Letter to Emperor Constantius

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.

^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.

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.