St. Cyril of Jerusalem
(C. 315 - 386 AD)
Historical Note
The precise time and place of St. Cyril’s birth are unknown but it was
probably in or around Jerusalem between the years 313 and 315 AD. St.
Cyril was educated in Jerusalem and was ordained a priest between 343 and
345 AD by the orthodox St. Maximus and consecrated bishop of Jerusalem
in 348 AD by the Arian bishop Acacius of Caesarea on condition that he
renounce the ordination bestowed by St. Maximus. St. Cyril consented to
this impiety and committed other frauds to maintain his position, but soon
fell into conflict with Acacius and the Arians over the question of
precedence between Caesarea and Jerusalem and his correct Christology
and attachment to the Nicene formula.
Like St. Athanasius, St. Cyril’s career as a bishop was a stormy one.
Because of his anti-Arianism he was exiled from his see on three occasions
– 357, 360, and 367 AD. His last exile lasted twelve years, only regaining
his see and finding peace after the death of the Emperor Valens and the
accession of the Emperor Theodosius in 379 AD. St. Cyril was also
questioned by orthodox Catholics for his use at times of the term
homoiosious, though in an orthodox sense.
After 379 AD, St. Cyril continued unmolested as bishop of Jerusalem,
participating in the Council of Constantinople in 381 AD where he
unequivocally accepted the term homoosious and the divinity of the Holy
Spirit after an alleged silence. St. Cyril was neither a man of higher
intellect or an original writer. His greatest skills were those of catechist and
popular preacher. For these his listeners admired him very much. He died
on March 18, 386 AD.
Except for a small number of fragments of certain homilies (a sermon on
the Pool of Bethesda, a letter to the Emperor Constantius and three other
fragments) the only complete and genuine work of St. Cyril still extant is
the Catechetical Lectures. The lectures were probably delivered between
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