ST. MAXIMUS, bishop of Jerusalem, having appointed St. Cyril both his
preacher and his catechist, our saint diligently acquitted himself of
both these functions, the most important of the episcopal charge. St.
Cyril mentions his sermons which he made to the people every Sunday.
(Cat. 5, 10, 14.) One of these is extant in the new edition of his
works. It is a moral discourse against sin, as the source of all our
miseries, drawn from the gospel upon the sick man healed at the Probatic
pond. (John v.) He preached every year a course of catechetical sermons
for the instruction of the catechumens, to prepare them for baptism and
the holy communion. Only those which he preached in 347, or rather in
348, seem to have been committed to writing. These consist of eighteen
to the competentes, or Illuminati, that is, catechumens before baptism;
and of five mystagogic catechetical discourses, so called either because
they were addressed to the catechumens immediately after they were
initiated in the holy mysteries of Baptism, Confirmation, and the
Eucharist, or because these sacraments are fully explained in them,
which were never expounded to those who were not initiated, out of
respect, and for fear of giving occasion to their profanation by the
blasphemies of infidels. In the first eighteen St. Cyril explains the
doctrine of the church concerning the pardon of sin, prayer, and all the
articles of the Apostles' Creed. The style is clear, suitable to an
exposition of doctrine such as is here given, and the work is one of the
most important of Christian antiquity. The Latin translation of
Grodecius, canon of Warmia in Poland, printed first in 1563, though
often corrected, was very inaccurate; and the Greek editions very
incorrect and imperfect, before that given of Thomas Miller at Oxford,
in 1703, which is very valuable, though the author in part of his notes,
where he endeavors to maintain the principles of the Protestant church,
is very inconsistent. Dom Tontee, a Maurist monk, who died in 1718,
prepared an excellent and complete edition of the works of St. Cyril;
which was published by Dom Maran, in 1720, in one volume in folio. The
journalists of Trevoux, in their memoirs for December, in 1721,
criticised some of the notes concerning the Semi-Arians, and the
temporary neutrality of St. Cyril. Dom Maran answered them by a learned
and curious dissertation, Sur le Semi-Ariens, printed by Vincent, in
1722.
Three French Calvinists, Aubertin, Rivet, (Critici Sacri, l. 3, c. 8, 9,
10, and 11,) one the apostate Casimir Oudin, (De Ser. Eccl. t. {}, p.
459,) deny these catecheses, at least the {615} mystagogics, to be the
work of St. Cyril. Oudin, to his usual inaccuracy, adds many affected
blunders, and shows a dread of his unanswerable authority in favor of
many articles which he was unwilling to allow was his chief motive for
raising such a contest about the author; though if this was not St.
Cyril, these critics must confess, from six hundred passages in the
discourses, that they were delivered at Jerusalem, about the middle of
the fourth century. Other Protestants, especially the English, are more
sincere, and prove them this father's most undoubted work, as Doctor
Cave, in St. Cyril's life, Thomas Milles, in his preface and notes to
his edition of St. Cyril, Whittaker, Vossius. Bull, &c. They were
preached at Jerusalem, seventy years after Manes broached his heresy,
whom some then alive had seen, (Cat. 6,) which agrees only to the year
347. They are mentioned by St. Jerom, in the same age, (Catal. c. 112,)
quoted by Theodoret, (Dial. Inconfusus, p. 106,) and innumerable other
fathers in every age downwards. As for the five mystagogics, they are
inseparable from the rest, and as undoubted. The author promises them in
his eighteenth, and mentions his first eighteen in the first mystagogic.
(n. 9.) They are quoted by Eustrasius, (under Justinian,) by Anastius
the Sinaite, Nico the monk, and other ancients produced by Dom Touttee.
(Disc. 2, p. cv.)
