as is evident from this passage of Cyril, and from the testimony of Philastrius, who registers heresy 83 under their name.
A At his reclining, my nard gave forth its odor. For while he was reclining in the house of Simon the leper, a woman having entered broke an alabaster flask of very precious spikenard and poured it upon his head. Likewise, also concerning the cross: the litter (the wood of the cross, which supports him)—its columns he made of silver. The beginning of the cross was silver—that is, the betrayal. For just as a beautiful house has a golden ceiling
placed
above, while columns support the entire structure, so also the beginning of both the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ was silver. For had Judas not betrayed him, he would not have been crucified; for this reason, as if for the beginning of a notable passion, he made its columns of silver.XII. His ascent is purple. Therefore, they also dressed him in purple; mocking B him, indeed, but prophetically acting; for he was King. Even if they mostly did it in derision, still they performed the act; and it became a symbol of royal dignity. And if there was a crown of thorns, it was a crown nonetheless, and bound by soldiers; for kings are proclaimed by soldiers. His ascent is purple; within it, a stone pavement. Those who are students of the Church know the stone pavement, the one called Gabbatha, which is in the house of Pilate.
XIII. These things, however, have been said by me in a digression on the bed, having come to the litter. He said, therefore, to him: Arise, take up your bed, and walk. The disease was long-standing, but the remedy most swift: a paralysis of many years, but a most swift strengthening of the nerves. For He was the Maker of the nerves, Who applied various medicines to the blind, C Who miraculously granted the plaster by an application of clay. For if clay should be poured upon the eye of one who sees, it obstruct D [index: entries preserved]
obstructs A the use of vision; but Jesus imparted the power of sight to those who did not see by the application of clay. And in other cases, He again exerted His power through other means; for to one He said, "Arise, take up your bed, and walk;" B what degree of astonishment, do you suppose, seized those who saw this? But although that which was seen was truly a wonder, the unbelief was terrible. For a disease of many years was healed, but the long-standing unbelief was not healed; rather, the Jews persisted in their passions, and did not wish to be healed.
XIV. For if it were fitting to be astonished at what had taken place, it was also fitting to adore the Physician of souls and bodies. But they murmured; for they were descendants of murmurers, who twisted good things into evil, who called bitter sweet and sweet bitter. But Jesus worked with the utmost prudence on the Sabbath, performing works that transcend the Sabbath, so that the work itself might persuade them. For since word is fought against by word, but a work is invincible, C He healed on the Sabbath, teaching us not to use arguments of contradiction, but to persuade those who behold these things through our works.
XV. They said to Him: "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed." The Legislator Himself was present, and anyone else dared to say: "It is not lawful for you!" "Set a legislator over them, O Lord," was said concerning the Savior. But he, having been recently healed in both soul and body, having received a wise word from Wisdom, immediately responds—not having an answer from a knowledge of the law, but bringing forward a concise reply. "You all know," he says, "my long-standing infirmity, and how many years I lay reclined, and with how much misery, deprived of the help of all, I struggled. Not one of you ever took care of me, by taking me up and putting me first into the pool so that I might receive health. Therefore, since no care for me touched you then, how is it that you have now seized the office of legislators, saying, 'It is not lawful for you to carry your bed'? D Therefore, take from me this most concise answer: He who made me whole, He said to me [to do this]. If you despise me, then turn your amazement toward the deed; He did not apply a plaster, He did not...
employ the usual medicinal compounds or aids. By His word He spoke, and the effect followed immediately. He commanded, and I perform the command: I have been obedient to the command of Him who healed me by His commands. For if He who commanded were powerless to effect the healing by His commands, I ought not to have obeyed Him; but since it is ordered by words to stop a long-standing, manifest malady, I most justly obey Him whose very command caused even the disease to hear and depart: "He who made me whole, He said to me: Take up your pallet." B
XVI. He who was healed did not know who it was that had healed him; hence the greatest flight of vainglory of our Savior is commended. For when He had healed, He withdrew, so that He might not be celebrated for the healing. We, however, do exactly the opposite. For if it ever happens that we see dreams, or bring aid to someone by the imposition of hands, or banish a demon by invocation, we are so far from hiding the good deed that we boast of it even when not asked. But Jesus, teaching us by His deeds not to speak about ourselves while providing the healing, withdrew at the same time so as not to be recognized, departing at the opportune time and being present at the opportune time. For when it was necessary that the fame of the good deed be shut away, then He withdraws; but when the withdrawal of the crowds had occurred, so that along with the bodily healing He might also bring the healing of the soul, then, being present, He said: "Behold, you have been made whole; sin no more."
XVII. He shows Himself a varied physician; sometimes He heals the soul first, then the body; sometimes, on the contrary. "Sin no more, lest something worse happen to you."
A For he teaches many through one; for the word is directed not to him alone, but to all of us. For if ever we fall into afflictions, or sorrows, or necessities, let no one blame God. For God is "untempted by evil," and He Himself tempts no one; rather, each of us, bound by the chains of his own sins, is scourged. "Sin no more, lest something worse happen to you." Hear the saying, every man; he who used to commit fornication before this, let him cast off the passion; and he who was covetous before this, become merciful. Let the robber hear: "Sin no more." Great is the patience of God, and bountiful is His grace; but do not take the excess of His long-suffering as an opportunity for contempt, nor, because God is long-suffering, do you therefore sin; but rather, find healing henceforth for your carnal passions, and say also you B that which was timely read: "For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins, which were by the law, were working in our members." But if the Apostle says, "When we were in the flesh," he does not mean this flesh with which we are clothed, but carnal actions; for still carrying the flesh, he said: "When we were in the flesh." But in the same way C as, when the flood was about to be brought on, God said: "My Spirit shall not remain in these men, for that they are flesh," since the spirit was changed into a carnal disposition; so also here the Apostle says: "When we were in the flesh."
