Ministry and Episcopate
Cyril rose through the ranks of the clergy of Jerusalem, serving as deacon and then as presbyter before his elevation to the episcopate around 350. As bishop of the city that held the holiest sites of Christendom, he occupied a see of unusual prominence, and his pastoral concern for the faithful is reflected both in his teaching and in his conduct during a severe famine.
When famine struck Jerusalem, Cyril is said to have spent his own resources in charity, and when the need persisted he pawned vessels and ornaments belonging to the church in order to buy wheat for the starving. This act of relief later became a point of accusation against him: his metropolitan, Acacius of Caesarea, charged him with disposing of church property, and the dispute became entangled with the broader doctrinal conflict between Cyril and the Arian party.
The Catechetical Lectures
Cyril's enduring contribution to the Church is his collection of twenty-three instructions, traditionally divided into eighteen catechetical lectures addressed to catechumens preparing for baptism and five mystagogical lectures for the newly baptized, the latter explaining the sacraments they had received. He is also credited with discourses on Gospel themes.
Delivered in Jerusalem, these lectures preserve a detailed picture of how the early Church catechized its converts in the creed, the moral life, and the mysteries of baptism and the Eucharist. They remain a principal witness to the catechetical and liturgical practice of the fourth-century Church.
The Arian Controversy and Exiles
Cyril's episcopate fell during the height of the controversies over the nature of the Son and the Holy Spirit. He opposed both the Arians, who denied the full divinity of the Son, and the Macedonians, who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit, and this opposition drew the enmity of Arian-aligned bishops.
Through their influence he was deposed and exiled on multiple occasions across the reigns of several emperors. He found refuge at Tarsus, was affected by the shifting imperial policies of Constantius, Julian, and Valens, and was restored and banished in turn as those policies changed. Only after the death of Valens in 378 was he able to remain securely in his see.
At the Second Ecumenical Council in 381 Cyril voted for the acceptance of the term homoousios, affirming the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, and the council confirmed his jurisdiction over Jerusalem.
Veneration
Cyril is commemorated in the Orthodox Church on March 18. A second Byzantine commemoration on May 7 marks the apparition of the cross of light over Jerusalem in 351, which he himself recorded.
His veneration extends across the Christian traditions, and in the Roman Catholic Church he was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1883.
