Cyril (St.) (KvpcXXoc), of Jerusalem, is supposed to have been bom in that city about A.D. 815. He was ordained deacon by Macarios about 885, and priest by the patiiareh Maximus about 845. On the death of Maximus, Cyril was chosen to succeed him (A.D. 850). A luminous appearance in the heavens, called the ** Apparition of the Cross," is said to have marked the beginning of his episcopate (Socrates, Hist. Ecd. ii, 28). He soon became involved in disputes with the Arian Acacius, bishop of CsBsarea, who com- menced a persecution against him, which terminated in his deposition by a council in 857. He was restored to his see, but was deposed a second time by the Arian Council of Constantinople in 860. On the accession of Julian, Cyril returned to his bishopric, but was ex- pelled a third time (A.D. 867). Fmally, under Theo- doeius, he was restored by the Council of Constantino- ple in 881, and died, cleared of all charges against his orthodoxy. May, 886. ** An incident noticed by all the biographers of St. Cyril is the celebrated attempt and failure of the emperor Julian to rebuild the tem- ple of the Jews at Jerusalem, ostensibly for the pur- pose of promoting Aeir reli^n, but really with the sinister view of falsifying the prophecies respecting its irreparable destruction" (see Gregory Naxian. OraL 4 advers. Julian; Theodoret, Socrates, Philostorgius, So- somen, and bishop Warburton's Dissertation on the subject, p. 88).
**The extant writings of St Cyrfl are in the Greek language, and consist of eighteen books of Catecheses, or sermons, delivered during Lent to the catechumens (called before baptism lOuminati); five similar dis-
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eooraes deliTered doiiDg Easter Week to the neophytes after baptism, called Mytagogic^ being explanatory of the mysteries of the Christian sacraments ; a treatise on words, and the letter to Constantios, besides which several homilies and epistles are sometimes improper- ly included. Rivetos Q\h, iii, c. 8, 9, 10, De CyrilH Catechetibui) considers the five Mjrstagogics and the letter to Constantius as supposititious ; but by Yossius, Cave, MiU, Whittaker, and bishop Bull, they are re- ceived as genuine. The books of Catecheses are crowded with quotations from Scripture, and the style is dull and tiresomely prolix ; but the fiicts they con- tain relating to the doctrines and discipline of the Eastern Church in the 4th century are extremely in- teresting to the student of Christian antiquities. In the first Catechesis are described the eflfects of bap- tism. The fourth gives an exposition ofall the Chris- tian doctrines, and treats of numerous questions con- cerning the body, soul, virginity, marriage, etc The subsequent discourses exhibit and enjoin a belief in the miraculous virtues of the relics of saints, which are represented as worthy of all veneration ; in the ef- ficacy of prayers and sacrifices for the dead ; in the powers of exorcism, consecrated unction, oU, and wa^ ter. Christians are exhorted to cross themselves on every occasion and action throughout the day. The enthusiastic adoration of the cross displayed by St. Cyril was probably owing to his officiating in the church of tiie Holy Cross in Jerusalem, where, after the * Invention of the Cross,' it was deposited in a sil- ver case, and shown by the archbishop to thousands of pilgrims, who each took a little chip of it without occasioning any diminution of its bulk! A descrip- tion of this (TOSS is given by Toutt^ at the end of his edition of Cyril's works. His chief theological work is the above-named Karrixfimis ^utTiZofiiv<aVf Cate- cheses, delivered in preparing a class of catechumens for baptism, and it is the first example we have of a popular oompend of Christian doctrine. The per- petual virginity of Mary is taught by C3nil. The state of virginity in general is extolled as equal to that of angels, with an assurance that, in the day of judgment, the noblest crowns will be carried off by the virgins. The resurrection is proved and illustra- ted by the story of the Phoenix" (English Cgdopadia), The best editions of his works are, Mille, Opera OmmOf GrsBce et Latine (fol., 1703, with notes, indices, and various readings) ; Toutt^e (Benedictine, Gr. et Lat., Paris, fol., 1720) ; also in Migne, Patrohgim Cur$. Grmc, vol. xxxlii. The Catecheses are given in English in the Library of the Fathers (vol ii), Oxford, 1889, 8vo.— See Clarke, Succession Sac. Liter, i, 279; Lardner, Works^ iv; Neander, C*i«rcA History, ii, 98; Cave, Hisi. lAt. i, 211 ; Taylor, Andeni ChrisHcmiiy ; Schaff, BisL of the Christian Church, § 168.
Cjrrilf St., the apostie of the Slavi, was bom in Thessalonica about 820. His original name was Con- Btantine. He was educated at Constantinople, where he became acquainted with Photins, and gave for some time lectures on philosophy. He therefore re- ceived and always retained the name "The Philos- opher." After some time he took orders, became a monk, and soon, with his brother Methodius, with- drew into solitude. He now fell out with Photius, defended the veneration of images, and wrote against the Mohammedans. About 860 he was sent by the emperor Michael III as a missionary to a Tartar tribe, the Chazari, which at that time inhabited the northern shores of the Black Sea as fkr as the Low- er Volga. Jews and Mohammedans vied with Chris- tian missionaries to gain an influence upon this tribe, and the selection of Constantino by the emperor for this difficult mission indicates the high reputation which he enjoyed. He first went to Kherson, acquired a knowledge of the language, and put himself in pos- session of some relics of Clemens Romanus, which he seems to have always carried with him from this time.