XVIII. Let no one, therefore, "be in the flesh," but while being in the flesh, let him not walk "according to the flesh." For the Apostle does not wish us, having completely departed from the world, not to do evil; but that, being in the flesh, we should enslave the flesh, and not be ruled by it. Let us not be enslaved, but let us rule; let us use food in moderation; not carried away by gluttony, but putting a bridle on the belly, so that we may also rule over those things that are below the belly. Let the body be governed by the soul, and let the soul not be dragged along by carnal pleasures. "Sin no more, lest something D worse happen to you."
happens. The Word preaches to all; would that every ear might hear! For not every bodily ear that receives the Word immediately admits it into the mind. For this reason the Savior said: *He that has ears to hear, let him hear*—speaking to those who possessed ears of flesh.
XIX. Let every man therefore hear Jesus, and sin no more; but let us run to Him who forgives sins. And if we suffer from sickness, let us take refuge in Him; if we are afflicted in our soul, let us follow the physician of knowledge; if we hunger, let us receive the Bread; if we have died, let us receive the resurrection; if we have grown old in ignorance, let us ask for wisdom from Wisdom itself.
XX. But the argument of the discourse has drawn us into too much prolixity; and perhaps we have become an impediment to our father’s instruction. B Yet the time urges us to hear greater words, so that, taking profit from more sublime sermons, we may render to God that glory which proceeds from works. To whom be glory, now and always, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
SAINT CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF JERUSALEM, EPISTLE TO EMPEROR CONSTANTIUS.
On the sign of the luminous cross seen at Jerusalem. PREFACE.
SYNOPSIS. — I. Argument of the epistle. II. Its various editions. III. Regarding this edition of ours. IV. Its truth called into doubt by Protestants. V. Asserted by the testimonies of the ancients. VI. From the very nature of the event. VII. From the style that is plainly Cyrillian. VIII. An objection of Rivetus, drawn from the praises given to Constantius in the epistle, is refuted. IX. Second objection, drawn from the prediction of Christ, accommodated to this portent. X. Third objection, from the profession of the consubstantial Trinity. XI. In what year the apparition of the cross occurred. XII. Defenders of an epoch different from ours are refuted. XIII. In what month and day the apparition occurred. XIV. What should be thought concerning those circumstances which some add to Cyril’s narrative. XV. What the apparition portended. XVI. When the epistle was written.
I. In the beginning of the epistle, Cyril informs the emperor of the signal marvel of the luminous cross, seen at Jerusalem in the sky on the seventh day of May, which extended from the Mount of Olives even to Golgotha (num. 2). Having prefaced (n. 1) that he could send no letters more suitable either to himself or to the emperor, he reports to the prince
A who is highly skilled and devoted to divine law, the auspicious news of the cross shown in the heavens under his rule (n. 2); whereby, just as the piety of his father Constantine was rewarded by God with the invention of the holy cross (n. 3), so his son’s ancestral religion was decorated with a still greater sign of divine benevolence. This sign was not obscure (n. 4), nor did it pass by in a swift movement; but was seen clearly in the middle of the day, with the whole city poured forth into joy. He bids the emperor place a greater confidence in God (n. 5). He contends that this was foretold in the Gospels (n. 6), in those words of the Lord which, however, will have a fuller fulfillment on the day of judgment. Finally, he closes the letter with a prayer for the success of a long, peaceful, and splendid reign (n. 7, 8). This letter is notable for many reasons, especially for the testimony rendered to the invention of the holy cross, and for the profession of the consubstantial Trinity added at the end.
II. This is the first, so far as I know, to have brought it into public light, in the Latin version only, at the end of his translation of the Catecheses. Later, Gretser provided the Greek text in volume II of *De cruce*, p. 512, Ingolstadt, anno 1600; but he neglected to note which manuscript he followed: yet it was slightly different from the Grodecian one, so that while he preserved the Grodecian version, he was forced to accommodate it in some places to his own text. Eight years later, Prevotius, along with the Greek Catecheses, provided the Greek letter to Constantius from Vatican manuscripts, agreeing partly with the text of Grodecius and partly with that of Gretser. He joined to it the version of Grodecius, with some things changed by himself as well as by Gretser. That edition was reprinted once or twice in the years 1631 and 1640, with no change made, so far as I have observed, either in the text or in the version. Finally, in the Oxford edition, Milles provided the same letter, with the variants of the Roe and Casaubon codices noted in the margin, but with the text left untouched; though a few things were changed in the interpretation.
III. We, in order to provide something more polished and corrected, have compared the Prevotian text most diligently with the Gretserian and the Grodecian version, and with the variants of the Anglican codices noted by Milles, and with the Ottobonian codex; furthermore, we have used a manuscript copy of this letter, which we found at the end of the Genevan edition of the Catecheses of Saint Cyril, published by Morell in the year 1564, written B by a recent hand; but from some codex, which the diversity of readings proves to have been different both from the Gretserian and the Prevotian. He who wrote this copy noted the variants of another codex in the margin, with this note: 𝛾ρ., that is, *graphaios*, by which he signifies that the codex which he compared with the book inscribed by himself was ancient. We shall call that first copy the "Genevan," and the other, marked with the note 𝛾ρ., we shall designate by the name of the "Old Genevan." Helped by these resources, we have changed some necessary things in the text, and it seemed advisable to construct a new translation from scratch.
