CYRIL, Sr, bishop of Jerusalem, was born in that city about A.D. 315. He was ordained priest by Maximus the patriarch, under whom he held the office of catechist; and chiefly through the influence of Acacius of Cæsarea he was chosen to fill the vacant see of his spiritual father (A.D. 351). The opening of his episcopate was signalized by the appearance, during the festival of Pentecost, of a luminous cross in the heavens, stretching for two miles from Golgotha to Olivet; but the prestige of the omen did not prevent the immediate outbreak of a quarrel between him and the rival metropolitan of Cæsarea. The subject of dispute was the consubstantiality of the Son; but the real origin of the disagreement may be traced to the firmness of Cyril in maintaining the independence of his see. After contesting their claims with various success before the synod of the bishops of Palestine, the emperor Constantius, and the synod of Seleucia, Cyril was at length deposed by the council of Constantinople. After a short period of retirement spent at Tarsus, he returned to his see on the accession of Julian,
but was a second time expelled by the Arian bishop of Constantinople. He was finally restored, under the Trinitarian Theodosius, by the council of Constantinople (A.D. 381). The principal works of Cyril are his Eighteen Catechetical Discourses, consisting of brief expositions of Christian doctrine to the catechumens of his diocese. The last five, entitled Mystagogical Lectures, are devoted chiefly to an exposition of the sacraments. Independently of the prodigy of the radiant cross that marked the commencement, and the prophecy of the miraculous interruption of Julian's attempt to rebuild Jerusalem, that signalized the close of his career, we have ample proof in his writings of the superstitious caste of Cyril's mind. He was particularly enthusiastic in inculcating the adoration of the cross, and firmly believed in the miraculous multiplication of its fragments. Amongst other doctrines, we find great prominence given to the perpetual virginity of Mary, and transubstantiation. His writings are valuable as giving elaborate accounts of the ritual of the church over which he presided.