The Divine Lamp

Section four of St Cyril’s Protocatechesis builds upon the themes introduced in section three; therefore I will be giving few if any notes.

For we, the ministers of Christ, (the bridegroom of section 3) have admitted everyone, and occupying, as it were, the place of door-keepers we left the door open: and possibly you did enter with your soul stained by sin, and with your will defiled. You entered, and were allowed to do so, and your name was inscribed (like a guest’s name in a wedding book). Answer me this, do you not see the venerable constitution of the Church? Do you not view her order and discipline, the reading of the Scriptures, the presence of the ordained, the course of instruction? Be ashamed at the place, andbe taught by what you see. It is appropriate that you go out now, and even more appropriately return tomorrow.

If your soul is dressed in avarice, put on a different garment and come in. Put off your former garment. Continue not to cloak yourself in it. I beg of you, strip off your garments of fornication and uncleanness, and don the glorious robe of chastity. This charge I give you, before Jesus the Bridegroom of souls come in and see what fashion they (those espoused to Christ) wear. A long period of preparation has been given to you; you have forty days of repentance; you have full time then to put off (their old garments) and wash up, and then put on (their new garments of repentance) so as to enter in (i.e. to the wedding feast, their union with Christ in baptism). But if you persist in your evil intentions (a hypocritical conversion lacking repentance) the speaker (St. Cyril) is blameless, but you must not look for the grace; for though the water will receive you, the holy spirit will not accept you. If anyone of you is conscious of a wound, then take the salve; if any of you have fallen, then rise up. Let there be no Simon among you, no hypocrisy, no idle curiosity concerning this matter.

NOTES

Concerning the garment imagery see (or recall) the parable St. Cyril gave in section 3. As we saw in our notes on that section, St. Cyril’s image was heavily dependent on the parable of the wedding feast Jesus spoke in Matt 22:1-14. In the present section, the garment imagery from section 3 is combined with allusions to Col 3:8-10 (see the text and corresponding footnote. See also Eph 4:22-24)