IV. Having spoken in advance about our labor, it now remains to inquire into the truth of this letter, the year in which it was written, and some other matters of lesser moment. Rivetus and others of the Protestant number, being offended partly by the mention of the cross found under Constantine, and partly struck by the splendor of this sign—by which is ineluctably asserted a veneration due to the Lord’s cross, but to them hostile—could not otherwise escape the force of either than by relegating the apparition among old wives’ tales, and the Cyrillian letter among the supposed and adulterine writings: those whom it would better behoove, from the truth of this monument and miracle, to put aside a wrongly conceived error, rather than, by tenaciously adhering to prejudiced opinions, to annoy in vain the faith and sincerity of the Cyrillian letter with frivolous arguments of no moment. For both the truth of that event secures faith for the letter, and the truth of the letter renders the event indubitable.
V. And first, indeed, we have testimonies that are most weighty, and from almost the very age itself, which we have attached partly at the beginning of this work, partly at the end of this letter. They are, moreover, of every kind. Jerome supports it in his *Chronicle*, though I willingly acknowledge his authority is not absolutely certain everywhere; Philostorgius; Socrates the historian in *Hist.*, book II, cap. 28; Sozomen, who in book IV, cap. 5, testifies that the report of this sign was immediately dissipated throughout all the provinces of the Roman world, by those who, flocking to Jerusalem from all parts, reported C what they themselves had seen, and adds that mortals throughout the whole empire were not a little troubled by that news: that the emperor himself was made certain of this matter not only from the letters of Cyril, but from the report of many others. Furthermore, Idatius in the *Consular Fasti*, the Alexandrian Chronicle, Theophanes, Cedrenus, Michael Glycas, and Nicephorus Callisti. Among these, furthermore, Sozomen, Theophanes, and Glycas make mention of the Cyrillian letter. Philostorgius also, and the aforementioned Chronicle, and all those who assign this sign to the day of Pentecost, seem to have done so from a wrongly understood passage of the Cyrillian letter. Finally, the memory of this sign was recorded, not only in the *Typikon* of the monastery of Saint Sabas, but also in the common *fasti* of the whole Greek Church for the seventh day of May, celebrated with an annual festival of the highest degree for all time.
VI. Secondly, the truth of the prodigy itself is confirmed from the very nature and condition of the thing. For it is of such a kind that it could neither be safely feigned if it were false, nor could it find faith if it were invented. It concerns a certain public sign, which, it is reported, did not take place in a corner, but in a most populous city, and one frequented by pilgrims from the whole world; not in the night, but in the middle of the day; not in an instant and like a flash of lightning, but over the span of many hours; not in a narrow tract of the sky, but for the length of fifteen stadia; not with one or two witnesses, but with an innumerable crowd watching. Which, as it would be most impudent to feign, so it would be impossible to persuade succeeding ages of it, if it were false.
VII. Thirdly, if one inspects the letter of Cyril itself, it presents no mark that is not sincere and ancient, and belonging to the Cyrillian monument. The same is observed as in the Catecheses: simplicity and humility of style; sometimes intricate constructions, long phrases, frequent parentheses, of them—
same things; expressions similar and familiar to Cyril. Thus, in number 5 of this epistle, he calls the trophy of the cross *kaouchēma kauchēmatōn*, the boasting of boastings, as in Catechesis 13, number 1. He calls the apparition of the cross in number 2, *epouraniōn pragmatōn theïkēn energeian*. So in Procatechesis, number 15, concerning the effects of baptism: *Labete... energeian theiōn pragmatōn*. And Catechesis 6, number 7, concerning God: *myrias ekpempei tas tēs theotētos energeias*. He describes the divine favors granted to the emperor with the name of a crown, in number 2: *meizosi theothen stephanois epouraniois tetimēsthai mathōn*. It is familiar to Cyril to bestow any prerogative or honor whatsoever with this name. In Catechesis 12, number 33, he calls the purpose of virginity a crown, and in number 34 an angelic one; and in Catechesis 13, number 1, designating the excellence and honor of the cross, he speaks of the crown of the cross. In number 6, he calls the devil the opposing power, *ex antikeimenēs energeias*. So in Catechesis 20, number 3. He says in number 7 that Christ redeemed the world with His own precious blood, *oikeiois timiois haimasi*. Similarly, in Catechesis 3, number 10, he says that the martyrs are baptized *oikeiois haimasi*, and in Catechesis 2, number 14, he states that Manasses filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, *haimatōn athōōn*. Furthermore, it is characteristic of Cyril to attribute several adjectives to one substantive, as here *oikeiois timiois*. The reader could observe this throughout the Catecheses.
