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Commemorated on March
18th
Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, was born in Jerusalem in the year 315
and was raised in strict Christian piety. Upon reaching the age of maturity, he
became a monk, and in the year 346 he became a presbyter. In the year 350, upon
the death of Archbishop Maximus, he succeeded him on the episcopal throne of
Jerusalem.
As Patriarch of Jerusalem, St Cyril zealously fought against the heresies of
Arius and Macedonius. In so doing, he aroused the animosity of the Arian
bishops, who sought to have him deposed and banished from Jerusalem.
There was a miraculous portent in 351 at Jerusalem: at the third hour of the
day on the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Cross appeared in the heavens, shining
with a radiant light. It stretched from Golgotha above the Mount of Olives. St
Cyril reported this portent to the Arian emperor Constantius (351-363), hoping
to convert him to Orthodoxy.
The heretic Acacius, deposed by the Council of Sardica, was formerly the
Metropolitan of Caesarea, and he collaborated with the emperor to have St Cyril
removed. An intense famine struck Jerusalem, and St Cyril expended all his
wealth in charity. But since the famine did not abate, the saint pawned church
utensils, and used the money to buy wheat for the starving. The saint's enemies
spread a scandalous rumor that they had seen a woman in the city dancing around
in clerical garb. Taking advantage of this rumor, the heretics forcibly expelled
the saint.
The saint found shelter with Bishop Silvanus in Tarsus. After this, a local
Council at Seleucia, at which there were about 150 bishops, and among them St
Cyril. The heretical Metropolitan Acacius did not want to allow him to take a
seat, but the Council would not consent to this. Acacius stormed out of the
Council, and before the emperor and the Arian patriarch Eudoxius, he denounced
both the Council and St Cyril. The emperor had the saint imprisoned.
When the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363) ascended the throne he
repealed all the anti-Orthodox decrees of Constantius, seemingly out of piety.
St Cyril returned to his own flock. But after a certain while, when Julian had
become secure upon the throne, he openly apostasized and renounced Christ. He
permitted the Jews to start rebuilding the Temple of Jerusalem that had been
destroyed by the Romans, and he even provided them part of the funds for the
building from the state treasury.
St Cyril predicted that the words of the Savior about the destruction of the
Temple down to its very stones (Luke. 21:6) would undoubtedly transpire, and the
blasphemous intent of Julian would come to naught. Soon there was such a
powerful earthquake, that even the solidly set foundation of the ancient Temple
ofSolomon shifted in its place, and what had been rebuilt fell down and
shattered into dust. When the Jews resumed construction, a fire came down from
the heavens and destroyed the tools of the workmen. Great terror seized
everyone. On the following night, the Sign of the Cross appeared on the clothing
of the Jews, which they could not remove by any means.
After this heavenly confirmation of St Cyril's prediction, they banished him
again, and the bishop's throne was occupied by St Cyriacus. But St Cyriacus soon
suffered a martyr's death (October 28).
After the emperor Julian perished in 363, St Cyril returned to his See, but
during the reign of the emperor Valens (364-378) he was exiled for a third time.
It was only under the holy emperor St Theodosius the Great (379-395) that he
finally returned to his archpastoral activity. In 381 St Cyril participated in
the Second Ecumenical Council, which condemned the heresy of Macedonius and
affirmed the Nicea-Constantinople Symbol of Faith (Creed).
St Cyril's works include twenty-three Instructions (Eighteen are
Catechetical, intended for those preparing for Baptism, and five are for the
newly-baptized) and two discourses on Gospel themes: "On the Paralytic," and
"Concerning the Transformation of Water into Wine at Cana."
At the heart of the Catechetical Instructions is a detailed explanation of
the Symbol of Faith. The saint suggests that a Christian should inscribe the
Symbol of Faith upon "the tablets of the heart."
"The articles of the Faith," St Cyril teaches, "were not written through
human cleverness, but they contain everything that is most important in all the
Scriptures, in a single teaching of faith. Just as the mustard seed contains all
its plethora of branches within its small kernel, so also does the Faith in its
several declarations combine all the pious teachings of the Old and the New
Testaments."
St Cyril, a great ascetic and a champion of Orthodoxy, died in the year 386.
Troparion Tone 3
Clothed in a robe of godliness, thou wast seen in Zion/ as an illustrious
pillar of the Apostles' Faith./ Thou didst become an heir of their grace,/ and
didst set forth their pious doctrines/ and dispense their talents of wisdom./
Pray for us, O Cyril, our Father and our Hierarch.
Kontakion Tone 3
Thy divine words for the Church of Christ/ are endowed with authority from
heaven;/ in teaching us the knowledge of Truth/ thou didst reveal the radiance
of holiness./ And by thy intercessions thou dost heal our sufferings,/ O
godly-minded Father Cyril.
Source: www.oca.org,
Menologian Software 2.0
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