A dive into Cyril of Jerusalem's christology

We have already touched on some aspects of Christology in discussing Cyril's doctrine of God: that Christ is the Creator of all, uncreated, and partaking of the nature and essence of the Father. We ought to explore this more: 

“Believe also in the Son of God, One and Only, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was begotten God of God, begotten Life of Life, begotten Light of Light, Who is in all things like to Him that begot, Who received not His being in time, but was before all ages eternally and incomprehensibly begotten of the Father: The Wisdom and the Power of God, and His Righteousness personally subsisting: Who sits on the right hand of the Father before all ages. For the throne at God's right hand He received not, as some have thought, because of His patient endurance, being crowned as it were by God after His Passion; but throughout His being — a being by eternal generation — He holds His royal dignity, and shares the Father's seat, being God and Wisdom and Power, as has been said; reigning together with the Father, and creating all things for the Father, yet lacking nothing in the dignity of Godhead, and knowing Him that has begotten Him, even as He is known of Him that has begotten; and to speak briefly, remember thou what is written in the Gospels, that none knows the Son but the Father, neither knows any the Father save the Son.”- Lecture 4:7

He articulates the equality of nature with the Father that makes Christ fully divine in the statement in all things like Him that begot, as Christ being the icon or image of the Father who begot Him. His generation from the Father is not in time, but before all ages, eternally (again in line with orthodoxy and contra arianism). Therefore, Christ had no begining in time, nor is He subordinate to the Father by nature since He holds the Father's dignity, His seat, being God by nature. It is safe to conclude that His christology is entirely Orthodox here. 

“And again on hearing of a Son, think not of an adopted son but a Son by nature , an Only-begotten Son, having no brother. For this is the reason why He is called Only-begotten, because in the dignity of the Godhead, and His generation from the Father, He has no brother. But we call Him the Son of God, not of ourselves, but because the Father Himself named Christ His Son : and a true name is that which is set by fathers upon their children. Again, I say, on hearing of a Son, understand it not merely in an improper sense, but as a Son in truth, a Son by nature, without beginning ; not as having come out of bondage into a higher state of adoption , but a Son eternally begotten by an inscrutable and incomprehensible generation.”- Lecture 11:1,4

“To others also the Scripture says, You are the sons of the Lord your God and in another place, I have said, You are gods, and you are all sons of the Most High. I have said, not, I have begotten. They, when God so said, received the sonship, which before they had not: but He was not begotten to be other than He was before; but was begotten from the beginning Son of the Father, being above all beginning and all ages, Son of the Father, in all things like to Him who begot Him, eternal of a Father eternal, Life of Life begotten, and Light of Light, and Truth of Truth, and Wisdom of the Wise, and King of King, and God of God, and Power of Power.”- ibid. verse 4

Lecture 11 is a brilliant explanation of the doctrine of eternal generation for everyone who wants to properly understand what it means and give a proper representation of it. Therefore concerning the divine nature of Christ, Cyril affirms that Christ is very God of very God, Light of Light, Eternal as much as the Father is eternal, a Son by nature, in no way less than the Father. 

In our next post, we shall examine his teaching on the Holy Spirit.

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