Why Cyril of Jerusalem Was Deposed

Besides the bishops already named, Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, was deposed. The reasons were that he had received Eustathius and Elpidius into communion after they had opposed the decrees passed by those who met at Melitene, among whom was Cyril himself; and that he had also received Basil, and George, bishop of Laodicea, into communion after they had been deposed in Palestine. When Cyril was first installed as bishop of Jerusalem, he had a dispute with Acacius, bishop of Caesarea, about his rights as a metropolitan, which he claimed on the ground that his bishopric was an apostolic see. This dispute bred hostility between the two bishops, and each accused the other of unsound teaching about the Godhead. In fact both had been under suspicion before: Acacius of favoring the heresy of Arius, and Cyril of siding with those who hold that the Son is like the Father in substance. Acacius, being hostile to Cyril and finding himself backed by the bishops of the province, who shared his views, managed to depose Cyril on the following pretext. At one time Jerusalem and the surrounding country were struck by famine, and the poor came to Cyril in great crowds, as their bishop, for the food they needed. Since he had no money to buy the necessary provisions, he sold the veil and the sacred ornaments of the church for this purpose. It is said that a man recognized an offering he had given at the altar as part of an actress’s costume, and made it his business to find out where it had come from. He learned that a merchant had sold it to the actress, and that the bishop had sold it to the merchant. It was on this pretext that Acacius deposed Cyril. [a]

On inquiry I find these to be the facts. It is said that Acacius’s party then drove out of Constantinople all the deposed bishops named above. Ten bishops of their own party who had refused to sign these decrees of deposition were set apart from the others and forbidden to perform the functions of their ministry or to govern their churches until they agreed to sign. It was decreed that unless they complied within six months and assented to all the decrees of the council, they would be deposed, and the bishops of each province would be called together to elect other bishops in their place. After these decisions and actions, letters were sent to all the bishops and clergy, telling them to observe and carry out the council’s decrees. [c] As a result, not long afterward, members of Eudoxius’s party were put in here and there. Eudoxius himself took over the bishopric of Macedonius; Athanasius was placed over Basil’s church; Eunomius, who later became the leader of a heresy named after him, took the see of Eleusius; and Meletius was appointed to the church of Sebaste in place of Eustathius. [d]