Cyril of Jerusalem
Bishop of Jerusalem, Doctor of the Church, and author of the Catechetical Lectures
Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 313 – 386) was an early Church theologian who became bishop of Jerusalem around 350, succeeding Maximus. His tenure was marked by multiple exiles, driven by conflict with Acacius of Caesarea and shifting imperial policies. He produced significant writings on catechumen instruction and the liturgy of his era. Venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Anglican traditions, he was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1883. His feast is observed as an optional memorial on 18 March in the Catholic Church, and with a commemoration on the same date in the Church of England. He is distinct from Cyril of Alexandria. Details of his early life are sparse; his birth around 315 is speculative. He was likely born in or near Jerusalem and was well-versed in early Christian theology and Greek philosophy. Ordained a deacon by Bishop Macarius around 335 and a priest by Bishop Maximus about eight years later, he became bishop around 350, a claim supported by his own writings where he calls himself "bishop." Jerome suggested Cyril may have held Arian views at this time. The pilgrim Egeria described him as a preacher and liturgist. His episcopacy was strained by tensions with Metropolitan Acacius of Caesarea, a leading Arian according to orthodox historians. Sozomen added that Acacius may have resented the importance given to Jerusalem by the Council of Nicaea and its growing status as a pilgrimage site. Acacius accused Cyril of selling church property during a food shortage; Sozomen and Theodoret reported that Cyril secretly sold sacramental ornaments and a gold-threaded robe donated by Constantine, possibly to feed the hungry. Cyril avoided Acacius’s summons for two years, but a church council in 357 deposed him in absentia, and he fled to Bishop Silvanus of Tarsus. The Council of Seleucia reinstated him in 359 and deposed Acacius, but Emperor Constantius reversed this in 360, leading to another year of exile. He returned under Emperor Julian in 361. Exiled again by the Arian Emperor Valens in 367, Cyril returned after Valens’s death in 378 and remained undisturbed until his own death in 386. In 380, Gregory of Nyssa visited Jerusalem and found the faith sound but the city troubled by factions and moral corruption. The First Council of Constantinople in 381 confirmed Cyril’s jurisdiction over Jerusalem; he attended and voted for the term *homoousios*, having concluded it was the best option. His story reflects many Eastern bishops who initially distrusted Nicaea but later embraced its creed. Theologically, Cyril’s early phrasing was indefinite, but he fully adhered to Nicene orthodoxy. He avoided the term *homoousios* but expressed its meaning, rejecting Patripassianism, Sabellianism, and the Arian claim that “there was a time when the Son was not.” He emphasized free will (*autexousion*), viewing sin as a consequence of freedom rather than a natural state, with the body as sin’s instrument, not its cause. Repentance was the remedy, and he stressed high moral living as essential to Christianity. His view of the Resurrection was less realistic than some Fathers’, but his conception of the Church was empirical: the existing Church form was the true one, completing the Old Testament Church. His interpretation of the Eucharist is debated; some see a symbolic view, though he professed a strong realism, holding that the bread and wine are not mere elements but Christ’s body and blood. Cyril’s writings emphasize God’s loving and forgiving nature, unusual for his time. He wrote of the Spirit’s gentle approach: “The Spirit comes gently and makes himself known by his fragrance. He is not felt as a burden for God is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before him as the Spirit approaches.