A VIII. What does Rivetus say to these things? Absolutely nothing that could delay a man of sound mind in the slightest. First, he is offended by those profuse praises with which Cyril loads Constantius; so much so that it must necessarily be said, if this epistle is believed to be Cyril's, that he was an Arian heretic, or an impudently lying flatterer: or, if we spare his name, that it is alien to him, an epistle unworthy of a good B bishop. It is certainly strange if he who fabricated the epistle under the name of Cyril did not know who Constantius was; nor did he suppress those praises which could at some point undermine the credibility of his fiction. Such praises befit a man writing while Constantius was alive better than after his death, whose name was so hateful among Catholics. It is truly ridiculous to call the author of the epistle an Arian, who concludes it with a confession of the consubstantial Trinity, as William Cave cleverly observed. He is entirely free from the fault of adulation, who at the beginning of the epistle denies that he will use flattering speeches unworthy of a bishop. But Rivetus complains that the worst kind of adulation is contained here, along with a lie and a false promise of truth. Cyril praises, I admit, the emperor Constantius for his piety, declares his piety to be greater than that of his father Constantine, and says that he is magnificently declared to be loved by God by heavenly portents. But these things, which were already being attributed as a fault to Cyril in the time of Theophanes, that author refutes very well: showing that the emperor was led by fraud into the society of heresy by the Arians, due to the simplicity of his mind rather than certain knowledge, with paganism not yet perfectly abolished, and that he should not have been defrauded of the title of "most pious." But it is hardly written otherwise to magnates and kings, even by holy men: otherwise, there was much in Constantius worthy of true praise: idolatry and superstition were curbed and suppressed everywhere among the nations; the wealth of the Church was increased by great gifts; very great immunities were granted to the clergy; there was a sincere will to settle the dissensions of the Church, although it was bent toward the worse part by wicked counsels. Furthermore, at that time he had not yet designed those grave crimes against Catholics which have rendered his memory infamous to the Churches: nor had the Arians yet spread the secret poison in his heart under his authority, which they finally performed in the Council of Milan, celebrated four years after this. Indeed, at this time, after the Council of Sardica, peace had recently been restored, with Athanasius returned to his see by the kindness of the emperor. In which the position of Cyril praising Constantius is stronger than that of Athanasius, Hilary, and Gregory Nazianzen, who celebrated Constantius with even greater praises than our Cyril. Athanasius, although he suffered so many and unworthy things from him, and was driven out by military faction, calls him in the *Apology* written in the year 356, in number 1, from his ancestors a religious listener studious of Paul’s words. He often calls him the emperor beloved by God, in numbers 1, 18, 24, *theophilestate Auguste*, most studious worshipper of God, in number 14, *theosebeste-*, lover of truth, in number 26, *basileu philalēthes*, etc. He casts whatever was invidious that he had committed onto the councils of his courtiers C in number 35, as also in the epistle to the bishops of Egypt and Libya, number 5. Hilary, in the year 360, after so many cruel and inhuman acts done by Constantius against the faith and its defenders, while placed in exile, begins the first book, which he directed to him, thus: "Your benign nature, most blessed Lord Augustus, etc.," and the second book with these words: "I am not unaware, most pious emperor"; and below: "Since you are good and religious." Number 4: "Recognize the faith which you once, most excellent and religious emperor, long to hear from the bishops and do not hear." Number 8: "I truly admire the blessed and religious will in you, Lord Constantius emperor, etc." Even after his death, when there was no longer any place for adulation, and after he was baptized by the leader of the Arians and foremost disciple of Arius, Nazianzen, in the third oration against Julian, pages 50, 62, 63, 64, oration 4, page 119, oration 21, page 389, extols Constantius with such praises, and excuses his deeds in such a way that he himself appears to be in need of excuse. Epiphanius, *Haereses* LXIX, number 12, proclaims him pious and good in many ways. Furthermore, there is nothing humble or adulatory in Cyril’s epistle. For he so praises Constantius's piety that he reminds him of his duty; exhorting him to give thanks to God, and to conceive confidence in God, and to undertake greater care for the Roman empire and the Churches: he so proclaims his faith that he nonetheless prescribes what he himself should follow, while he prays for him that he may glorify the consubstantial Trinity.
IX. Rivetus also objects, but as if through a lattice, that the author of the epistle in number 6 to this Jerusalemite
should accommodate that saying of the Lord in Matthew: *Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven* [Matt. XXIV, 30]. But Cyril consistently refers this prophecy to the final day of judgment and the second coming of Christ (Cat. 13, n. 41, and Cat. 15, n. 22). The answer is easy. Cyril does not consider that the oracle of Christ was so completed at that time that this apparition of the cross is that very one, and the only one, which Christ predicted would be the herald of His second coming; on the contrary, he expressly states that Christ’s prophecy was completed in its own time and was to be fulfilled again more perfectly, *and again will be fulfilled more perfectly*. Baronius had not sufficiently discerned this, and, thinking that a single event of this prophecy was assigned by Cyril in this apparition, he left it to the one who spoke to see how suitablly he did it. But this one thing remains to be inquired into: whether he assigned a twofold event to one prophecy sufficiently aptly. But it was permissible to say this from the celebrated custom of the Scriptures. For how many prophecies are there in the Old Testament which had their proximate fulfillment in that age, and the ultimate and perfect one in the New? And not to depart from a neighboring example, the *abomination of desolation* prophesied by Daniel was completed, first, in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, as the author of the first book of Maccabees testifies, ch. 1, 57; then, under Titus in the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, with Christ Himself as the witness; and then it is thought to be fated for completion perfectly and finally through the Antichrist. See Cassian, Collat. 8, cap. 5. Even the very prediction of Christ which we are considering, about the cross of Christ that was to appear, seems to be considered by Basil, in Isaiah chapter XI, 12, p. 231, as having been fulfilled, at least in some part, already for the salvation of men. Nor did Cyril say that this sign was prefigured in the holy books alone, but others also who were skilled in such matters; Sozomen says: «It was said by those skilled in such things, that according to some divine prophecy these things had been foretold long ago in the sacred books.» Although Cyril expected another, more celebrated apparition of the cross on the day of judgment, he nevertheless regarded this as the immediate foreshadowing of that day; for which reason he bids the emperor, taking the Gospel of Matthew into his hands, to inquire solicitously concerning the other portents of the approaching coming of Christ: a concern which weighed heavily on Cyril (Cat. 15, num. 9 and 18).
