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Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures
Edwin Hamilton Gifford; NPNF2-07 (1894) · Edition commentary
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Translator and historical edition notes (part 20)
1 Cor. xi. 23. The clause “and gave to His disciples” is an addition taken from Matt. xxvi. 26. The part relating to the cup does not correspond exactly either with St. Paul’s language or with the Evangelists’.
οἰκεῖον αἵματι. Cod. Scirlet. (Grodecq), Mesm. (Morel), Vindob.; Ben. Ed. οἰκείῳ νεύματι, Codd. Monac. 1, 2, Genovef. Vatt. (Prevot.). Rupp. The whole passage is omitted in Codd. Coisl. R. Casaub. owing to the repetition of αἷμα The reading οἰκείῳ νεύματι, “by His own will,” introduces a superfluous thought, and destroys the very point of Cyril’s argument, in which the previous change of water into an element so different as wine is regarded as giving an a fortiori probability to the change of that which is already “akin to blood” into blood itself. If Cyril thus seems to teach a physical change of the wine, it must be remembered that we are not bound to accept his view, but only to state it accurately. See however the section of the Introduction on his Eucharistic doctrine.
ἐθαυματούργησε τὴν παραδοξοποιίαν. Cf. Chrysost. Epist. I. ad Olympiad. de Deo, § 1, c.: τότε θαυματουργεῖ καὶ παραδοξοποιεῖ.
Matt. ix. 15.
Ben. Ed.:
“That the force of Cyril’s argument may be the better understood, we must observe that in Baptism is celebrated the marriage of Christ with the Christian soul; and that the consummation of this marriage is perfected through the union of bodies in the mystery of the Eucharist. Read Chrysostom’s Hom. xx. in Ephes.”
Chrysostom’s words are: “In like manner therefore we become one flesh with Christ by participation (μετουσίας).” But the participation expressed by μετουσία does not necessarily refer to the Eucharist. From the use of the word in Cat. xxiii. 11, and in Athanasius (Contra Arianos, Or. i.; de Synodis. 19, 22, 25) the meaning rather seems to be that we are one flesh with Christ not by nature but by His gift.
See Index, Τύπος, and the references there, and Waterland, On the Eucharist, c. vii.
Χριστοφόροι γινόμεθα. Procat. 15.
Ben. Ed.:
“᾽Αναδιδομένου. The Codices Coisl. Roe, Casaub. Scirlet. Ottob. 2. Genovef. have ἀναδεδεγμένοι, which does not agree well with the Genitives τοῦ σώματος and τοῦ αἵματος. It is evident that it was an ill-contrived emendation of ἀναδιδομένου, the transcribers being offended at the distribution of Christ’s Body among our members. But Cyril uses even the same word in Cat. xxiii. 9: Οὗτος ὁ ἄρτος.…εἰς πᾶσάν σου τὴν σύστασιν ἀναδίδοται, εἰς ὠφέλειαν σώματος καὶ ψυχῆς, ‘This Bread is distributed into thy whole system, to the benefit of body and soul.’”
᾽Αναδιδομένου is the reading of Milles and Rupp. For similar language see Justin M. Apol. i. 66; Iren. V. ii. 2.
2 Pet. i. 4.
John vi. 53.
Ben. Ed.:
“Here we are to understand (by ὁ Λόγος) the Divine Word, not the bare discourse of God, but the second Person of the Holy Trinity, Christ Himself, the Bread of Heaven, as He testifies of Himself, John vi. 51: Him Cyril contrasts with the earthly shew-bread in the O.T.; otherwise he could not rightly from this sentence infer, by the particle οὖν, “therefore,” that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. And since he says, in Cat. xxiii. 15, that the Eucharistic food is “appointed for the substance of the soul,” for its benefit, that cannot be said of Christ’s body or of His soul, but only of the Word which is conjoined with both.
Moreover that the Divine Word is the food of Angels and of the soul, is a common mode of speaking with all the Fathers. They often play on the ambiguity of this word (λόγος), saying sometimes that the Divine Word, sometimes the word and oracles of God, are the food of our souls: both statements are true. For the whole life-giving power of the Eucharist is derived from the Word of God united to the flesh which He assumed: and the whole benefit of Eucharistic eating consists in the union of our soul with the Word, in meditation on His mysteries and sayings, and conformity thereto.”
Ps. xxiii. 5.
ἠλισγημένην, a good restoration by Milles, with Codd. Roe, Casaub. Coislin. The earlier printed texts had ἠλυγισμένην, “overshadowed.” Cf. Mal. i. 7: ἄρτους ἠλισγημένους ,.…Τράπεζα Κυρίου ἠλισγημένη ἐστίν
Cyril refers to the idolatrous feasts, which St. Paul calls “the table of devils,” 1 Cor. x. 21.
Ps. xxiii. 5.
