On the Falling Away of the Synagogue

Name: On the Falling Away of the Synagogue
Author: Cyril of Alexandria

De synagogae defectu

Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376–444 AD) · written c. 412–444 AD · PG 77

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Contents4 passages

1On the Falling Away of the Synagogue
2Father and Son in the Letters of Abraham
3The Most High and the Holy Spirit
4The Trinity Prefigured in the Name

Author

Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376–444 AD) — Bishop of Alexandria from 412. He led the case against Nestorius at the Council of Ephesus in 431, defending the title Mother of God and the single person of Christ, and wrote long commentaries on both Testaments.

All works by Cyril of Alexandria

About this text

A short piece in which Cyril finds the Trinity hidden in God's renaming of Abram as Abraham, reading the name letter by letter.

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Translated from PG 77 (Greek)

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On the Falling Away of the Synagogue§1

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1On the falling away of the synagogue, or the renaming of Abram as Abraham.

Of Saint Cyril, from the discourse entitled Demonstration, through the divine oracles spoken from the first to the inspired patriarchs, concerning the exchange and transfer involving the Jews and the nations.

The renaming of Abraham has been found to signify the threefold count of the divine and sovereign persons: for though the inspired patriarch was called Abram, God renamed him Abraham (Genesis 17:5).

If anyone should choose to interpret the matter — taking the opening letter of the name, alpha, together with the letter joined and clinging to it, I mean beta — he will surely discover, by carrying over the alpha that stands after rho,

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Father and Son in the Letters of Abraham§2

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2alpha, a grouping that signifies Father — for ‘aba’ is surely translated father.

And if he should wish to explain separately the second letter in position — I mean beta — together with the rho joined and clinging to it, he will again discover, by likewise carrying over the same alpha, a grouping that signifies Son — for ‘bar’ is surely translated son.

But if he should wish to read in along with it, and to explain, the final letter — I mean mu — together with what is joined and clinging to it,

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The Most High and the Holy Spirit§3

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3he will again discover, in reverse order and gathering in the same rho, a grouping that signifies Most High — for ‘mar’ is plainly translated most high — a title that hints at the person of the all-holy Spirit, since the term teaches us indirectly that he is God by nature and truly exists. For the Most High is by nature nothing else but altogether God by nature.

Since this renaming, then, was given to the patriarch by God, there has been found

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The Trinity Prefigured in the Name§4

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4clearly outlined beforehand and proclaimed beforehand the most ineffable and most mystical doctrine of the holy Trinity as well. The name of Abraham plainly displaying, signifying, and initiating into the mystery the Father and the Son and the holy Spirit — in agreement with the most manifest naming and numbering and handing down of Christ our Savior in the doctrine of God (Matthew 28:19).

Greek · §4

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