X. Another argument may be opposed against the sincerity of this epistle. The author concludes it by the glorification of the consubstantial Trinity. But Cyril never used the word *consubstantial* in his Catecheses: which seems to have been done by him not thoughtlessly, but intentionally. He had an even greater reason for remaining silent about this term while writing to the emperor, his greatest enemy and attacker. Furthermore, he had recently received his ordination from Acacius, who was an adversary not only of this term but even of this faith. Finally, after these times we always read that Cyril was associated with that faction of bishops which so detested the word *consubstantial* that in the council of Ancyra in the year 358 it even prohibited it under threat of anathema. It would be easy, with the most learned Fr. Le Quien, to anticipate the objection by saying that the word was inserted into the text against the mind of the author by librarians. An even more likely response is that the final words of the epistle, *glorifying*, etc., which are missing in the Gretser edition, were added in other books. But I will not use this exception: nor would I so easily concede that Cyril should be despoiled of such a signal testimony of his faith. No one can deny that the reality and the faith contained in the word *consubstantial* were gravely and copiously asserted by him in his Catecheses. I cannot deny that a scruple regarding the term may have clung to him. But Athanasius, passing through Palestine in the year 349, and received so honorably by Saint Maximus and by almost all the bishops of the province, when he laid open all the frauds of the Arians, which were not sufficiently known to Maximus and Cyril, undoubtedly declared also the innocence of the word of which we are speaking, indeed, even the necessity of defending it. There could have been no occasion more favorable for Cyril for insinuating [his view] into the ears of Constantius than that of the present letters; for this reason, perhaps, as it seemed to Baronius, he labors to soothe the emperor’s spirit with such great praises. The grace of the Holy Spirit, recently received in his ordination and burning in a holy breast, could have inspired this confidence in him and this constancy in confessing the faith. It is not certain that Cyril received his episcopal consecration from Acacius: but if he did receive it, since it was not lawful for it to be received from another, he was not removed from his rank by any authority of a judgment that would have been ratified by the universal Church: that laying on of hands did not compel Cyril to abdicate his own faith: which indeed he sufficiently revealed when he later charged Acacius with its violation. If he appeared to have entered into the society of the enemies of the consubstantial, it was done more for the sake of seeking necessary protection than from any similarity and conjunction of opinions. Nothing, therefore, compels us to reject the confession of the consubstantial Trinity as foreign to the mind and judgment of Cyril.
XI. Now let us inquire in what year the apparition of the cross contained in the present letters of Cyril happened. The Bollandists refer this to the year 356 or 357, Baronius to 353, Noris to 352, and we, with Pagi, Tillemont, and others, to the year 351. For in the first place, this epistle was most certainly dated at the very beginning of Cyril’s episcopate. He repeats twice, in numbers 1 and 7, that these are the first fruits of his letters and sermons. But Jerome in his *Chronicle* assigns the death of Maximus, his predecessor, to the year 349 or 350. However, since some time intervened between the episcopate of Maximus and Cyril according to the same [source], Cyril’s ordination can be deferred until the beginning of the year 351. We do this the more willingly because Idatius in his Consular Fasti and the Alexandrian Chronicle assign the apparition of the cross to the year 351. Socrates, Sozomen, and Philostorgius record that event in the year 349 after the creation of Gallus Caesar, which happened in the year 351, on the Ides of March, according to Idatius and the Alexandrian Chronicle. Again, Idatius, Philostorgius, the Alexandrian Chronicle, Theophanes, and Nicephorus write that the cross appeared in the same year that Constantius fought against Magnentius at Mursa. And all chronological accounts persuade [one] that that battle occurred in the year 351.
XII. There is nothing in the year 356 that can be alleged for the apparition of the cross besides the authority of Theophanes, which, as it carries no weight, so there are many things that militate against the truth. He says that the sign itself was seen at Pentecost; that Constantius was at that time far away; that Cyril had the Catecheses because of those who were requesting baptism on that occasion; and that he explained the Nicene symbol in his own words: all of which is entirely irrelevant. Baronius defends the cross seen in the year 353 with only a double authority. The first is that of Jerome’s *Chronicle*, in which this prodigy is reported under the seventeenth year of the emperor Constantius; the other is that in the *Acts* of the holy martyrs, in which it is reported that it happened during the defeat of Magnentius. He says that it is entirely slight.
C But the authority of those Acts, written by Metaphrastes and deformed by many errors against historical truth, is of no weight. And if we follow them, the apparition of the cross must be placed not in the year 353, but in 352; for the battle at Mursa was joined in September of the year 351, not in 353, as Baronius preferred.
As for the *Chronicle of Jerome*, that testimony which refers to the apparition of the cross was omitted by Joseph Scaliger in his edition of the *Chronicle*, since he found it to be absent from many manuscripts. Why it does not belong to Jerome, I do not see. But in a note of time it was easy for Jerome to go astray: for when he was writing these things, he does not seem to have read the present epistle of Cyril, but to have committed to writing a matter reported not so accurately by public rumor or other monuments. Norisius, in his *Fasti* (p. 49), in order to refer the ostent of the cross to the year 352, relies solely on the authority of Idacius: who, since he narrates that it happened after the consulship of Sergius and Nigrianus (that is the year of Christ 351), says that it occurred on the third day before the Kalends of February, the 28th day of the moon. But, he says, the 28th day of the moon did not occur on January 30th in the year 351, but in the year 352. But who would believe that the authority of Idacius, who came more than a century later, should be preferred to Cyril himself, an eyewitness, who most explicitly affirms that the cross appeared on the seventh day of May, at the time of Pascha? Otherwise, although Idacius may have erred in the notation of the day, yet not in that of the moon, whose 28th day truly coincides in the year 351 with the Nones of May.