Ex. xxviii. 36; Ecclus. xlv. 12. The plate of pure gold on the forefront of Aaron’s mitre was engraved with the motto, Holy unto the Lord. This symbolism Cyril transfers to the sacramental Chrism, in which the forehead is signed with ointment, and the soul with the seal of God.
Ps. xxiii. 5: My cup runneth over. Eusebius (Dem. Evang. I. c. 10, § 28) applies the Psalm, as Cyril does, to the Eucharist.
Matt. xxvi. 28.
Eccles. ix. 7, 8.
For προσέλθῃς (Bened.) we must read προσῆλθες, or, with Monac. 1, προσελθεῖν.
Is. lxi. 10.
On this passage see the section of the Introduction referred to in the Index, “Eucharist.”
Ps. civ. 15.
2 Cor. iii. 18.
Lecture XXIII.
This title is added by the Benedictine Editor. There is nothing corresponding to it in the Greek.
The text is made up from memory of James i. 21: διὸ ἀποθέμενοι πᾶσαν ῥυπαρίαν, and 1 Pet. ii. 1: ἀποθέμενοι οὖν πᾶσαν κακίαν καὶ πάντα δόλον καὶ ὑποκρίσεις καὶ πάσας καταλαλίας.
In the Apostolic Constitutions, VIII. xi, this duty is assigned to a sub-deacon: “Let one of the sub-deacons bring water to wash the hands of the priests, which is a symbol of the purity of those souls that are devoted to God.” See Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, “Lavabo.” The Priest who celebrates the Eucharist is here distinguished by the title ἱερεύς from the other Presbyters who stood round the altar.
Cyril evidently refers to the custom of placing vessels of water outside the entrance of the Church. Bingham, Antiquities, VIII. iii. 6. Chrysost. In Johannem Hom. lxxiii. 3: “Do we then wash our hands when going into Church, and shall we not wash our hearts also?” That the same custom was observed in heathen Temples appears from Herod. I. 51: περιῤῥαντήρια δύο ἀνέθηκε (See Bähr’s note). Compare also Joseph. Ant. Jud. III. vi. 2.
[τῷ] νίψασθαι. Rupp: “Τῷ ex conjectura addidi.” Possibly the original reading was νιψάμενοι, which would easily become altered through the presence of νιψασθαι in the preceding line. This washing is not mentioned in the Liturgy of St. James.
Ps. xxvi. 6. In the Liturgy of Constantinople this Psalm was chanted by the Priest and Deacon while washing their hands at the Prothesis or Credence.
ἀνυπεύθυνος.
These two directions by the Deacon are separated in the Liturgy of St. James: after the dismissal of the Catechumens, the Deacon says, “Take note one of another;” and after the Incense, Cherubic hymn, Oblation, Creed, and a short prayer “that we may be united one to another in the bond of peace and charity,” the Deacon says, “Let us salute (ἀγαπῶμεν) one another with a holy kiss.” In the Apostolic Constitutions, VIII. 11, there is but one such direction, and this comes before the washing of hands and the dismissal of the Catechumens, “Salute (ἀσπάσασθε) ye one another with a holy kiss.”
Matt. v. 23. From Cyril’s reference to this passage
“it may be inferred that the kiss of peace had been given before the gifts were brought to the altar, according to ancient custom attested by Justin M. Apolog. i. c. 65: ‘Having ended the prayers’ (for the newly baptized) ‘we salute one another with a kiss. Then there is brought to the President of the brethren bread, and a cup of wine mixed with water’”
(Ben. Ed.). There is the same order in the Apost. Const. VIII. 12, and in the 19th Canon of the Synod of Laodicea; but in the Liturgy of S. James the gifts are offered before the kiss of peace.
1 Cor. xvi. 20.
1 Pet. iii. 15.
The words are slightly varied in the Liturgies: thus in the Liturgy of St. James, “Let us lift up our mind and hearts;” in the Apost. Const. viii. 12, “Lift up your mind.”
Compare the noble Eucharistic Preface in the Liturgy of St. James:
“It is verily meet, right, becoming, and our bounden duty to praise Thee, to sing of Thee, to bless Thee, to worship Thee, to glorify Thee, to give thanks to Thee the Maker of every creature, visible and invisible, the Treasure of eternal blessings; the Fount of life and immortality, the God and Lord of all, whom the heavens of heavens do praise, and all the powers thereof, sun and moon and all the choir of the stars, earth, sea, and all that in them is, Jerusalem the heavenly assembly, Church of the firstborn that are written in the heavens, spirits of righteous men and prophets, souls of martyrs and Apostles.
Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Authorities, and Powers dread, also the many-eyed Cherubim, and the six-winged Seraphim, which with twain of their wings cover their faces, and with twain their feet, and with twain do fly, crying one to another with unresting lips, in unceasing praises, singing with loud voice the triumphant hymn of Thy majestic glory, shouting, and glorifying, and crying aloud, and saying,—Holy, Holy, Holy, O Lord of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”
Ps. xxxiv. 3.
