Course:Carey HIST501/Project 2/Cyril of Jerusalem (Raymond)
Research on the life of an early Church Father from the list provided below and put together a 500-word mini biography of the historical figure assigned by the instructor (the list will be posted on the course website). For each mini biography, please include the following:
Year of birth and death
Short biographical sketch of the church father
- a. Upbringing
- - Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem, was born in Jerusalem in the year 315 CE.
- b. Education11 October 2021,
Cyril of Jerusalemhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_of_Jerusalem - - He was raised in strict Christian piety.
- - Parents are Cyril’s most influences who provided Cyril with strong literary and Scriptures-focus education. c. Journey of Faith
- · Upon reaching the age of maturity, he became a monk.
- d. Influential person(s)
- - Mainly from his parents, as Cyril built up his Christian faith from his young age.
- e. Vocational path
- - Cyril’s vocation path began in between 330 and 335, he was a deacon in the congregation in Jerusalem. - In the year 346 he became a presbyter (similar to a elder or minister of the church -Oxford dictionary) - With his strong knowledge, St. Maximum, Bishop of Jerusalem ordained him to be a priest mainly instructing the non-baptized the biblical truth and faith. - In the year 350, upon the death of Archbishop Maximus, he succeeded him on the episcopal throne
Major contributions of the church father such as:
- a. Contributions to doctrinal development
- · Cyril commented on the Jerusalem Creed with recourse to the typology of the Scriptures in a “symphonic” relationship between the two Testaments, arriving at Christ, the center of the universe. · Cyril's doctrine is complete and comprehensive with Catholic Church for God of Trinity, Jesus’ salvation, and work of Holy Ghost. It is fully expressed in his creed: ·He believes in one God, the Father Almighty..in one Lord Jesus Christ…Who for us men and for our salvation came down,
- - And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost…was crucified . .and buried, rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, and sat at the right hand of the Father. · And in one Holy Ghost, the Paraclete, Who spoken by the prophets; and in one baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,
- - And in one holy Catholic Church, and in the resurrection of the body, and in life everlasting.
- b. Contributions to pastoral work
- · Cyril pastoral work mainly focuses on teaching and pastoring the congregation the pure Christian faith and high requirements before getting baptized. · Cyril emphasizes the importance of educating the congregation about the baptismal preparation, which consisted of exorcisms, participation in ordinary services, fasts, and so on. · Cyril insisted that the baptismal candidates were in a transitory stage between being catechumens (a Christian convert under instruction before baptism) and being believers (those who are baptized). · Thus, baptismal candidates in the intensive period of baptismal preparation, they will learn during the process of preparation. · After the preparation, the candidates would be baptized on Easter morning. After being baptized, believers continue to receive Cyril’s lectures on Christian faith.
c. Contributions to Christian ethics- Cyril maintained his high Christian ethical standards, especially with his bishop position in Jerusalem and from his handling of tense relationship with Acacius of Caesarea. · In 350, Acacius became jealousy of Cyril's position in Jerusalem which developed into the prime Christian holy place and a center of pilgrimage. · When the city of Jerusalem suffered drastic food, Cyril secretly sold sacramental ornaments of the church and a valuable holy robe in order to keep people from starving. · Acacius charged Cyril with selling church property. · For two years, Cyril resisted Acacius' summons to account for his actions, · In 357 in a church council, Acacius deposed Cyril in his absence · Cyril took refuge with Silvanus, Bishop of Tarsus. · In 359, the Council of Seleucia reinstated Cyril and deposed Acacius. · In 360 this was reversed by Emperor Constantius, and Cyril suffered another year's exile from Jerusalem until the Emperor Julian's accession allowed him to return in 361.
- d. Major works written
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· St. Cyril was a master of the written word and his writings on catechesis impacted the early church for centuries.
· Out of the twenty-four catechetical writings we have of his today, the first eighteen focus on how catechumens come to the light of Baptism.
· He wrote heavily on the importance of Baptism and how the rite plays an important role in the conversion of souls coming from the immoral pagan life.
· Along with Baptism, Cyril wrote at great lengths on the Creed (Nicene-Constantinople), the Our Father, and the rites of Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, and the Eucharistic liturgy.
4. Both short- and long-term impact of the selected church father
Cyril’s theological position firmly defends the three gods in one God’s unity, especially for Jesus Christ who was born as a human, died on the cross, was buried, rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, and that he will be the future judge of humankind.
· The Holy Spirit is also one and part of the Trinity.
· Such firm standpoint of Cyril against a number of heretics explaining in different ways about the deity and divine status of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
· Cyril’s theology in baptism provides a fundamental set of moral and doctrinal instructions.
· Cyril spent his majority of time in delivering catechetical lectures on various baptismal, biblical and theological matters that strongly equip believers’ Christian faith and the reflective behavior.
· Cyril’s writings served as a major theological reference for today’s Christian church and seminaries.
Both short and long-term impact of the selected church father
Please include photos, website links to their works, video links, etc. and at least 3 reference sources for your research.
Read at least 2 other mini biographies prepared by your classmates and on the discussion tab, share how the stories of the early church father inspire you or how their stories may bring encouragement to the church or to the world today.
References
https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2021/03/18/100829-saint-cyril-archbishop-of-jerusalem
http://totus2us.com/vocation/church-fathers/st-cyril-of-jerusalem/
Jacobsen, Anders-Christian, “Cyril of Jerusalem”, in: Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity Online, General Editor David G. Hunter, Paul J.J. van Geest, Bert Jan Lietaert Peerbolte. Consulted online on 23 October 2021 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2589-7993_EECO_SIM_00000832> First published online: 2018
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04595b.htm
https://pure.au.dk/portal/files/161234687/2019_05_08_Cyril_of_Jerusalem.pdf