D XIII. Having established these things concerning the year, it remains to dispute about the month and the day. That it happened in the month of May, on the seventh day of the month, is proven by a note prefixed to some manuscripts of the epistle: which perhaps was placed there for the use of the sacred lessons in the Church, indicating on which day this Cyrillian epistle ought to be read. It is certainly absent from most books. A more effective proof is taken from the text of the epistle itself, no. 4, in which the apparition of the cross is mentioned as occurring on the Nones of May during the holy days of Pentecost. But the words "on the Nones of May" are omitted in some copies. The reason for this omission is rendered entirely easy. Many were misled by the words "in these holy days of Pentecost," by which they were led to believe that the apparition of the cross happened on the day of Pentecost itself: and since they were persuaded that the Nones of May can never coincide with the feast of Pentecost, as is indeed the truth, they deleted the note of the Nones of May. But they should rather have followed the authority of the Greek Church, which constantly celebrates the feast of the day of this apparition on the seventh of May. But Cyril does not record that the cross was seen on the day of Pentecost, but in the days of Pentecost: by which, according to the most customary usage not only of the ancients, both Latin and Greek, but also of the Greeks of today, is understood the whole period of fifty days which intervenes between Pascha and Pentecost. Therefore I wonder why Philostorgius, the *Alexandrian Chronicle*, Theophanes, Glycas, Nicephorus, the author of the *Acts of Saint Anthimus*; and among the more recent writers, Blondel, the Bollandists, etc., imprudently placed the day of the apparition of the cross on the very feast of Pentecost: of whom some, like the *Alexandrian Chronicle*, join two impossible things together, namely the Nones of May and the feast of Pentecost: others, like the Bollandists, wish the note of the Nones of May to be expunged because it does not agree with the feast of Pentecost.
XIV. To Cyril’s narrative, Philostorgius and others add certain things, some of which are false, others, although passed over in silence by Cyril, are not to be immediately repudiated, as they could have proceeded from trustworthy authors from elsewhere. Philostorgius (book III, *Hist. Eccles.*, ch. 26) says that the luminous cross was surrounded everywhere by a great rainbow, after the manner of a crown; which the author of the *Alexandrian Chronicle* confirms; and Theophanes and Nicephorus Callisti, who copies partly Sozomen and partly Philostorgius, use almost the same words as the aforementioned chronicle. As much as the authority of Philostorgius and the *Alexandrian Chronicle* does not fully persuade us of this circumstance of the portent, so the mere reason of Cyril’s silence does not force us to deny it entirely. Perhaps these authors, when they confused this apparition with the other which happened at Jerusalem when the Jews undertook to restore the temple, for at that time the cross appeared in the sky surrounded by light, as Greg. Naz. testifies (*orat. iv in Julian.*, no. 10, p. 112); the cross also appeared crowned in the entrails of the sacrificing Julian, according to the same witness (*orat. iii, no. 18, p. 70*). And it was a solemn thing to depict the cross crowned with light: which Paulinus testifies, when in *epist. 32*, no. 10, speaking of the cross among the other paintings of the church of Saint Felix, he says:
*A crown of luminous globe encircles the cross.*
But what the *Alexandrian Chronicle* adds, that at the same time when the cross appeared at Jerusalem, it was seen by Constantius fighting near Mursa in Pannonia: and Philostorgius, that it was seen by both armies, filling the Constantiani with confidence, but the Magnentiani with fear; this we rightly reject as a fabrication.
Since it was seen at Jerusalem on the 7th of May, but the battle at Mursa was joined in the autumn, on the 28th of September. [XV] What this apparition of the cross portended has been variously defined by some. To Philostorgius and the author of the Alexandrian Chronicle, it appeared that God, by this manifestation, wished to signify to Constantius his victory over Magnentius and to inspire him and his soldiers with new confidence; but they suppose that it was seen by them. Baronius thinks that by this sign God foretold the impending storm of the Arian heresy and the victory of the Church. Cyril interprets the whole thing almost entirely to the praise and favor of Constantius: that God, namely, wished to declare by this heavenly manifestation how dear the emperor was to Him (num. 2). That He had rewarded Constantine’s piety with the discovery of the cross, which was a favor from the earth; but had honored Constantius’s piety, which was greater than his father’s, not with a terrestrial sign, but with a heavenly one (num. 3); so that his faith might be strengthened by those prodigies and his confidence in Christ increased by this testimony of divine benevolence toward him. He could have conceived these sentiments from the similar apparition of the cross which once portended victory to Constantine over Maxentius and spurred him to fight with vigor. If it is permitted to estimate the counsel and purpose of God from the effect of this vision, He wished by this to attest the truth of the Christian faith, since upon this vision all the pagans at Jerusalem ran to the Church, having recognized by a sign of this kind the power of Christ the Lord and the heavenly origin of His doctrine (num. 4). In the minds of all who beheld that sign, joy was mingled with fear; and Sozomen relates that all the provinces of the Roman world were not a little disturbed by the report of this miracle. Cyril feared the near approach of Antichrist and the day of the supreme judgment. A similar apparition later, when the Jews were attempting to restore the temple, signified that the prophecy of Christ concerning there not being left one stone upon another in the buildings of the temple was to be fulfilled at that time. What if this manifestation of the cross, marking the beginning of Cyril's episcopate, declared the things that he would have to endure from the enemies of the faith throughout his whole life? But we tire our feeble mind in vain as we seek to explore the eternal counsels of God. [XVI] We think this letter was written by Cyril himself on the day the apparition occurred, hurriedly and in haste: he himself signifies this when he says, num. 5, that after he had beheld that prodigy with his own eyes, immediately after giving thanks to God, as was fitting, and pouring out prayers for the emperor, he hastened to signify it to him by letter at that same hour: ἐξαυτῆς διὰ τούτων ἐσπουδάσαμεν γραμμάτων. And certainly the style itself, a little more neglectful than the importance of the subject or the dignity of the person to whom he was writing seemed to demand, bears witness to a tumultuous and hurried piece of work: long and intricate phrases, repetitions of the same matters: sentences somewhat lacking in accuracy; for example, what he says, that this sign is more commendable than the miracle of the finding of the cross, as having come from heaven; and that he twisted it to mean that the sign of the cross will appear on the day of judgment, etc. [XVII] We have judged it best to append the testimonies of authors concerning the prodigy of the cross seen at Jerusalem to the end of the letter, recording here only those which do not make mention of Cyril's letter. For those which do have a commemoration of it, we have placed at the beginning after the preface, along with the others that embrace a mention of Cyril and his works.
