In general, it can be said that St. Athanasius the Great was an extremely attractive person, courageous and tireless, a true Christian hero. He was not understood by many contemporary Eastern theologians, who were brought up on the teachings of the Neoplatonists and Origen. Athanasius, on the other hand, completely freed himself from adherence to Neoplatonic thought, especially in his teaching on the creation of the world. In the West, his teaching was received more favorably, since Western theology had never fought against modalism and therefore did not see any danger in the term consubstantial.

However, the final victory over Arianism was won not by St. Athanasius, but by his younger contemporaries, the Cappadocian Fathers, who managed to develop the correct terminology that eliminated the contradiction between the concept of consubstantiality and the Trinitarian nature of God, and who cleared the Nicene faith of suspicions of modalism.

Chapter 10

St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Before passing on to the teaching of the Cappadocian Fathers, who finally resolved the dispute about the Holy Trinity, it is necessary to dwell on the remarkable personality of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c.315-387). His life and teaching reflected all the troubles and problems of church life in the middle of the fourth century and can give us a clear idea of the spirit of that era.

St. Cyril was ordained a presbyter in the year 349, and already in the year 350 he was elected bishop of Jerusalem. The Church was then experiencing serious difficulties caused by the Arian turmoil. Until 337, the empire was ruled by Constantine I, who at the end of his life patronized the Arians and removed most of the Orthodox bishops from their sees. In 336, Arius himself was allowed to return from exile, and he would have been received back into the fold of the Church, had it not been for his sudden death.

What place in all this belongs to Cyril of Jerusalem? - Many theologians of antiquity and subsequent times ranked him among the Arians on the grounds that he had received consecration as bishop from the Arian Acacius of Caesarea. Such an argument is not entirely justified: after all, the undoubtedly Orthodox saint, Basil the Great, was ordained in 370, when in the East the Orthodox Nicene definition of faith was still rejected by almost everyone. In the Second Ecumenical Council, Cyril of Jerusalem participated on the Orthodox side, and his way of thinking is also in full accord with the Orthodox faith. In general, in assessing the ecclesiastical situation in the fourth century, extreme judgments should be avoided. It can be shown by examples that the majority of the Eastern bishops, although they did not fully recognize the Nicene definition of the faith, at the same time did not agree with the Arian heresy. They were repelled from the Nicene Creed only by the word "consubstantial," which, according to their concepts, aroused suspicion of modalism. But no one was satisfied with the doctrine of subordination in the Holy Trinity, which directly followed from the Arian ideas. Most of the clergy vacillated somewhere between modalism and subordinationism, and in fact had an almost Orthodox way of thinking, which can be defined as "not quite Nicene Orthodoxy": they were Orthodox in thought, but not in formal confession of faith. Unfortunately, in the theology of that time there was no terminology suitable for the exact expression of the opinions held by the majority. At that time, the word "similar" or "similar" (omiousios) came into use. Following Origen, most Syrian and Palestinian theologians believed that Christ was the "likeness" of God, that their essences were "similar." The situation was very confusing, and it was up to the Cappadocian theologians, who came from among the supporters of "subservience" and understood all sides of the problem well, to unravel it.

It was at this time that Cyril became bishop of Jerusalem. His position was very difficult from the very beginning. Initiated to the rank by the convinced Arian Akakios, he at the same time supported St. Athanasius when he was hiding from persecution against the Orthodox. Cyril was three times deposed by the Arians from the episcopal cathedra and three times reinstated, but nevertheless, when in 381 the Second Ecumenical Council in Constantinople restored Orthodoxy, some doubted the Orthodoxy of his views. In 382, a council was convened, at which this issue was especially discussed. The Council sent a letter to the Pope of Rome, in which it was reported that Bishop Cyril "struggled against the Arians" and had an Orthodox way of thinking.

Of the works of St. Cyril, the collection of his sermons to the catechumens in three parts is especially known:

1. Prokatechizis - "preliminary" catechetical sermons, something like an introductory course for those preparing for baptism.