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Popular Patristics Series #57

The Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem

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The famous Catechetical Lectures of Cyril, archbishop of Jerusalem, are a series of 23 addresses St. Cyril gave in the fourth century to new believers preparing for baptism. The last five lectures, concerning the "mysteries," are addressed to the newly baptized Christians in preparation for their first Holy Communion. The Catechetical Lectures are an invaluable resource for the teachings of the early church, when teaching the doctrines of Christianity to outsiders was forbidden.

The contents are as follows:

Procatechesis, or prologue
I.
Introductory
II.
On sin and repentance
III.
On Baptism
IV.
On the ten points of doctrine, a short account of the faith
V.
On Faith
VI.
The Creed: I Believe in One God
VII.
The Father
VIII.
Almighty
IX.
Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of All Things Visible and Invisible
X.
And in One Lord Jesus Christ
XI.
The Only-Begotten Son of God, Begotten of the Father Very God Before All Ages, by Whom All Things Were Made
XII.
Incarnate, and Made Man
XIII.
Crucified and Buried
XIV.
And Rose Again from the Dead on the Third Day, and Ascended into the Heavens, and Sat on the Right Hand of the Father
XV.
And Shall Come in Glory to Judge the Quick and the Dead; Of Whose Kingdom There Shall Be No End
XVI.
And in One Holy Ghost, the Comforter, Which Spake in the Prophets
XVII.
On the Holy Ghost.
XVIII.
And in One Holy Catholic Church, and in the Resurrection of the Flesh, and the Life Everlasting.
XIX. (On the Mysteries I.)
Renunciation of Satan
XX. (On the Mysteries II.)
On Baptism
XXI. (On the Mysteries III.)
On Chrism
XXII. (On the Mysteries IV.)
On the Body and Blood of Christ
XXIII. (On the Mysteries V.)
On the Sacred Liturgy and Communion

This book was formatted for Kindle based on a public domain text which is freely available online.

Hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes are included.

696 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 348

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Cyril of Jerusalem

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5 stars
76 (55%)
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44 (32%)
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Matt Koser.
79 reviews10 followers
August 20, 2023
It cracks me up how often Cyril mentions the tiredness or weariness of his listeners. Multiple times he says something like, “I would go into further detail explaining this, but I can tell you’re already tired.” I guess nothing has changed in 1600 years!

This was my first taste of catechetical lectures. And I loved it! It’s pretty much a basic systematic theology. The first half was 5 stars, but I brought it down to 4 overall because he waxes eloquent in the second half. Other cat. lectures that I’m planning on reading: Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa.

___

My ⭐️ rating criteria
- ⭐️: I absolutely did not like or totally disagreed with the book and would recommend that no one else read it
- ⭐️⭐️: the book was below average style or content, wouldn’t read it again, but wouldn’t beg people not to read it necessarily
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️: a fine book, some helpful information (or a decent story, for the handful of novels I read), didn’t disagree with too much, enjoyed it decently well
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: a very good book, information was very helpful, mostly agreed with everything or it was a strong argument even if I disagree, was above-average enjoyable to read
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: life-changing book, I enjoyed it more than most other books, I want to read it again in the future, I will be telling everyone to read it for the next few weeks
Profile Image for Monique Mathiesen.
175 reviews18 followers
March 8, 2024
Absolutely fantastic. St Cyril goes through each phrase of the Nicene Creed, explaining throughly the faith handed down from the apostles. I have seen several Protestants try to claim Cyril as one of them, but the last several chapters on the sacraments and Chrism just make those claims absolutely laughable. What Cyril espouses in his lectures is straight Eastern Orthodoxy in all its glory.
Profile Image for Scipio Africanus.
252 reviews29 followers
February 5, 2021
Undeniable testament to the Truth of Eastern Orthodoxy and the falsity of protestantism.

"Even of itself the teaching of the Blessed Paul is sufficient to give you a full assurance concerning those Divine Mysteries, of which having been deemed worthy, ye are become of the same body and blood with Christ. For you have just heard him say distinctly, That our Lord Jesus Christ in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks He brake it, and gave to His disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is My Body: and having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, Take, drink, this is My Blood.1 Since then He Himself declared and said of the Bread, This is My Body, who shall dare to doubt any longer? And since He has Himself affirmed and said, This is My Blood, who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood?"

