Cyril Of Jerusalem Mystagogue

After centuries of unresolved dispute over the question of whether the Mystagogic Catecheses belongs among the works of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, this book finally settles the controversy. These post-baptismal Easter sermons are a prized witness to the way the rites of initiation (baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist) were celebrated in fourth-century Jerusalem and for the rich sacramental theology they contain. Uncertain authorship has prevented the text from being fully appreciated as an integral part of Cyril's works. Cyril's reputation as a catechist is time-honored, and his Baptismal Catecheses has served as an invaluable source of early Church doctrine and practice. Scholars can now confidently include the mystagogic sermons in their study of Cyril's doctrinal and sacramental theology and practice. This study addresses much more than the question of authorship. A thorough examination of the Mystagogic Catecheses in conjunction with Cyril's Baptismal Catecheses provides a new view into his life and thought as both catechist and mystagogue. It begins with a survey of those aspects of Cyril's life and his Jerusalem church that are relevant to reassessing the authorship of the Mystagogic Catecheses. It then examines the text's manuscript tradition, literary tradition, and date. There follows the most extensive section, a comparative analysis of the disputed sermons and Cyril's Baptismal Catecheses in the areas of liturgical rites, theology, spirituality, and literary style. The text is then compared to the known works of the contending author, John II of Jerusalem. Finally, the sermons are subjected to a stylometric analysis, that is, a computer-based statistical analysis of literary style. This book will be welcomed by scholars of early Christianity, especially those interested in the life and works of Cyril of Jerusalem. Of special interest is its treatment of the history and development of liturgy in the Christian East through the fourth century. This is the first volume in the Patristic Monograph Series of the North American Patristic Society to be published by the Catholic University of America Press. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Alexis James Doval is associate professor of religious studies at Saint Mary's College of California. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: "[A] considerable contribution to a vexed but vital question about Cyril and the mystagogical catacheses. . . . Doval's study is a must for any patrologist interested in liturgical history and theology, concerned about the resurgence of the Jerusalem church, studying the development of catachesis and catechumenate, or exploring questions related to the controversies of the fourth century."--Prof. Thomas Finn, College of William and Mary "The persistent question of authorship receives a comprehensive treatment in this work. . . . The door on John's authorship of the mystagogical catechesis is not completely closed, but for Doval it remains an improbability at best. Barring new evidence, it will probably never be opened wide again in the wake of this study."--William P. McDonald, Journal of Early Christian Studies "[A]n important purchase for libraries which have patristics collections or collections in the history of doctrine and liturgy." Cecil R. White, Catholic Library World "Doval's cumulative case is compelling, and the onus must now be on those who dispute Cyril's authorship to justify continued dissent. . . . [A]n important contribution to studies of Cyril of Jerusalem and the fourth-century liturgy of the Holy City."--Bryan D. Spinks, Journal of Ecclesiastical History "[This] book offers a very carefully defined structure and method for dealing with a highly complicated question." -- Pablo F. Argarate, Toronto Journal of Theology

Originally published in 1999, The Rites of Christian Initiation was haled for its clarity and comprehensiveness. Kalian McDonnell, OSB, called it the best overall treatment of Christian initiation available, and Paul Bradshaw predicted it would be the standard textbook on the subject for very many years to come." The current edition draws on new translations of early texts on baptism as well as recent scholarship on the early traditions in the East and West. It is sure to replace itself as the new standard reference on the rites of Christian initiation. Maxwell E. Johnson's expanded and revised text provides a more complete view of the history and interpretation of the rites in the Eastern Church, including two chapters that explore the pre-Nicene Eastern and Western traditions in detail. Revisiting the theology of baptism, this edition also provides more nuanced positions on the Eastern and Western traditions. Finally, recent liturgical developments in American Protestant churches, particularly Lutheran, as well as the ongoing development of the RCIA and confirmation practices of Catholics, made it necessary to revisit the place and meaning of these rites in the church today. Maxwell E. Johnson, PhD, is professor of liturgy at the University of Notre Dame and an ordained minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He has published in Worship and is the editor of and contributor to Living Water, Sealing Spirit: Readings on Christian Initiation (Liturgical Press, 1995) and the revised and expanded edition of E.C. Whitaker, Documents of the Baptismal Liturgy (Liturgical Press and S.P.C.K., 2003), to which this study serves as a companion volume. "

Cyril was bishop in Jerusalem from c350-351 AD until 386 AD. His writings are an important source for the history of early Christian doctrine. This book provides full English translations, with explanatory commentary, of his most important works. The introduction covers Cyril's life; his historical and archaeological context; his theology; and contemporary doctrine and practice. This will be essential reading for students and scholars of patristics, and those studying the history of the early Church and late antiquity.

This volume deals with the episcopate of Cyril of Jerusalem (350 to 387). Its overall theme is the relationship between the city and its bishop and, in particular, Cyril's efforts to promote Jerusalem as the Christian city "par excellence," by employing Jerusalem's religious symbols - the holy sites and the Cross. Apart from chapters on Jerusalem in the fourth century C.E. and on the life and works of Cyril, this study discusses important aspects and events of Cyril's episcopacy, such as his pastoral work as an urban bishop of the Jerusalem Christian community, Jerusalem's liturgy, the rebuilding of the Temple, giving a re-interpretation of the Syriac letter ascribed to Cyril about this event, and Jerusalem's and Palestine's religious landscape.

This study of the life and works of Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, assesses Cyril's thought in the context of fourth-century theological developments and includes up-to-date translations of a selection of his writings.

In this groundbreaking and provocative book, Jonathan Malesic argues that the best way for Christians to be caretakers of their tradition and to love their neighbors selflessly is to conceal their religious identity in American public life. The alternative--insisting on Christianity's public visibility in politics, the marketplace, and the workplace--risks severely compromising the distinctiveness of Christian identity. Delving deep into the Christian tradition, Malesic explains that keeping Christian identity secret means living fully in the world while maintaining Christian language, prayer, and liturgy in reserve. He shows how major thinkers--Cyril of Jerusalem, Søren Kierkegaard, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer--sought to protect Christian identity from being compromised by the public sphere. He then shows that Christians' dual responsibilities for the tradition and for the neighbor must be kept secret.

This study is an exploration of how Cyril of Jerusalem constructed Christian identity for those who were preparing to enter into full communion with the church at Easter. In order to include the full catechetical teachings of the fourth-century hagiopolite tradition, the study examined the history of liturgy arguments against Cyrillian authorship of the Mystagogic Catecheses and has found, based upon the most recent scholarship, no reason to date the text to after Cyril's bishopric. Having also used codicological and textual critical analysis to support the claim of Cyrillian authorship, the study argues for a different preferred manuscript tradition than what is presented in the critical edition. Since Cyril provided an identity-clarifying attribute for the new Christians to associate with each of the rites of initiation, the study looks at the scholarly literature regarding Cyril's sacramental theology. Taking the Jerusalem catechetical writings as a pedagogical unit and examining it through word studies and flow-of-thought analysis, this study constructs a new model for Cyril's sacramental theology based upon his doctrine of theosis, which has not been examined with sufficient academic rigor to date. It demonstrates that not only does Cyril have a fully-developed doctrine of theosis, but his expression of theosis is Trinitarian, sacramental, and inseparable from his ethical and identity forming teachings.