THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Moses, the wise and holy lawgiver, instructs us in Deuteronomy: "Take heed not to offer your burnt offerings in every place you see, but only in the place which the Lord will choose... within one of your tribes, offer your burnt offerings and do all that I command you... However, whenever your heart desires, you may slaughter and eat, with the blessing of the Lord your God, the meat He has given you in all your dwellings; both the unclean and the clean may eat it like the gazelle and deer, but you must not consume the blood; rather, pour it out on the ground like water" (Deuteronomy 12:13-16). Thus, the guilt and condemnation of a wicked soul stem from the audacity to offer sacrifices anywhere other than in God's house, where the sacrament of Christ is administered.
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Palladius: Well articulated; yet I seek clarification: the law prohibits the consumption of blood for good reason; what does this stipulation signify?
Cyril: If you desire, let us also consider what is stated in the book of Leviticus, for it says: "If any man of the house of Israel, or any foreigner residing among you, eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut them off from their people; for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you for the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. Therefore, I said to the Israelites: 'None of you may eat blood, nor may any foreigner residing among you eat blood.' If any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among you hunt down a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten, they must drain out the blood and cover it with earth; for the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I said to the Israelites: 'You must not eat the blood of any creature because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off'" (Lev. 17:10-14). Observe how distinctly blood symbolizes the soul.
Palladius: I comprehend it now.
Cyril: Thus, the law distinguishes blood from the bodies of those who are being quenched, teaching the true doctrine embraced by our faith and honored in the Church, namely that the rational soul of humanity is to be regarded and depicted as immortal. This soul is not corrupted along with the mortal body at death; rather, it is separated and liberated, freed from suffering by the Creator, who grants it a share in everlasting life: "for in the beginning man was created ‘unto a living soul,’ since God breathed into him the ‘breath of life,’ as it is written" (Gen. 2:7). We shall find ourselves accusing the life that animates all beings of weakness if we claim that what it has brought forth for life perishes with earthly bodies. Conversely, we will adorn ourselves with a noble crown of wisdom by embracing the belief that the soul is eternal, as it is pleasing to the Creator of all, in whom "we ... live and move and exist" (Acts 17:28). This, I believe, is the essence of the law's injunction.