On Cyril of Alexandria’s reading of the ‘Harrowing of Hades’ and his eschatological views

 

On Cyril of Alexandria’s reading of the ‘Harrowing of Hades’ and his eschatological views

According to what is found in the blog Fr. Kimel, the Eastern Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev wrote the following about the views of Cyril of Alexandria - a Church Father venerated as saint in Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and Oriental Orthodoxy – about the Harrowing of Hell (or, rather, Hades/Sheol):

“The doctrine of the descent of Christ into Hades occupies an essential place in the works of Cyril of Alexandria. In his ‘Paschal Homilies’, he repeatedly mentions that as a consequence of the descent of Christ into Hades, the devil was left all alone, while hell was devastated: ‘For having destroyed hell and opened the impassable gates for the departed spirits, He left the devil there abandoned and lonely'[19].

In his ‘Festive Letters’, Cyril of Alexandria elaborates on the theme of the preaching of Christ in Hades, popular in the Alexandrian tradition since Clement. He views the preaching of Christ in hell as the accomplishment of the ‘history of salvation’, which began with the Incarnation:

He showed the way to salvation not only to us, but also to the spirits in hell; having descended, He preached to those once disobedient, as Peter says[20]. For it did not befit for love of man to be partial, but the manifestation of [this] gift should have been extended to all nature… Having preached to the spirits in hell and having said ‘go forth’ to the prisoners, and ‘show yourselves'[21] to those in prison on the third day, He resurrected His temple and again opens up to our nature the ascent to heaven, bringing Himself to the Father as the beginning of humanity, pledging to those on earth the grace of communion of the Spirit[22].

As we can see, Cyril emphasises the universality of the salvation given by Christ to humanity, perceiving the descent of Christ into Hades as salvific for the entire human race. He is not inclined to limit salvation to a particular part of humanity, such as the Old Testament righteous. Salvation is likened to rain sent by God on both the just and the unjust[23]. Putting emphasis on the universality of the saving feat of Christ, Cyril follows in the steps of other Alexandrian theologians, beginning with Clement, Origen, and Athanasius the Great[24]. The descent of Christ into Hades, according to Cyril’s teaching, signified victory over that which previously appeared unconquerable and ensured the salvation of all humanity:

Death unwilling to be defeated is defeated; corruption is transformed; unconquerable passion is destroyed. While hell, diseased with excessive insatiability and never satisfied with the dead, is taught, even if against its will, that which it could not learn previously. For it not only ceases to claim those who are still to fall [in the future], but also lets free those already captured, being subjected to splendid devastation by the power of our Saviour… Having preached to the spirits in hell, once disobedient, He came out as conqueror by resurrecting His temple like a beginning of our hope and by showing to [our] nature the manner of the raising from the dead, and giving us along with it other blessings as well[25].

Clearly, Cyril perceived the victory of Christ over hell and death as complete and definitive. According to Cyril, hell loses authority both over those who were in its power and those who are to become its prey in the future. Thus, the descent into Hades, a single and unique action, is perceived as a timeless event. The raised body of Christ becomes the guarantee of universal salvation, the beginning of way leading human nature to ultimate deification.

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[19] 7th Paschal Homily 2 (PG 77, 552 A).

[20] Cf. 1 Pet. 3:19-20.

[21] Is. 49:9.

[22] 2nd Festive Letter 8, 52-89 (SC 372, 228-232)

[23] Cf. Mt. 5:45. See the same comparison in ‘Spiritual Homilies’ by Macarius of Egypt.

[24] See above quotations from these authors

[25] 5th Festive Letter 1, 29-40 (SC 732, 284).” (source: https://afkimel.wordpress.com/2020/04/18/christ-the-conqueror-of-hell-the-descent-of-christ-into-hades-in-eastern-and-western-theological-traditions/ )

However, despite the seemingly inevitable conclusion that the ‘emptying’ of Hades will imply universal salvation, compare what is written above with the report about Cyril writes elsewhere found in Bart Ehrman’s book ‘Journeys to Heaven and Hell’:

“So too Cyril of Alexandria, who describes the descent as having a universal effect: Christ descended “and preached to the spirits in Hades; he appeared to those confined in the house of prison, and he freed everyone from their bonds and pain” (καὶ πάντας ἀνῆκεν δεσμῶν καὶ ἀνάγκης; Commentary on Luke 4.18, PG 72.537). But the fact that he does not mean “everyone” becomes clear elsewhere, most notably in his Commentary on John 3.36 (PG 73.286–88), where he affirms that everyone will be raised from the dead, but not necessarily to “see life.” Those who do not believe will never see life; after their resurrection they will experience punishments far harsher than death itself (PG 73.286–88).” (Journeys to Heaven and Hell, p. 216)

“So too in his commentary on 1 Cor 15:51, Cyril explicitly states that unlike the saved, at the resurrection “the wicked” will not receive a bodily transformation but “will remain in their dishonorable form” (ἀπομένουσιν ἐν τῷ τῆς ἀτιμίας σχήματι) so that they can undergo physical punishment (PG 74.912–14). Elsewhere Cyril indicates that Christ went to Hades and “stripped/despoiled” it (τοῦτον σκυλεύσας; Epistulae festalis XXI, 3, PG 77.856 A [G]) and he explicitly claims that when Christ rose from the dead, he “emptied out” (κενώσας) Hades (Homily 28.4). But then he explains that not everyone taken out of Hades received salvation. On the contrary: “He will come at the proper time to render to each person according to their deeds” (ἀποδώσων ἑκάστῳ κατὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ; PG 77.956 B). That is, Hades is a temporary holding pen before the final judgment.” (ibid, p. 281-2)

Conversely, Mark Chenoweth argues that Cyril was indeed an universalist, again quoting other passages of his works:

“Cyril of Alexandria also follows Gregory of Nyssa’s interpretation:

Since the human being, having sinned, ended up with being submitted to corruption, and, because of the devil and the demons, detached itself from God … then the Only-Begotten became a human being for our sake, and has annihilated the power of death and also eliminated the root of death, which is sin; he threw out the ruler of this world. After doing all this and bringing the whole salvific economy to completion, he will hand to the Father the Kingdom that once upon a time had been stolen from him and had passed under the power of others, so to exert his power over all beings on earth, after restoring them [apokatastēsas], having them return to himself, once he has annihilated death and Satan, who had tyrannized them, the Son will have again, and for the world to come, the excellence of the power over all [pantōn].[17]

Although the parallels are not as clear as in Nazianzen, humanity is first said to be submitted to sin and the devil, which clearly contrasts with the final submission to Christ. Christ is also only said to have “power over all beings on earth” after “restoring them,” and here, Cyril specifically uses a variant of the Greek word apokatastasis to describe the restoration. This restoration and “return to himself” is more than just a mere physical resurrection, especially when it is contrasted with the annihilation of the devil and Satan. No part of humanity is said to be cast out with them, but rather, the Son has “power over all.” As with the other fathers, Cyril’s universalist interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15 doesn’t come out of nowhere. Cyril was a follower of the Cappadocians, was taught by an Origenian, and also knew Origen’s works themselves, as Ramelli shows.[18] His interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15 as a reference to a universal spiritual restoration as well as to a universal resurrection is made fairly evident from his other references to a holistic sense of resurrection in a fragment from book 6 of his commentary on 1 Corinthians and a couple places in his Commentary on John.[19]

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[17] Ed. P.E. Pusey, S.patris nostril Cyrilli in D.Joannis evangelium, III (Oxford, 1872, reprint 1965), 305–306. Citation from Ramelli, Apokatastasis, 599-600.

[18] Ramelli, Apokatastasis, 598.

[19] Ed. M. Richard, “Le florilège du Cod. Vatopédi 236 sur le corruptible et l’incorruptible,”in Opera minora 1 (Turnhout, 1976), nº 4, 262, used in Ramelli, Apokatastasis. Comm in Io. 2.481–482, 1,693–694. Again, these references are taken from Ramelli.” (source: https://afkimel.wordpress.com/2021/02/02/the-deep-patristic-roots-of-harts-universalism-a-response-to-fr-lawrence-farley/ )

I’ll leave the reader the decision on how to interpret Cyril’s views.