"Wherefore with full assurance let us partake as of the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure of Bread is given to thee His Body, and in the figure of Wine His Blood; that thou by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, mayest be made of the same body and the same blood with Him. For thus we come to bear Christ4 in us, because His Body and Blood are distributed5 through our members; thus it is that, according to the blessed Peter, we become partakers of the divine nature.6 4. Christ on a certain occasion discoursing with the Jews said, Except ye eat My flesh and drink My blood, ye have no life in you.7 They not having heard His saying in a spiritual sense were offended, and went back, supposing that He was inviting them to eat flesh."

Just some quotes amongst many many passages testifying to ecclesiology, sacraments, and the divine liturgy (which has its own entire lecture).

Highly recommend for those curious about the truth of Orthodoxy and the True Church from ages of ages.

I made all my kindle highlights public for those who wish to see many more quotes.
Profile Image for Nicholas.
8 reviews1 follower
February 21, 2025
Foundational reading for new or inquiring Orthodox Christians or converts
Profile Image for Jared Mindel.
113 reviews8 followers
November 25, 2024
I enjoyed this work significantly. I do not think Cyril is correct on everything, but he is one of my favorite fathers nonetheless.
Profile Image for Aaron Crofut.
408 reviews55 followers
January 12, 2017
An interesting read from a Doctor of the Church. As I understand it, St. Cyril delivered these homilies to catechumens awaiting baptism on Easter in the mid 4th Century from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre itself. Quite a bit of interesting history in the introduction (in the version I read, anyway) about Cyril's time as Bishop of Jerusalem, the conflict between the Catholic and Arian beliefs, Roman interference with the governance of the church, etc. As to the lectures, they are delivered in a lively manner, clearly introductory in depth (though there are a few surprises for those looking for them). Looking back over 1,600 years, one is surprised by how little things have changed in the theology, and though the liturgy is not identical there are more than enough familiar elements to know what is going on. He does stumble on the Book of Revelation (the end times will come within the era of the Roman Empire?) and believing the phoenix to be real (in fairness, he was quoting experts of his time rather than claiming it first hand), but overall worth the message of hope he offers his listeners.
Profile Image for Matthew Rogers.
91 reviews2 followers
November 17, 2021
A great series of lectures in the fourth century that teach the true faith, given to those preparing for baptism and a few lectures after baptism explaining some of the mystery.
Profile Image for Joseph.
800 reviews
June 18, 2022
Many excerpts will be familiar as the author is often quoted and pericoped. It is fulfilling, though, to tap into this source material and see the larger context and lesson planning intended.
74 reviews
August 18, 2024
Instructive. Insightful. A true masterpiece and exposition of the Christian faith. Strongly recommend for believers of all ages!
Profile Image for Victor  Rønnest.
16 reviews
March 21, 2025
great book. loved the lecture structure. St. Cyril really cooked with all the typology and references to OT. Sadly the book is filled spelling errors and printing errors (in sometimes become m).
Profile Image for Joy.
14 reviews4 followers
Read
July 29, 2014
Read at Hill Abbey Summer Hall 2014. There is nothing quite like hearing the work of one author read aloud by many voices.

Profile Image for w gall.
437 reviews8 followers
April 15, 2017
Very comprehensive; also accessible for a modern reader (for me at least). St. Cyril relies heavily on the Holy Scriptures as he elaborates on the Nicene Creed. I especially appreciated his listing of Old Testament prophesies, and his exhortation for the newly illumined to participate in Divine Liturgy with reverence. This catechism's reputation as the best patristic catechism is well earned. This is appropriate reading for both catechumens and Church members ( by way of reminder) alike.

Very comprehensive; also accessible for a modern reader (for me at least). St. Cyril relies heavily on the Holy Scriptures as he elaborates on the Nicene Creed. I especially appreciated his listing of Old Testament prophesies, and his exhortation for the newly illumined to participate in Divine Liturgy with reverence. This catechism's reputation as the best patristic catechism is well earned. This is appropriate reading for both catechumens and Church members ( by way of reminder) alike.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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