In his first catechetic instructions, he commands the catechumens not to
divulge any part of our mysteries to any infidel, as unworthy, and
exhorts them to the dispositions and preparation for holy baptism,
_viz._ to a pure intention, assiduity in prayer, and at church devoutly
receiving the exorcisms, fasting, sincere repentance, confessing their
sins, whatever they had committed. (Catceh. 1, n. 5.) In the fourth he
gives a summary of the Christian faith, and reckons up the canonical
books of scripture, in which he omits the Apocalypse, and some of the
deutero-canonical books, though he quotes these in other places as God's
word. In the following discourses he explains very distinctly and
clearly every article of our creed: he teaches Christ's descent into the
subterraneous dungeons ([Greek: eis ta katachthonia]) to deliver the
ancient just. (Cat. 4, n. 11, p. 57.) The porters of hell stood
astonished to behold their conqueror, and fled: the prophets and saints,
with Moses, Abraham, David, &c., met him, now redeemed by him. (Cat. 14,
n. 19, p. 214.) He extols exceedingly the state of virginity as equal to
that of the angels. (Cat. 4, n. 24; Cat. 12, n. 33, 34.) He says it will
in the day of judgment, in the list of good works, carry off the first
crowns. (Cat. 15, n. 23.) He compares it to gold, and marriage, which is
yet good and honorable, to silver; but prescribes times of continency to
married persons for prayer. (Cat. 4, n. 26.) He calls Lent the greatest
time of fasting and penance, but says, "Thou dost not abstain from wine
and flesh as bad in themselves, as the Manichees, for so thou wilt have
no reward; but thou retrenchest them, good indeed in themselves, for
better spiritual recompenses which are promised." (Cat. 4, n. 27.) He
mentions the fasts and watchings of superposition, _i.e._ of holy week
before Easter, as most austere. (Cat. 18.) He expresses on all occasions
the tenderest devotion to the holy cross of Christ, and a great
confidence in it, with which he endeavors also to inspire others. "Let
us not be ashamed of the cross of Christ," says he: "sign it openly on
thy forehead, that the devils, seeing the royal standard, may fly far
trembling; make this sign when thou eatest or drinkest, sittest, liest,
risest, speakest, walkest, in a word, in every action [Greek: en
pantipragmati]." (Cat. 4, p. 58.) And again, "when thou art going to
dispute against an infidel, make with thy hand the sign of the cross,
and thy adversary will be struck dumb; be not ashamed to confess the
cross. The angels glory in it, saying, Whom do you seek? Jesus, the
crucified, Mat. xxviii. 6. You could have said, O Angel, My Lord: but
the cross is his crown." (Cat. 13, n. 22, p. 194.) St. Porphyry of Gaza,
instructed by St. Cyril's successor, John, following this rule, by
beginning a disputation with a famous Manichean woman, struck her
miraculously dumb. St. Cyril, in his thirteenth catechesis, thus
addresses his catechumen, (n. 36, p. 200:) "Be careful to form with your
finger on your forehead boldly, the sign of the cross for a signet and
standard, and that before every thing,--while we eat our bread, or drink
our cups, in coming in and going out, before sleep, and in rising, in
walking, and in standing still." He testifies, in his tenth catechesis,
(n. 19,) that the holy wood of the cross kept at Jerusalem, had, in the
few years since its invention by St. Helena, already filled the whole
world, being carried everywhere by those who, full of devotion, cut of
littie chips, (p. 146.) We learn from Rufin, (Hist. b. 1, c. 10,) that
the holy cross was covered by St. Helena with a silver case; and from S.
Paulinus, (Ep. 31, n. 6,) that it was kept in an inner treasury in the
church, into which the passage lay through a portico or gallery, as
appears from the Spiritual Meadow. (C. 105.) A lamp burned before the
cross, by the oil whereof St. Sabas and St. Cyriacus wrought many
miracles, as we read in their lives. A priest was appointed by the
bishop to be the guardian of this sacred treasury, which honor was
conferred on St. Porphyry of Gaza, soon after St. Cyril's death; and
then the case of the cross was of gold. St. Paulmus rays, it was exposed
to the public veneration of the people once a year, at Easter, which
some think to have been on Good Friday. St. Sophronius of Jerusalem,
(Or. 1,) besides other days, in his time, says it was on Easter Monday.
At extraordinary times the bishop gave leave for it to be shown to
pilgrims to be venerated, and for them to cut off small chips, by which,
miraculously, the cross never diminished, as St. Paulinus wrote seventy
{616} years after its invention. The devotion of St. Cyril to the holy
cross, was doubtless more inflamed by the sacred place in which he made
all his sermons, which was the church built by St. Helena and
Constantine, sometimes called of the Holy Cross, which was kept in it;
sometimes of the Resurrection, because it contained in it the sepulchre,
out of which Christ arose from death. It is curiously described as it
stood, before it was destroyed by the Saracens, in 1011, by Dom Touttee,
in a particular dissertation in the end of St. Cyril's works, (p. 423.)
It was since rebuilt, but not exactly in the same place.
St. Cyril inculcates also an honor due to the relics of saints, which he
proves (Cat. 17, n. 30, 31) from the Holy Ghost performing miracles by
the handkerchiefs of St. Paul, how much more by the saints' bodies? This
he shows (Cat. 18, n. 16, p. 293) by the man raised to life by touching
the dead body of Eliseus. (4 Reg. xiii. 21.) He gives the Blessed Virgin
the title of Mother of God, [Greek: theotokos]. (Cat. 10, n. 19, p.
