Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the legacy of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 315-386) during his general audience of June 27 — the 100th general audience of his pontificate. The Holy Father highlighted St. Cyril’s catechetical teachings, which reveal his orthodox doctrine and his pastoral wisdom. They systematically prepared catechumens to receive the sacraments of Christian initiation and to understand more deeply afterwards the Church’s faith as expressed in the sacred mysteries. Pope Benedict XVI lauded St. Cyril’s teachings as a model for catechetical instruction even today.

Today we will focus our attention on St. Cyril of Jerusalem. His life weaves together two dimensions: on the one hand his pastoral care and on the other hand his involvement — against his will — in the heated controversies that afflicted the Church of the East at that time.

Born around the year 315 either in Jerusalem or its environs, Cyril received an excellent liberal arts education that was the foundation for his ecclesiastical formation centered on studying the Bible. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Maximus and, when Maximus died or was deposed, Acacius, the powerful bishop of the metropolitan see of Caesarea in Palestine and a supporter of the Arians, ordained him a bishop in the year 348, convinced he had an ally in Cyril. For this reason, some suspected that Cyril was nominated as a bishop after having made some concessions to Arianism.

In reality, Cyril quickly clashed with Acacius, not only on matters of doctrine but also on matters regarding jurisdiction, since Cyril claimed autonomy for his see from the metropolitan see of Caesarea. Over the course of 20 years, Cyril was exiled three times. The first was in 357 after being deposed by the Synod of Jerusalem. This was followed by a second exile in 360, which was the result of Acacius’ efforts. Finally, in 367 he was exiled a third time — which was the longest and lasted 11 years — by the Emperor Valens, who supported the Arians.

It was only after the death of the emperor in 378 that Cyril was able to take lasting possession of his see, restoring unity and peace among the faithful.

Although some contemporary sources cast doubt on his orthodoxy, other sources from the same era defend him. The most authoritative of these is a synod letter from the year 382 after the Second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (381), in which Cyril took part and played an eminent role.

In this letter, which was sent to the Pope in Rome, the Eastern bishops officially recognized Cyril’s absolute orthodoxy, the legitimacy of his ordination as a bishop, and the merits of his pastoral service, which was to end with his death in 387.

Twenty-four of his famous catecheses, which he gave as bishop around the year 350, have been preserved. After the Procatechesis of welcome, the first 18 of these teachings are directed to the catechumens or the ones to be enlightened (illuminandi in Latin, photizomenoi in Greek); they were given in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher. The first teachings (1-5) deal respectively with the dispositions that are needed prior to baptism, conversion from pagan morals, the sacrament of baptism and the 10 dogmatic truths contained in the Creed or Symbol of Faith.

The following teachings (6-18) constitute an “ongoing catechesis” on the Jerusalem Creed, with an anti-Arian thrust. Of the remaining five teachings (19-23), which are called “mystagogical,” the first two develop a commentary on the rites of baptism and the last three focus on chrism, the body and blood of Christ, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

An explanation of the Our Father (Oratio Dominica ― the Lord’s Prayer) is also included that forms the itinerary of initiation to prayer, which develops parallel to the initiation to the three sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist.

The basis of his instruction on the Christian faith was also developed as a polemic against pagans, Judeo-Christians and Manicheans. His arguments, in language that is rich in images, are based on the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament.

Catechesis was an important time that took place within the overall context of life, particularly the liturgical life, of the Christian community within whose maternal womb the gestation of the future faithful developed, accompanied by the prayers and the witness of their brothers and sisters.

This was a very important moment. It was not just an intellectual catechesis, but a way of learning to live in the Christian community.

Overall, Cyril’s homilies constitute a systematic and pragmatic catechesis on a Christian’s re-birth through baptism. He tells catechumens: “You have fallen into the Church’s net (see Matthew 13:47). So, let yourselves be taken alive and do not escape, because it is Jesus who is taking you by the hook, not to give you death but resurrection after death. Indeed, you must die and rise again (see Romans 6:11-14). … Die to sin and live for justice starting today” (Procatechesi 5).

From a doctrinal point of view, Cyril uses the typology of Scripture in his commentary on the Jerusalem Creed and, through a “symphonic” relationship between the Old and New Testaments, points to Christ, the center of the universe.

St. Augustine of Hippo described his typological approach in a very insightful way: “The New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament and the Old Testament reveals itself in the New Testament” (De catechizandis rudibus 4:8). As regards the catechesis on morals, it is anchored in deep unity with his doctrinal catechesis: it brings dogma progressively down into their souls and so encourages them to transform their pagan behavior on the basis of the new life in Christ, which is the gift of baptism.

Finally, Cyril’s “mystagogical” catechesis marks the high point of his instruction; it was not directed to the catechumens but to the newly baptized — the neophytes — during Easter week. These teachings led them to discover within the baptismal rites of the Easter Vigil the mysteries contained within them and not yet revealed.

Enlightened by a deeper faith through the power of baptism, the neophytes were finally able to better understand the mysteries whose rites they had already celebrated.

With the newly baptized of Greek origin, Cyril appealed particularly to their visual senses, which most suited them. It was the passage from rite to mystery, which used to advantage the psychological effect of surprise and their experience of the Easter night.

The following text explains the mystery of baptism: “Three times you were immersed into the water and each of the three times you emerged, symbolizing Christ’s three days of burial in the tomb; in this way and through this rite, you were imitating the three days and three nights that our Savior passed in the bosom of the earth” (see Matthew 12:40).

“The first time you emerged from the water, you recalled the first day Christ spent in the tomb just as your immersion was a remembrance of his first night in the tomb. Just as someone in the night can no longer see and someone in the day enjoys the light, so it is also with you.

“When you were first immersed in the night and saw nothing, as you emerged once again you found yourself in complete daylight. A mystery of death and birth, this water of salvation was at once your grave and your mother. … For you … the time for dying coincided with the time for birth: at one and the same time, your birth went hand in hand with your death” (Seconda Catechesi Mistagogica 4).

The mystery that we need to understand is God’s plan, which is fulfilled through Christ’s saving actions in the Church. The mystagogical dimension is accompanied, in turn, by the dimension of the symbols which express the spiritual experience that these symbols make “explode” within us. Thus, St. Cyril’s catechesis, on the basis of the three components that we have described — the doctrinal, the moral and the mystagogical — forms a global catechesis in the Spirit. The mystagogical dimension brings about a synthesis of the first two, focusing them on the sacramental celebration in which the salvation of the whole man takes place.

What we have, in conclusion, is an integral catechesis, which ― by involving body, soul and spirit ― remains emblematic for the catechetical formation of Christians today also. Let us ask the Lord to help us understand a Christianity that truly embraces all of our existence and makes us credible witnesses of Christ, true God and true man.

Register translation