LETTER TO CONSTANTIUS THE EMPEROR
Month of May, the seventh day (A.D. 351).
OF SAINT CYRIL ARCHBISHOP OF JERUSALEM LETTER TO CONSTANTIUS THE MOST PIOUS EMPEROR, On the sign of the luminous cross seen at Jerusalem, which appeared in the heavens.
A To the Emperor most beloved of God and most pious, Constantius Augustus, Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, sends greetings in the Lord.
I. I send these first fruits of letters from Jerusalem to your God-beloved reign, which it becomes you to receive and me to offer: they are not filled with words of adulation, but signify a vision of heavenly things sent from God to you; nor do they contain artfully composed probabilities of rhetorical discourse, but they bear witness to the truth through the outcome of events, in accordance with the predictions of the holy Gospels.
B For others, from what they possess, often crown your honorable head, offering you crowns clasped with gold and adorned with most translucent gems,
A but as for us, we do not crown you with things of the earth (for those gifts which have their origin from the earth find their end in the earth); rather, we hasten to bring to your knowledge the divine manifestation of heavenly things which was accomplished at Jerusalem in the times of your God-beloved reign; not so that you might now for the first time be brought from ignorance to the knowledge of God (for you are already ahead of that, instructing others by means of the piety you exhibit), but so that, in the things you already know, you might be still further confirmed. And having received the ancestral inheritance of the kingdom, and learning that you have been honored by God with greater heavenly crowns, you may, on the one hand, render the fitting thanks now to God, the King of all, and on the other, be filled with greater boldness against your enemies, perceiving in practice that your reign is loved by God, through the things which He works miraculously in your time.
III. For in the time of the most God-beloved emperor of blessed memory, Constantine your father, the saving wood of the Cross was found in Jerusalem, B divine grace granting its discovery to one who was rightly seeking piety, that he might find the hidden holy places. But in your time, master, most pious of emperors, who surpass the piety of your forefathers in greater reverence towards God, the miracles come not from the earth, but from the heavens; and through those things by which you are pious, and through which you have been deemed worthy to be honored, you recognize the wonder-working power as coming from God to us and to the King of all, greater than that of old.
A
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, the trophy of victory against death, I mean the blessed Cross, appeared in Jerusalem, flashing with the coruscations of light.
IV. For in these holy days of the holy Pentecost, on the Nones of May, about the third hour, a very great cross, constructed of light, appeared in the sky, extending over the holy Golgotha and reaching as far as the holy Mount of Olives; it was seen not just by one or two persons, but was shown most evidently to the whole multitude of the city. B Nor, as one might perhaps imagine, did it pass by quickly like a phantom, but was seen for many hours above the earth, visible to the eyes, and it conquered the rays of the sun with its flashing coruscations; for otherwise, it would have been overcome and obscured by them had it not provided to those looking upon it brightness C more powerful than the sun. So that the whole multitude of the city immediately ran together in a body to the holy church, struck by the fear of that divine vision mingled with joy; young and old alike, men and women, and those of every age, even down to the very maidens who were secluded in their chambers at home; both local inhabitants and strangers, Christians, and those of the Gentiles who were visiting from other places. And all with one accord, as if with one mouth, celebrated with praises Christ Jesus our Lord, D the only-begotten Son of God, the wonder-worker; having accepted by deed and experience that the most pious dogma of the Christians is "not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power"; not announced only by men, but testified to from heaven by God Himself.
V. Since, therefore, we the inhabitants of Jerusalem, having received this paradoxical miracle with our own eyes, were moved—as for God, the King of all, and to the only-begotten Son of God—
to offer the worship that is due with thanksgiving, and we shall continue to offer it, having made and intending further to make earnest prayers for your God-beloved empire in these holy places. It was necessary not to pass over in silence these celestial visions granted by God, but to announce the glad tidings to your God-fearing piety; therefore, we have made haste through this letter, C so that, upon the good foundation of the faith which already exists in you, you might build up the knowledge of these things recently shown from heaven, and thereby attain a firmer confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ. And at the same time, filled with your customary courage and having God himself as your ally, you may most readily bring forth the trophy of the Cross, bearing with you the sign shown in the heavens as the boast of boasts, of which the heaven itself, having displayed its form to men, boasted all the more.
VI.
Now this wondrous feat, most God-beloved Emperor, has been accomplished, in accordance with the testimonies of the prophets and the holy words of Christ that lie D in the Gospels, and it will be accomplished again even more fully. For in the Gospel according to Matthew, the Savior, bestowing knowledge of things to come upon his blessed apostles, and through them speaking to those who came after them, most clearly prophesied, saying: *And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven* (Matt. xxiv, 30). This divine book of the Gospels you will customarily take into your hands, and you will find therein the written prophetic testimonies concerning this matter; of which, in particular...A I exhort you to attend with more frequent study, on account of the remaining points [(1)] of the sequence of events written down there; for the matters foretold by our Savior require observation with great reverence, so that we may not suffer any harm from the opposing power.
