THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Moses, the esteemed prophet and holy teacher, instructs us in Deuteronomy: ‘Take heed to not offer your burnt offerings at every location you see; rather, present them only at the site that the Lord will select..., specifically in one of your tribes, and carry out all I command you... But whenever your heart desires, you may sacrifice and eat the meat the Lord your God has provided you in all your dwellings; both the clean and unclean may partake of it like the gazelle or the deer; however, you must not consume the blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water’ (Deuteronomy 12:13-16). Thus, the sin and judgment upon a wicked soul arises from the audacity to offer sacrifices in any place other than in the house of God, where the sacred sacrament of Christ is observed. Palladius.
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That is well said; however, please clarify this: the law rightly prohibits the consumption of blood, but what is the deeper significance of this command? Cyril. If you wish, let us also consider what is stated in Leviticus regarding this issue; for it contains the following: ‘If any individual from Israel or any foreigner residing among you consumes blood, I will set my face against the soul that consumes blood and will cut it off from its people; for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, No soul among you shall consume blood, nor shall any foreigner residing among you consume blood. Whenever any of the children of Israel or any foreigner residing among you catches a wild animal or a bird for food, he must let the blood run out and cover it with earth; for the life of every creature is its blood; that is its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, You shall not consume the blood of any creature; for the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who consumes it shall be cut off’ (Lev. 17:10-14). Observe how clearly blood is associated with the image of the soul. Palladius. I comprehend this. Cyril. Hence, the law distinguishes and separates blood from the bodies of those who are nourished, illustrating the true doctrine we embrace in faith and honor within our congregations: that the rational soul of humanity is to be regarded and understood as immortal. It does not perish alongside the mortal body at death; instead, it is liberated and set free from suffering by the Creator, participating in life everlasting: ‘for in the beginning man was created ‘to be a living soul,’ since God breathed into him ‘the breath of life,’ as it is written (Gen. 2:7). To claim that what animates all life is powerless would be to suggest that what it has brought to existence ceases with temporal bodies. On the other hand, we honor ourselves with a crown of wisdom by affirming the immortality of the soul, in alignment with the will of the Creator of all, by whom ‘we ... live and move and exist’ (Acts 17:28). This, I believe, encapsulates the essence of the law’s command regarding blood.