§ 126. Св. Кирилл Иерусалимский. Жизнь его.

Cyril of Jerusalem, Archbishop of the fourth century, was a great lamp of the Church of Jerusalem. From his own teachings it is clear that he was born and raised in the bosom of the Jerusalem Church; here he spent his ascetic life; around 346 he was ordained a presbyter and in this rank in 346–349 he spoke teachings to those preparing for Baptism and to the newly baptized 299 . In 350, at the death of Maximus, he was consecrated to the rank of archpastor of the Jerusalem Church by Acacius of Caesarea with the same hopes as St. Meletius for the Antiochian Church 300. Pastoral life of St. Kirill's life was difficult for him, but was marked by extraordinary signs of God. The Church of Jerusalem, both under Maximus and under Cyril, suffered from the Arians, Jews and Manichaeans. In 351, on May 17, at about 9 o’clock in the morning, the sign of the cross appeared in the sky, stretching from Golgotha ​​to Olivet; the radiance of the cross was so bright that the radiance of the sun was not stronger than it; the phenomenon continued for several hours in a row, in front of the amazed inhabitants and visitors of Jerusalem. Many Jews and pagans turned to Christ. “Everyone saw,” Cyril wrote to the Arian emperor, that the pious Christian faith does not consist in words contemptuous of human wisdom 301. Not long after this, Akaki Bishop of Caesarea started a quarrel with Cyril. The Bishop of Jerusalem, as the bishop of the apostolic see, from the time of the apostles, enjoyed the honor of primacy among regional bishops and, as a result, independence in administration 302. Akaki demanded submission from the Archbishop of Jerusalem. But this is more the appearance of the matter than the matter itself: Akaki demanded that Cyril agree to the opinions of the Arians 303. Akaki demanded Cyril to be judged by the Council. Blessed Cyril, not paying attention to the illegal demand, went to the Council of Melitino, where he firmly opposed the violence of the Arians 304. At the Council of 357, Akaki, with a few like-minded people, declared Cyril deprived of his pulpit for the fact that during a famine he sold church things in favor of the poor. St. Cyril demanded a higher court: but he was forced out of Jerusalem 305. Bishop Silouan received Cyril in Tarsus with love, and Cyril gained respect among the people both in his life and in his preaching. This also hurt Akaki. He demanded that Silouan stop communicating with Cyril, then demanded Cyril himself to a new court of bishops. But in 359, the Council of Seleucia condemned Akaki as an Arian, and his rights were returned to Cyril. Meanwhile, Acacius had previously (in 358) united with Eudoxius of Constantinople, an open Arian, and in 360 St. Cyril by the Council of Eudoxia was deprived of the throne and exiled to prison 306. Julian, according to his goals, in 361 returned Cyril (as well as other exiled bishops) to the flock and opened his war against the Lord: the apostate not only allowed the Jews, but gave the order to his prefect to restore the Jerusalem Temple 307. St. Cyril pointed the blind to the prophecies of Daniel (9:26–27) and the Savior (Matthew 24:2); and as an instruction to the centuries, Providence destroyed the plan of pride both solemnly and horribly: fire from the foundations of the church threw stones and burned the workers of vanity. The pagans trembled and converted to Christ; the Jews shouted: The son of Mary is God, and yet many remained hard-hearted 308 . Emperor Valens once again (in 367) expelled the confessor from Jerusalem. Returned (in 378) by Theodosius the Great to St. Cyril found discord and unrest in the Church of Jerusalem - the usual fruits of the predominance of non-Orthodox power. He managed to humble the Doukhobors and even converted them to the Holy Church. But the Apollinarians insidiously angered even some Orthodox Christians against St. Kirill. St. Gregory of Nyssa, sent by the Council to pacify discord in Arabia and Palestine, wrote with sorrow that he could not fully fulfill the instructions of the Council 309. But the mind and love of St. Kirill managed to reconcile many with him after that 310. At the Ecumenical Council of 381 St. Cyril signed a condemnation of heretics who recognized the place of Creation