THEOSISCyrill of Alexandria
Cyril explains that the law delineates the method of sacrifice, making it accessible to all individuals and emphasizing the importance of diligence in fulfilling essential obligations. It holds those who are neglectful accountable. He states: ‘But if he is unable to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, let him bring a tenth of an ephah of wheat flour for a sin-offering; let him not pour oil upon it, neither let him put leaven upon it, for it is a sin-offering; and he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take a full handful of it for a memorial, and burn it upon the altar a
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s a sacrifice to the Lord: And so the priest shall cleanse him from his sin, whereby he hath sinned in any of these things, and it shall be forgiven him: and the rest shall belong unto the priest as an offering of bread’ (Lev. 5:11-13). Here, what is presented moves away from an understanding related to Christ; this form of sacrifice solely reflects the life of the individual making the offering, their access to the Father through Christ, and their dedication to God. The offering of wheat flour signifies the substance from which bread is made, and bread symbolizes the essence of life. The instruction against adding oil or leaven is significant, as it underscores that this sacrifice is indeed ‘of sin’... which indicates that the associated joy, represented by oil, and the pleasant aroma, as if from Lebanon, are absent. Sin within us is genuinely sorrowful and lacks fragrance, while virtue inherently flows with joy and is filled with a pleasing aroma, cultivated through faith in God. Thus, wheat flour devoid of oil signifies a life stripped of joy and aroma; however, in Christ, this is transformed into joy and attains fragrance through faith, offered to God by Him, who purifies the unclean. The directive states, ‘let the priest take of the flour of wheat, and offer it upon the altar of burnt-offering’ to the Lord; for through Christ, we are ‘brought in,’ and through Him, we who have been made impure can approach God (Eph. 2:18), justified by faith and elevated ‘into a fragrance pleasing’ to the Father (Eph. 5:2), no longer presenting our own spiritual fragrance, but Christ dwelling within us. Palladius affirms the truth of this statement.