VII. These first fruits of my words I offer to you, most God-beloved Emperor; these first words of mine I utter to you from Jerusalem, you who are the most sincere and all-pious—together with us—worshipper of Christ, of the only-begotten Son of God [(2)] and our Savior; who, according to the divine Scriptures [(8)], accomplished the salvation of the whole world in Jerusalem; who trampled down death B there, and by his own precious blood wiped away the sins of men; and who bestowed life, and incorruptibility, and spiritual [(4)] and heavenly grace upon all them that believe. In his power and grace, may you, rejoicing and being guarded, while flourishing in more brilliant and greater achievements of piety and glorying in the royal offspring [(5)] of true sons—may He himself, Christ the King of all, the Giver of every good thing, keep you for many peaceful periods of years, a boast for Christians [(6)] and an ornament C for the whole world.
VIII. May He keep you strong, and adorned with every virtue, and manifesting the customary care for the holy Churches and for the Roman empire [(7)], and shining forth with greater rewards of piety; D
may God grant, O most pious Emperor, that the cycles of peaceful years may flow for us with the entire family, O Emperor dearest to God; may He [grant] that we may always glorify the holy and consubstantial Trinity, our true God, to whom all glory is due forever and ever. Amen. B
TESTIMONIA VETERUM
On the sign of the cross seen at Jerusalem.
(See the testimonies at the beginning from Sozomen, Theophanes, Cedrenus, Michael Glycas, and Nicephorus Callistus.)In the year of Christ 357. The sign of the cross appeared to the peoples of Syria in the eastern region, with the greatest terror to those who beheld it. Philostorgius, *Hist. eccl.*, lib. iii, c. 26.
B And Constantius obtained the victory over the tyrant [Magnentius], although before this the sign of the cross had also been seen there, having extended for a very long distance and far surpassing the daylight with most brilliant rays, to the point of amazement. It appeared at Jerusalem about the third hour of the day which is called the feast of Pentecost. Furthermore, this sign, divinely painted, seemed to reach from Mount Calvary to the Mount of Olives, with a great rainbow in the form of a crown surrounding it on all sides. And indeed, the rainbow indicated the favor of Him who was crucified and assumed into heaven, while the C crown indicated the victory of the emperor. Furthermore, this splendid and venerable sign did not escape the eyes of the soldiers, but, being clearly seen by both armies, it terrified Magnentius and those who stood on his side beyond measure, inasmuch as they were addicted to the worship of demons; but to Constantius and those who were with him, it gave an invincible confidence. Socrates, *Hist. eccl.*, lib. ii, c. 28.
While [Gallus] was entering Antioch, the sign of the Savior appeared in the East. For a certain column bearing the likeness of a cross was seen in the sky, and it struck great amazement into those who beheld it.
Idatius, in *Fastis consularibus*, era 589. After the consulship of Sergius and Nigrianus. Under these consuls was the war of Magnentius at Mursa, on the 5th day before the Kalends of October; and in that year Vetranio was deposed on the 8th day before the Kalends of January, and Constantius Caesar was raised (that is, Gallus) on the Ides of March; and the sign of the Savior appeared in the East on the 3rd day before the Kalends of February, on the 28th day of the moon.
Vision of the Cross at Jerusalem
A The sign of the cross of Christ appeared at Jerusalem at this time—the hour was about the third (on the day of Pentecost)—luminous, extended on the Nones of May in the heavens, from the Mount of Olives to Golgotha, in which place the Lord was crucified; facing the East, whence the Lord was taken up, with a crown appearing like the form of a rainbow circling the precious cross that had appeared. And at the same hour it was seen in Pannonia by Constantius Augustus and the army that was with him in the war against Magnentius. And as Constantius began to engage him near the city called Mursa, Magnentius was defeated and fled to Gaul with a few men.
From Book II of the Histories under the name of Paul the Deacon of Aquileia, monk of Monte Cassino, Bib. PP. Lugd. Vol. XIII, p. 253: When [Gallo Caesar] was coming to Antioch, about the East, a sign appeared in the sky on the day of Pentecost. For a column in the form of a cross was seen in the sky, having the appearance of light, extended from Golgotha to the Mount of Olives: this, Constantius Gallus also saw.
Acts of Saint Artemius the Martyr, in Surius, October 20th, no. 5: At which time (when Maxentius had been overcome), a very great sign of the cross appeared wondrously, so that it surpassed the light of day with its admirable splendor, and it was seen at Jerusalem about the third B hour of the day, when it was the feast day which is called Pentecost, reaching from the place which is called Calvary to the Mount of Olives.
Typikon of Saint Sabas, page 40, for the month of May.
Greek Menaion: C The seventh day, the memorial of the sign of the cross, which was seen in the city of Jerusalem in the sky about the third hour of the day, under the Emperor Constantine (read: Constantius), extended from holy Calvary through the stars to the holy Mount of Olives.
On the same month, the 7th, the memorial of the sign of the precious cross that appeared in the sky at the third hour of the day, under the Emperor Constantius, son of Constantine the Great. And of the holy martyrs Acacius and Quadratus.
On the same month, the 7th, we celebrate the memorial of the sign of the cross that appeared in the sky, under the Emperor Constantius, son of Constantine the Great, and Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem.
The earth was sanctified of old when the cross was planted, And now, at its appearance, the heavens have been sanctified as well.
D In the days of holy Pentecost, on the seventh day of the month of May, at the third hour of the day, the precious and life-giving cross appeared, consisting of light, as all the people watched, extended above holy Golgotha as far as the holy Mount of Olives. Which, with the brightness of its shimmering, hid the rays of the sun. Wherefore every age, of both young and old, along with infants and nursing children, filled the church; and with immeasurable joy and fervent compunction they offered glory and thanksgiving to God for this miraculous spectacle.