in the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. And the Council then wrote to the West, from where the displeasure against the blest partly arose. Cyril: “We inform you that in the Church of Jerusalem, which is the mother of all Churches, the bishop is the venerable and most God-loving Cyril; he, who had long been canonically appointed bishop of the region, labored against the Arians many times and in different places” 311. Let us note another pastoral act of St. Kirill. Two Egyptian monks, who foolishly accumulated themselves, were excommunicated from the Church by their patriarch, and came with a complaint to the bishop. Kirill. After listening to them, he said: “And I excommunicate you” 312. In 386, “a man of holy life 313, defender of the apostolic teaching” 314, died peacefully 315. They were said after the death of Constantine Vel., traces. after 337 (Account. 14, 20), while his sons reigned (οἱ νῦν Βασιλεῖς. Announcement. 14, 14. f. 23, 3); track. before 350, when Constantius alone began to reign; spoken during the persecution of Christians in Persia by Shapur, which began in 344 (Announcement 10, 19. Socrates 2, 41), during the war of the Romans with the Persians (Announcement 15, 6), which opened for the second time in 346. Jerome's passion for the side of Paulinus of Antioch (see about Melet.) lured Jerome so far that he (Chronicon ad an. 349) denigrates both the faith and life of Cyril upon his admission to the bishopric. But this is just human weakness. The fact that Kirill was elected by Akakiy’s party could give reason to think whether Kirill had the same thoughts as Akakiy? But to resolve the doubt, it is enough to read the catechumens of Cyril the Presbyter; We are not talking about the actions of Bishop Kirill. Theophanes correctly understood the election of Cyril by Akaki (Chronogr. ad an. 347). The best thing is that his enemies spoke of him as a follower of Sabellius (Socrates 2, 9. Sozomen 3, 6). In addition to Cyril himself (in a letter to the emperor), this is evidenced by: Socrates (2, 28), Philostorgius (3, 26), Sozomen (4, 5), Ambrose (Ep. 40 ad Theodosium), Gregory of Nazianzus. (Orat. 4. T. 1. p. 111), Chronicle Alex. ad an. 352. The memory of this is celebrated to this day by the Church. In the 7th right. The Council of Nicea said: “The custom and ancient tradition have been established to honor the bishop residing in Jerusalem: let him follow the honor, preserving the dignity assigned to the metropolis.” At the Council of Antioch against Paul Hymenaeus of Jerusalem is superior to Theoteknos of Caesarea (Eusebius 7. 30. 28). In a letter to Dimitri Alex. for Origen, first Alexander of Jerusalem, second Theoctistus of Caesarea (Eusebius 6, 19). Imp. Constantine writes his epistle “to Macarius and other bishops of Palestine” (Eusebius on the life of Constantine 3, 52). Sozomen (4, 25) says that Akakios accused Cyril that Cyril followed those who preached blasphemy of the Son. But this could not be: Akaki himself at this time wrote and acted as a semi-Aryan (Sozomen 4, 22. Socrates 2, 40). Therefore, Nikephoros correctly corrects Sozomen and writes: “Akakios preached the thoughts of Arius before; and Cyril from the very beginning followed those who confessed the same essence” (Hist. 4.46). Sozomen 4. 25. Theodoret 2. 26. 27. Socrates 2. 40. Sozomen 4. 22–23. Socrates 2. 40–41. Theodoret 2:27, where also about the firm faith of the blessed. Silouana. Julian's letter to the Jews between the works of his Ep. 25, and it is given in Sozomen 5, 22. With proud hopes for Julian, the Jews then destroyed many churches in Damascus, Alexandria and other places. Even the pagan Marcellinus wrote about this (lib. 3. p. 1); Gregory Naz talked about this. (Cant. Julian. Orat. 4, p. 110–113), Chrysostom (that Christ is God. T. 1, p. 580), Theodoret N.E. 3–15), Ambrose (Er. 14.40), Rufinus (N.E. 1.37), Socrates (3–15), Sozomen (5–22); Livanius even mentions it in his funeral speech for Julian. S. Gregorii Nysseni de euntib. Hierosol. 3, 653–656. Ad Teopilumh. alex. 262. Palladium in Lawsaik §118. Vitae Patrum. § 45. paragraph 88. Feofan Chronogr. p. 58. Photius Collect. de Metropol. Theodorite H. E. 2, 26. Theophanes Chronogr. p. 67. Maxim Ispov. Dogmat. T. 2. p. 88. You might be interested in: