Saint Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor

Cyril of Jerusalem (Greek: Κύριλλος Α΄ Ἱεροσολύμων, Kýrillos A΄ Hierosolýmōn; Latin: Cyrillus Hierosolymitanus; c. 313 – 386) was a theologian of the Early Church. About the end of AD 350, he succeeded Maximus as Bishop of Jerusalem, but was exiled on more than one occasion due to the enmity of Acacius of Caesarea, and the policies of various emperors. Cyril left important writings documenting the instruction of catechumens and the order of the Liturgy in his day and his old age Cyril is venerated as a saint within the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. In 1883, Cyril was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII. The Roman Catholic Church maintains an Optional Memorial for Cyril on 18 March. Cyril is remembered in the Church of England with a commemoration on 18 March. He should not be confused with Cyril of Alexandria. Little is known of his life before he became a bishop; the assignment of his birth to the year 315 rests on conjecture. According to Butler, Cyril was born at or near the city of Jerusalem and was well-read in both the writings of the early Christian theologians and the Greek philosophers. Cyril was ordained a deacon by Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem in about 335 AD and a priest some eight years later by Bishop Maximus. Around the end of 350 AD, he succeeded Maximus in the See of Jerusalem, although the evidence for this relies on the Catecheses written by Cyril where he refers to himself as "bishop". Jerome also suggests Cyril was an Arian at this stage. Cyril is described as a preacher and liturgist by the pilgrim Egeria. Relations between Metropolitan Acacius of Caesarea and Cyril became strained. Acacius is presented as a leading Arian by the orthodox historians, and his opposition to Cyril in the 350s is attributed by these writers to this.