THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
If those who are free from wrongdoing and stand blameless in their priestly duties happen to fall ill with one of the common and incurable ailments, God commands that they must not go unpunished. He instructs, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron and his sons, that they be careful how they deal with the holy things of the children of Israel, and not dishonour My holy name in that which they dedicate unto Me. I am the Lord. Say unto them, If any of all your offspring in your generations, having uncleanness upon him, shall come upon the shrines which the children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, that soul shall be destroyed from my presence. I am the Lord....
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Whosoever of the seed of Aaron is leprous, or has an effusion, he shall not eat of the holy things until he is cleansed; And whosoever toucheth any unclean thing of the dead, or hath an effusion of seed, or toucheth any creeping thing, which shall make him unclean, or any man, which shall make him unclean by any uncleanness whatsoever, he that toucheth these things shall be unclean until evening, and shall not eat of the holy things before he washth his body with water; But when the sun is set, and he is clean, then he may eat of the holy things, for it is his food. Dead meat and beast meat he shall not eat, lest he defile himself with it. I am the Lord. Let them keep my commands, lest they bear sin and die in it when they transgress these things. I am the Lord...who sanctifies them” (Lev. 22:1-9). Those who present offerings, it is emphasized, or those things consecrated by the children of Israel as sacrifices to God, must not profane His name by presenting the unclean, while the uncleanness remains unwashed away. Otherwise, they will be aware that they are subject to grave punishment: “I am the Lord,” which means that I am not an idol, for against such, when a man sins, there is no consequence; how can we be held accountable for stone or wood? Therefore, through strong warnings, He urges us to take care and wisely outlines the various types of uncleanness that may affect us, so that the ministers can understand the path of true integrity and recognize the ways in which they can be pleasing to God, living in a manner most acceptable to the Lawgiver.