THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Cyril. The Lord instructed that the leper should be removed from the camp; however, He also mandated a thorough examination of the individual, directing that their affliction be carefully assessed. He stated: ‘And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying: When a man shall have a tumour, or a molt, or a spot, or a blotch on the skin of his body, and a plague of leprosy appears on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests; the priest shall examine the plague on the skin of his body, and if the hair of the plague be changed to white, and the plague be deepened in the skin of his body, it is a plague of leprosy; and the priest, having examined him, shall declare him unclean.
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And if there be a white spot on the skin of his body, but it be not deepened into the skin, and the hair thereof be not changed into white, then the priest shall confine him that hath the ulcer seven days; on the seventh day the priest shall examine him, and if the ulcer remains in its form, and the ulcer has not spread over the skin, the priest shall confine him for another seven days; on the seventh day again the priest shall examine him, and if the ulcer is less conspicuous, and the ulcer has not spread over the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean: it is lichen, and let him wash his garments, and he shall be clean. But if the lichen shall spread upon the skin, after he has been to the priest for cleansing, he shall come to the priest a second time; the priest, when he sees that the lichen spread upon the skin, shall declare him unclean: it is leprosy’ (Leviticus 13:1-8). A profound matter, Palladius, is contained in these words, and grasping their meaning is not straightforward; I find it essential to distill their significance into a few concise expressions to convey what the law aims to illustrate. For now, I will elucidate the specific characteristics of this ailment. Leprosy is the most severe affliction that can affect the human body, rarely curable, and is all-consuming. It is associated with the decay of the flesh, as a deep ulcer emerges, leading to the degradation of the skin, which incessantly sinks deeper, for the corruption penetrates further. Consequently, the hair growing in the affected areas, deprived of nourishment, turns white, much like vegetation that withers due to dying roots beneath the surface. Such is the nature of leprosy. The white rash is a physical condition that closely resembles leprosy, yet it does not affect the body as profoundly nor does it evoke the same internal sense of illness; it remains superficial, barely manifesting on the skin, and the hair in those areas stays unaltered, not spreading uncontrollably. With minor medical attention, the skin can regain a healthy state. In contrast, leprosy signifies undeniable death, whereas the white rash, although it may resemble leprosy, fundamentally differs from it—it is neither leprosy nor death.