Our Church commemorates today Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem.
Saint Cyril came from Palestine and lived in Jerusalem in the 4th century. He was ordained a presbyter and later succeeded Maximus III of Jerusalem in the See of Jerusalem.
From the very beginning of his episcopal consecration, Saint Cyril was distinguished for his famous lectures, defending the decisions of the First Council of Nicaea, which was held in 325 in Nicaea, Bithynia. He was exiled to Tarsus in Cilicia and received by Bishop Silvanus there. He returned to his episcopal throne, as did the other banished bishops, in AD 361, under Emperor Julian the Apostate, who summoned the banished archpriests because he wanted to bring all the enemies of Emperor Constantius together. Saint Cyril wanted to dedicate himself to the shepherding of his flock
After Julian’s death on July 26, AD 363, he was once again exiled by Emperor Valens (364 – 378) for eleven years and returned to Jerusalem after the emperor’s death. Saint Cyril fell asleep in the Lord in AD 387.
The main corpus of Saint Cyril is the 23 lectures given to catechumens, also known as Catechetical Lectures, Catechetical Orations, or Catechetical Homilies, which were given during the Great Lent and the Bright Week in AD 348 at the Basilica of the Resurrection. The purpose of these lectures was twofold: on the one hand, to introduce the catechumens to the fundamental aspects of the teaching of the Christian faith and the moral life of Christians, and, on the other hand, to present the mysteries of the Church to the newly baptized people.
Source: Church of Cyprus
