On Adoration and Worship in Spirit and Truth

What does it mean to worship God in spirit and truth? How do the commandments, sacrifices and sacred seasons of the Old Testament lead towards the life of the Church? In this substantial dialogue with Palladius, St Cyril of Alexandria explores these questions through a searching reading of the law of Moses.

For Cyril, the tabernacle, priesthood, offerings and holy feasts reveal more than the outward observances of ancient Israel. Read in the light of Christ, they disclose the mystery of salvation and the shape of a life offered to God. His interpretation moves between the great themes of Christian faith and the daily demands of repentance, purity, mercy and love of neighbour.

Across seventeen books, Cyril connects the knowledge of God with the practice of virtue. Worship reaches beyond sacred places and appointed times into the ordering of desire, the care of others and the renewal of the whole person. The result is a rich encounter with the biblical imagination of one of the most influential teachers of the early Church.

This complete, single-volume edition presents a fresh English translation from the Greek, supported by biblical references and explanatory footnotes. It offers clergy, students and thoughtful readers direct access to Cyril’s spiritual interpretation of Scripture, and an invitation to consider how every part of life may become an offering to God.

St Cyril of Alexandria was an early fifth-century bishop and theologian. Generative artificial intelligence assisted the preparation of this accessible English edition from the Greek. It does not replace primary texts, printed editions or surviving manuscripts. Scholars should verify quotations, textual readings and academic conclusions against those sources.