Procatechesis, or, Prologue To The Catechetical Lectures Of Our Holy Father, Cyril, Archbishop Of Jerusalem.

 1. Already there is an odour of blessedness upon you, O ye who are soon to be enlightened : already ye are gathering the spiritual  that to them that

 2. Even Simon Magus once came to the Laver : he was baptized, but was not enlightened and though he dipped his body in water, he enlightened not his

 3. A certain man in the Gospels once pried into the marriage feast , and took an unbecoming garment, and came in, sat down, and ate: for the bridegroo

 4. For we, the ministers of Christ, have admitted every one, and occupying, as it were, the place of door-keepers we left the door open: and possibly

 5. Possibly too thou art come on another pretext. It is possible that a man is wishing to pay court to a woman, and came hither on that account . The

 6. See, I pray thee, how great a dignity Jesus bestows on thee. Thou wert called a Catechumen, while the word echoed round thee from without hearing

 7. We may not receive Baptism twice or thrice else it might be said, Though I have failed once, I shall set it right a second time: whereas if thou f

 8. For God seeks nothing else from us, save a good purpose. Say not, How are my sins blotted out? I tell thee, By willing, by believing . What can be

 9. Let thy feet hasten to the catechisings receive with earnestness the exorcisms : whether thou be breathed upon or exorcised, the act is to thee sa

 10. Attend closely to the catechisings, and though we should prolong our discourse, let not thy mind be wearied out. For thou art receiving armour aga

 11. Let me give thee this charge also. Study our teachings and keep them for ever. Think not that they are the ordinary homilies for though they als

 12. When, therefore, the Lecture is delivered, if a Catechumen ask thee what the teachers have said, tell nothing to him that is without . For we deli

 13. Ye who have been enrolled are become sons and daughters of one Mother. When ye have come in before the hour of the exorcisms, let each one of you

 14. And when the Exorcism has been done, until the others who are being exorcised have come , let men be with men, and women with women. For now I nee

 15. I shall observe each man’s earnestness, each woman’s reverence. Let your mind be refined as by fire unto reverence let your soul be forged as met

 16. Great is the Baptism that lies before you : a ransom to captives a remission of offences a death of sin a new-birth of the soul a garment of l

 17. We for our part as men charge and teach you thus: but make not ye our building  hay and stubble  and chaff, lest we  suffer loss   work being burn

 (  To the Reader 

 FIRST CATECHETICAL LECTURE

 Lecture II.

 Lecture III.

 Lecture IV.

 Lecture V.

 Lecture VI.

 Lecture VII.

 Lecture VIII.

 Lecture IX.

 Lecture X.

 Lecture XI.

 Lecture XII.

 Lecture XIII.

 Lecture XIV.

 Lecture XV.

 Lecture XVI.

 Lecture XVII.

 Lecture XVIII.

 Lecture XIX.

 Lecture XX.

 Lecture XXI.

 Lecture XXII.

 Lecture XXIII.

8. For God seeks nothing else from us, save a good purpose. Say not, How are my sins blotted out? I tell thee, By willing, by believing  37  Rufinus, in the Exposition of the Creed, on the Remission of sins: “The Pagans are wont to say in derision of us, that we deceive ourselves in thinking that crimes which have been committed in deed can be washed out by words.” . What can be shorter than this? But if, while thy lips declare thee willing, thy heart be silent, He knoweth the heart, who judgeth thee. Cease from this day from every evil deed. Let not thy tongue speak unseemly words, let thine eye abstain from sin, and from roving  38  The reading in the Benedictine Edition, μηδὲ ὁ νοῦς σου ῥεμβέσθω, has little authority, and is quite unsuitable. See below, τὸ βλέμμα ῥεμβόμενον. after things unprofitable.

37 Rufinus, in the Exposition of the Creed, on the Remission of sins: “The Pagans are wont to say in derision of us, that we deceive ourselves in thinking that crimes which have been committed in deed can be washed out by words.”
38 The reading in the Benedictine Edition, μηδὲ ὁ νοῦς σου ῥεμβέσθω, has little authority, and is quite unsuitable. See below, τὸ βλέμμα ῥεμβόμενον.

Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄλλο παρ' ἡμῶν ζητεῖ ὁ Θεὸς, εἰ μὴ προαίρεσιν ἀγαθήν: μὴ λέγε: Πῶς μου ἐξαλείφονται αἱ ἁμαρτίαι; Ἐγώ σοι λέγω, τῷ θέλειν, τῷ πιστεύειν: τί τούτου συντομώτερον; Ἐὰν δὲ τὰ μὲν χείλη σου λέγῃ τὸ θέλειν, ἡ δὲ καρδία μὴ λέγῃ, καρδιογνώστης ὁ κρίνων. Ἄργησον ἀπὸ τῆς σήμερον ἀπὸ παντὸς φαύλου πράγματος: μή σου λαλησάτω ἡ γλῶσσα ἄσεμνα ῥήματα: μή σου τὸ βλέμμα ἁμαρτανέτω, μηδὲ ῥεμβέσθω τὰ μὴ χρήσιμα.