- born
- c. 313
- died
- 386
- field
- Theology, Episcopacy
- nationality
- Roman (Jerusalem)
- known_for
- Catechetical Lectures, Mystagogic Catecheses, Bishop of Jerusalem
Quick Facts
- Honorific Prefix
- Saint
- Birth Date
- c. AD 313
- Death Date
- AD 386 (aged 73)
- Feast Day
- 18 March (Byzantine Christianity, Catholic Church) · 7 May (Byzantine Christianity) (miracle) · Paremhat 22 (Coptic Christianity)
- Venerated In
- Catholic Church · Eastern Orthodox Church · Oriental Orthodoxy · Anglican Communion · Lutheran Church
- Birth Place
- possibly near Caesarea Maritima, Syria Palaestina
- Death Place
- Jerusalem, Palaestina Salutaris
- Titles
- Confessor of the Faith / Doctor of the Church / Bishop
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Little is known of his life before he became a bishop; the assignment of his birth to the year 315 rests on conjecture. According to Butler, Cyril was born at or near the city of Jerusalem and was well-read in both the writings of the early Christian theologians and the Greek philosophers. Cyril was ordained a deacon by Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem in about 335 AD and a priest some eight years later by Bishop Maximus. Around the end of 350 AD, he succeeded Maximus in the See of Jerusalem, although the evidence for this relies on the Catecheses written by Cyril where he refers to himself as 'bishop'. Jerome also suggests Cyril was an Arian at this stage. Cyril is described as a preacher and liturgist by the pilgrim Egeria. Relations between Metropolitan Acacius of Caesarea and Cyril became strained. Acacius is presented as a leading Arian by the orthodox historians, and his opposition to Cyril in the 350s is attributed by these writers to this. Sozomen also suggests that the tension may have been increased by Acacius's jealousy of the importance assigned to Cyril's See by the Council of Nicaea, as well as by the threat posed to Caesarea by the rising influence of the seat of Jerusalem. Acacius charged Cyril with selling church property. The city of Jerusalem had suffered drastic food shortages at which point church historians Sozomen and Theodoret report 'Cyril secretly sold sacramental ornaments of the church and a valuable holy robe, fashioned with gold thread that the emperor Constantine had once donated for the bishop to wear when he performed the rite of Baptism', possibly to keep people from starving. For two years, Cyril resisted Acacius' summons to account for his actions, but a church council held under Acacius's influence in 357 AD deposed Cyril in his absence, and Cyril took refuge with Silvanus, Bishop of Tarsus. The following year, 359 AD, in an atmosphere more hostile to Acacius, the Council of Seleucia reinstated Cyril and deposed Acacius. In 360 AD, this was reversed by Emperor Constantius again, and Cyril suffered another year's exile from Jerusalem until the Emperor Julian's accession allowed him to return in 361. Cyril was once again banished from Jerusalem by the Arian Emperor Valens in 367 AD but was able to return again after Valens's death in 378 AD, after which he remained undisturbed until his death in 386. In 380 AD, Gregory of Nyssa
Reader's Guide
Cyril's famous twenty-three lectures given to catechumens in Jerusalem being prepared for, and after, baptism are best considered in two parts: the first eighteen lectures are commonly known as the Catechetical Lectures, Catechetical Orations or Catechetical Homilies, while the final five are often called the Mystagogic Catecheses, because they deal with the mysteries i.e. Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. His catechetical lectures are generally assumed, on the basis of limited evidence, to have been delivered either in Cyril's early years as a bishop, around 350 AD, or perhaps in 348 AD, while Cyril was still a priest, deputising for his bishop, Maximus. The Catechetical Lectures were given in the Martyrion, the basilica erected by Constantine. They contain instructions on the principal topics of Christian faith and practice, in a popular rather than scientific manner, full of a warm pastoral love and care for the catechumens to whom they were delivered. Each lecture is based upon a text of Scripture, and there is an abundance of Scriptural quotation throughout. In the Catechetical Lectures, parallel with the exposition of the Creed as it was then received in the Church of Jerusalem are vigorous polemics against pagan, Jewish, and heretical errors. They are of great importance for the light which they throw upon the method of instruction usual of that age, as well as upon the liturgical practises of the period, of which they give the fullest account extant.
Did You Know?
- Cyril secretly sold sacramental ornaments and a valuable holy robe donated by Emperor Constantine to keep people from starving during a food shortage.
- Cyril was exiled multiple times due to conflicts with Acacius of Caesarea and the policies of various emperors.
- Cyril's catechetical lectures include a famous passage on faith: 'It is not only among us, who are marked with the name of Christ, that the dignity of faith is great; all the business of the world, even of those outside
- Cyril voted for acceptance of the term homoousios at the First Council of Constantinople in 381.
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