Is. vi. 2, 3.
θεολογίαν, “the doctrine of the Godhead,” either of the Son in particular, or, as here, of the whole Trinity: cf. Athanas. Contra Arianos, Or. i. § 18: νῦν ἐν τρίαδι ἡ θεολογία τελεία ἐστίν.
In the Liturgy of St. James the Triumphal Hymn is followed by the ‘Recital of the work of Redemption,’ and of ‘the Institution,’ by the ‘Great Olbation,’ and then by the ‘Invocation,’ as follows:
“Have mercy upon us, O God, after Thy great mercy, and send forth on us, and on these gifts here set before Thee, Thine all-holy Spirit,.…that He may come, and by His holy, good, and glorious advent (παρουσίᾳ) may sanctify this Bread and make it the holy Body of Thy Christ (Amen), and this Cup the precious Blood of Thy Christ”
(Amen). In Cat. xix. 7, Cyril calls this prayer “the holy Invocation of the Adorable Trinity,” and in xxi. 3, “the Invocation of the Holy Ghost.”
See Index, “Sacrifice,” and the reference there to the Introduction. Compare Athenagoras (Apol. c. xiii.): “What have I to do with burnt-offerings, of which God has no need? Though indeed it behoves us to bring a bloodless sacrifice, and the reasonable service.”
Cyril here gives a brief summary of the “Great Intercession,” in which, according to the common text of the Liturgy of St. James, there is a suffrage “for the peace and welfare (εὐστάθεια) of the whole world, and of the holy Churches of God.” Mr. Hammond thinks that it has been taken from the Deacon’s Litany, and repeated by mistake in the Great Intercession. But from Chrysostom’s language (In Ep. ad Phil. Hom. iii. p. 218; Guame, T. xi. p. 251), we must infer that the prayer ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης καὶ εὐσταθείας τοῦ κόσμου formed part of the ‘Great Intercession’ in his Liturgy, as it does in the Clementine (Apost. Constit. VIII. § 10).
In the Liturgies of St. James and St. Mark, and in the Clementine, there are similar commemorations of departed saints, especially “patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs,” but nothing corresponding to the words, “that at their prayers and intercessions God would receive our petition.” See Index, Prayer and Intercession.
So Chrysostom (In 1 Cor. Hom. 41, p. 457 A):
“Not in vain was this rule ordained by the Apostles, that in the dread Mysteries remembrance should be made of the departed: for they knew that it is a great gain to them, and a great benefit.”
οἱ τούτοις διαφέροντες. “Hesychius, Διαφέρει, ἀνήκει. Ubi Kusterus ait, ἀνήκει, id est. “pertinet,” vel “attinet” Routh, Scriptor. Eccles. Opuscula, p. 441). Dr. Routh’s note refers to Nicæni Conc. Can. xvi.: ὑφαρπάσαι τὸν τῷ ἑτέρῳ διαφέροντα. Cf. Synodi Nic. ad Alexandrinos Epist.: διαφέροντα τῇ Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ τῂ ἁγιωτάτῃ ᾽Αλεξανδρέων ἐκκλησία.
According to the Ben. Ed. the meaning is not “We offer Christ, who was sacrificed for our sins,” but “We offer for our sins Christ sacrificed,” i.e. “Christ lying on the altar as a victim sacrificed,” in allusion to Apoc. V. 6, 12. See Index, “Sacrifice.”
1 Cor. xv. 49.
2 Cor. vi. 16.
Is. lii. 5; Rom. ii. 24.
Rom. vi. 12.
Ps. ciii. 20.
“It is manifest that the author derives the word ἐπιούσιος from the two words ἐπί and οὐσία, as do many others: although the explanation which derives it from ἐπιούσῃ ἡμέρᾳ is more probable. We render it “substantial” in accordance with Cyril’s meaning, with which the word “super-substantial does not agree” (Ben. Ed.).
Matt. xv. 17.
Cat. xxii. § 3, note 1. Ben. Ed.
“We are not to think that Cyril supposed the Body of Christ to be distributed and digested into our body; but in the usual way of speaking he attributes to the Holy Body that which belongs only to the species under which It is hidden. Nor does he deny that those species pass into the draught, but only the Body of Christ.”
Cf. Iren. V. ii. 2, 3, and “Eucharistic Doctrine” in the Introduction.
Heb. iii. 15.
1 John i. 8. We deceive ourselves.
Tertull. De Bapt. c. 20: “For the word had gone before ‘that no one untempted should attain to the celestial kingdoms.’” Apost. Const. II. viii.: “The Scripture says, ‘A man that is a reprobate (ἀδόκιμος) is not tried (ἀπείραστος) by God.’” Resch, Agrapha, Logion 26, p. 188, quotes allusions to the saying in Jas. i. 12, 13; 2 Cor. xiii. 5, 6, 7, and concludes that it was recorded as a saying of our Lord in one of the un-canonical gospels (Luke