146.) He is very clear in explaining the eternity and consubstantiality
of God the Son, (Cat. 4, 10, 11, 15,) which would alone justify him from
all suspicion of semi-Arianism. He is no less explicit against the
Macedonians, on the divinity of the Holy Ghost. On that article: _I
believe in the Holy Ghost_, "Believe of him," says he, "the same as of
the Father and of the Son," &c. (Cat. 4, n. 16, pp. 59, 60.) On the
article of the holy Catholic Church, he observes that the very name of
Catholic distinguishes it from all heresies, which labor in vain to
usurp it; this always remains proper to the spouse of Christ, as we see,
if a stranger ask in any city, Where is the Catholic Church? (Cat. 18,
n. 26.) That it is catholic, or universal, because spread over the whole
world, from one end to the other; and because universally and without
failing or error, [Greek: katholikos kai anelleipos], it teaches all
truths of things visible and invisible, (ib. n. 23, p. 296,) which he
proves from Matt. xvi. 18. _The gates of hell shall never prevail
against it._ 1 Tim. iii. 15. _It is the pillar and ground of truth._
Malach. i. 11. _From the rising of the sun to the setting, my name is
glorified._ He is very earnest in admonishing, that no book is to be
received as divine, but by the authority of the Church, and by tradition
from the apostles, end the ancient bishops, the rulers of the Church.
(Cat. 4, n. 23, 35, 36.) By the same channel of the tradition of tire
Church, he teaches the sign of the cross, the honoring of that holy wood
of our Saviour's sepulchre, and of saints' relics, exorcisms, and their
virtue, insufflations, oil sanctified by exorcisms, (Cat. 20,) holy
chrism, (Cat. 21,) blessing the baptismal water, (Cat. 3,) prayers, and
sacrifices for the dead, (Cat. 23,) the perpetual virginity of the
Virgin Mary, (Cat. 12,) &c. He made these eighteen catecheses to the
catechumens during Lent: the five following he spoke to them after they
were baptized during Easter week, to instruct them perfectly in the
mysteries of the three sacraments they had received together--baptism,
confirmation, and the eucharist--which it was thought a profanation to
explain fully to any before baptism. Hence these five are called
mystagogic catecheses. As to baptism, St. Cyril teaches (Procat. n. 16,
p. 12) that it imprints an indelible signet, or spiritual character in
the soul, which, he says, (Cat. 1, n. 2) is the mark by which we belong
to Christ's flock: he adds, this is conferred by the regeneration, by
and in the lotion with water. (Cat. 4 & 12; Cat. 16, n. 24.) He calls
the character given by confirmation the signet of the communication of
the Holy Ghost, (Cat. 18, n. 33,) and says (Cat. 22, n. 7) it is
imprinted on the soul, while the forehead is anointed with chrism, (Cat.
22, n. 7,) and after by baptism. (ib. n. 33,) by which he clearly
distinguishes the characters of these two different sacraments, though
Mr. Milles (not. in Procat.) has taken great pains to confound them. St.
Cyril teaches that baptism perfectly remits all sin; but penance, the
remedy for sins after it, does not quite efface them, as wounds that are
healed leave still scars. (Cat. 18, n. 20.) He attributes great virtue
to the exorcisms for purifying the soul, (Procat. n. 9,) and says, as
incantations give a diabolical virtue to defile the soul, so does the
invocation of the Holy Ghost give a virtue to the water, and gives it
the power to sanctify. (Cat. 3, n. 3.) He says the same of the blessed
oil, (Cat. 20, n. 3, p. 3,) and establishes clearly confirmation to be a
distinct sacrament from baptism: he calls it the chrism and the mystical
ointment, (Cat. 21,) and says it is to arm and fortify us against the
enemies of our salvation, (ib. p. 317, n. 4,) and that while the body is
anointed with this visible ointment, the soul is sanctified by the holy
and life-giving spirit. (ib. n. 3.) In his nineteenth catechesis, the
first mystagogic, he explains the force of the baptismal renunciations
of the devil and his pomps. In the twentieth, the other ceremonies of
baptism, and what they mean; in the twenty-first, the sacrament of
confirmation; in the twenty-second, that of the blessed eucharist; in
the twenty-third, or last, the liturgy or sacrifice of the mass and
communion. As to the blessed eucharist, he says, by it we are made
_concorporeal_ and _consanguineal_ with Christ by his body and blood
being distributed through our bodies. (Cat. 22, n. 1, 3.) This same
strong expression, which wonderfully declares the strict union which is
the effect of this sacrament, is used by St. Chrysostom, (Horm. 6, in
Hebr. &c.,) St. Isidore of Pelusium, (l. 3, ep. 195,) St. Cyril of
Alexandria, (l. 10, in Joan. p. 862, dial. de Trin. p. 407,) &c. Our
holy doctor explains to his neophytes the doctrine of transubstantiation
in so plain terms, that no one can doubt of its being the faith of the
Church in the fourth age. The learned Lutheran Ffaffius, (Dis. de
oblatione Euchar. c. 38, p. 327,) owns it cannot be denied that this is
Cyril's opinion. Grebe affirms the same, (not. in 1. 5, Irenae. c. 2, p.
