Cyril of Jerusalem, Motivation

Cyril of Jerusalem

Motivation

The successors of the early Church commonly claim that they have no Catechism.  A few failed attempts have been made to fill that vacuum.  So, when we stumbled upon St. Cyril, mostly by accident we were eager to learn what he had to say.  The serendipity of our discovery brought us to an unexpected depth of personal soul-searching; as well as to unbounded heights of fresh joy.  It is an understatement to claim that St. Cyril proved to be a breath of fresh air.  Nevertheless, the claim of no Catechism has proved to be seriously defective; the attempts to fill this void were found to be lame in contrast with St. Cyril.  We have found deep roots for biblical Christian Catechesis in St. Cyril, as well as others.

The successors of the early Church often make claims that the Scripture is perfectly interpreted by the tradition of the Church; some of these claims are so strongly stated as to make their advocates seem to say that Scripture is unnecessary for finding truth.  So, we were also yearning to evaluate from St. Cyril, if such was the case.  What we discovered was that St. Cyril supports no such conclusions: he refutes them roundly.  So, if St. Cyril should prove to be typical of other Church Fathers, we would be forced to conclude that most modern successors of the early Church do not understand their own tradition at all: for the sources of tradition seem to be the Bible, Communion, Ecumenical Councils, Patristics, and little else.

Of course, our motivation to discover what Church tradition teaches us about Catechesis and Scripture cannot be limited to St. Cyril; so, we are anxious to press on with St. John, and St. Augustine: which, because of the limits of human strength and time, is where we must stop in this 2018 Lenten and Paschal season.  So far, we have found no support in the Fathers for many of the things modern folks believe.

We urge you, if you are a faithful and established Christian, to read these papers for yourself; form your own opinions: more importantly, be blessed as you allow St. Cyril and other ancient Fathers to probe memories of your own Baptism… to search your hearts and souls, as we must during Lent… to be renewed with joy as you are reminded of the greatness of the works of Christ and the Spirit in the heart, which are gifts of love from your Father and mine to the Whole Christian Church in heaven and on earth.

https://www.swrktec.org/catechism