CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, b. probably in 315; I d. probably March 18, 386; spent his whole life in Jerusalem, where lie was consecrated deacon, in 335, by Bishop Makarius, and presbyter, in 345, by Bishop Maximus, and where he finally became bishop himself. In the Arian controversy he tried to maintain a neutral position, in which, however, he did not succeed. After the death of Maximus or, as Socrates and Sozomen have it, after the expulsion of Maximus by the Arians, Cyril became bishop by the aid of this party. At all events, he was consecrated by Acacius of Cæsarea, who was an Arian. But the harmony between him and Acacius did not last long. According to the seventh canon of the Council of Nice, the Bishop of Jerusalem ranked immediately after the Bishops of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, though with reservation of the right of the Bishop of Cæsarea as metropolite. From this point the disagreement began; but it was greatly inflamed by religious discrepancies. Acacius cited Cyril before him; and, when the latter declined to appear, the former had him deposed by a council of only a few bishops (358). Cyril appealed to another and larger council, held at Seleucia (359), and mostly composed of Semi-Arians; and this council deposed Acacius. But in 360 a still larger council of Arians, held in Constantinople, confirmed the deposition of Cyril; and it was only the death of Constantius and the accession of Julian which enabled Cyril to return to his see. During the last twenty years he lived in comparative peace and quiet, though he was expelled twice more, under Valens.
Of the works ascribed to Cyril, the homilies are certainly spurious, though with the exception of the one on the impotent man at the Pool of Bethesda, first published by Thomas Mules in 1703, which seems to be genuine. The letter addressed to the Emperor Constantius, and giving an account of a vision of a radiant cross in the heavens, is, at all events, much interpolated. But the catecheses, or catechetical lectures, are genuine, and are of the greatest interest, both for the history of the Christian dogmas, and for the true understanding of the liturgy and cateohetical methods of the ancient Church.
Alexis Douval, "The Date of Cyril of Jerusalem's Catecheses," Journal of Theological Studies 48.1 (1997): 129-132. | |
Alexis James Douval, Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogue: The Authorship of the "Mystagogic Catecheses." Patristic Monograph Series. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2001. Hbk. ISBN: 0813210798. pp.314. | |
Jan Willem Drijvers, Cyril of Jerusalem: Bishop and City. Leiden: Brill, 2004. Hbk. ISBN: 9004139869. pp.216. | |
Adrian Fortescue [1874-1923], The Greek Fathers. London: The Catholic Truth Society, 1908. Hbk. pp.255. pdf [This material is in the Public Domain] | |
J. Harold Greenlee, The Gospel Text of Cyril of Jerusalem. Studies and Documents XVII. Silva Lake & Carsten Høeg, eds. Copenhagen: Ejnar Munksgaard, 1955. | |
P. Jackson, "Cyril of Jerusalem's Treatment of Scriptural Texts Conerning the Holy Spirit," Traditio 46 (1991): 1-31. | |
P. Jackson, "Cyril of Jerusalem's Use of Scripture in Exegesis," Theological Studies 52 (1991): 431-503. | |
W.R. Jenkinson, "The Image and the Likeness if God in Man in the Eighteen Lectures on the Credo of Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315 - 387)," Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 40 (1964): 19-47. | |
Peter van Nuffelen, "The Career of Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 348-87): A Reassessment," The Journal of Theological Studies 58.1 (April 2007): 134-46. | |
Hugh M. Riley, Christian Initiation: A Comparative Study of the Interpretation of the Baptismal Liturgy in the Mystagogical Writings of Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1974. ISBN: 081320531X. | |
A.A. Stephenson, "St. Cyril of Jerusalem and the Alexandrian Christian Gnosis," Studia Patristica 1 (1957): 142-146. | |
Philip Wainwright, "The Authenticity of the Recently Discovered Letter Attributed to Cyril of Jerusalem," Vigiliae Christianae 40.3 (1986): 286-293. | |
P.W.L. Walker, "Gospel Sites and "Holy Places": the Contrasting Attitudes of Eusebius and Cyril," Tyndale Bulletin 41.1 (1990): 89-108. pdf | |
Peter W.L. Walker, Holy City, Holy Places? Christian Attitudes to Jerusalem and the Holy Land in the Fourth Century. Oxford: Early Christian Studies, 1990. Hbk. ISBN: 0198144679. pp.31-34, 331-346. | |
E. Yarold, "The Authorship of the Mystagogic Catachesis Attributed to Cyril of Jerusalem," Heythrop Journal, 19 (1978): 143-161. |
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (John Chapman) | |
Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Theologian (James E. Kiefer) | |
Edward Yarnold S.J. (Editor), Cyril of Jerusalem. Routledge, 20001. Pbk. ISBN: 0415199042. pp.240. |