339.) {617} This twenty-second catechesis alone puts it out of dispute.
"Do not look apor the bread and wine as bare and common elements, for
they are the Body and Blood of Christ, as our Lord assures us. Although
thy sense suggest this to thee, let faith make thee firm and sure. Judge
not of the thing by the taste, but be certain from faith that thou hast
been honored with the gift of Christ's Body and Blood. (Cat. 22, n. 6,
p. 321.) When he has pronounced and said of the bread: 'This is my
body,' who will, after this, dare to doubt? and when he has assured and
said, 'This is my blood,' who can ever hesitate, saying it is not his
blood? (n. 1, p. 32.) He changed water into wine, which is akin to
blood, in Cana; and shall we not think him worthy our belief, when he
has changed, [Greek: metaballon], wine into blood? (n. 2,) &c. Wherefore
let us receive them with an entire belief as Christ's Body and Blood,
for under the figure of bread is given to thee his Body, and under the
figure of wine his Blood, that when thou hast received Christ's Body and
Blood, thou be made one body and blood with him: for so we carry him
about in us, his Body and Blood being distributed through our bodies."
(n. 3, p. 320.) We learn the manner of receiving the blessed sacrament
from his Catech. 23. "Putting your left hand under your right," says he,
"form a throne of your right hand to receive the king; hold it hollow,
receiving on it the Body of Christ. Answer, Amen. Carefully sanctify
your eyes, by touching them with the holy Body, being very watchful that
no part of it fall. Approach to the cup of the Blood, bowed in a posture
of adoration and reverence; saying, Amen, take of the Blood of Christ.
While yet something of the moisture sticks on your lips, touch them with
your hand, and by applying it then to your eyes, forehead, and other
senses, sanctify them."
In his twenty-third or last catechesis, he calls the mass an unbloody
sacrifice, a victim of propitiation, a supreme worship, &c. (n. 8, p.
327.) He explains the Preface, and the other principal parts of it,
especially the Communion, and mentions the priest from the altar crying
out to the faithful, before they approached to receive, [Greek: Ta hagia
tois hagiois]. He expounds the Lord's Prayer, and mentions the
commemorations for the living and the dead. Of the latter he writes
thus: (n. 9, p. 328.) "We also pray for the deceased holy fathers,
bishops, and all in general who are dead, believing that this will be a
great succor to those souls for which prayer is offered, while the holy
and most tremendous victim lies present." And, (n. 10, ib.,) "If a king,
being offended at certain persons, had banished them, and their friends
offer him a rich garland for them, will not he be moved to release their
punishment? In like manner, we, offering prayers to God for the dead,
though they be sinners, do not make a garland, but we offer Christ
sacrificed for our sins, striving to appease and make our merciful God
propitious both to them and ourselves." This very passage is quoted out
of St. Cyril, in the sixth century, by Eustratius, a priest of
Constantinople, author of the life of the patriarch Eutychius, in his
book on praying for the dead, or on the state of the dead, published by
Leo Allatius, l. De Consensu Eccl. Orient. et Occid. De Purgat., and in
Bibl. Patr. t. 27. It is also cited by Nicon the monk, in his Pandect.
St. Cyril's famous letter to Constantius, On the Apparition of the Cross
in the Heavens, was written by him soon after he was raised to the
episcopal dignity, either in the same year, 350, or in the following.
A sermon, On the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, and
the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, bears the name of St. Cyril of
Jerusalem, in almost all the MSS.; but the custom of carrying blessed
candles in procession that day, mentioned in this discourse, was only
introduced at Jerusalem at the suggestion of a devout lady named Icelia,
about the middle of the fifth century, about sixty years after the death
of St. Cyril. Other passages in this discourse seem clearly levelled
against the heresy of Nestorius. The style is also more pompous and
adorned than that of St. Cyril, nor abounds with parenthesis like his.
It is a beautiful, eloquent, and solid piece, and was probably composed
by some priest of the church of Jerusalem, whose name was Cyril, about
the sixth century, when either Sallust or Elias was patriarch. See Dom.
Touttee, and Ceillier, t. 6, p. 544.