Commemoration of St. Apollonia, Virgin and Martyr – III Class
In today’s reflection, guided by the luminous doctrine of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Confessor and Doctor of the Church, we contemplate two scriptural passages set before us: 2 Timothy 4:1–8 and Matthew 5:13–19. As the Church commemorates St. Apollonia, a virgin who bore witness to Christ with her own body and blood, we are called anew to consider the demands of faithfulness in teaching, living, and suffering for the truth.
“Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season” (2 Tim 4:2)
St. Paul’s final exhortation to St. Timothy is a kind of last will and testament: charged coram Deo — before God and Christ Jesus, Who shall judge the living and the dead — Timothy is urged to proclaim the truth with perseverance. He is to reprove, entreat, rebuke, and do all with patience and doctrine.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, in his commentaries on the Pastoral Epistles and his Christological treatises, emphasizes this constancy in right teaching. Against the backdrop of heresies that plagued his time — particularly Nestorianism — he stood firm in defense of the hypostatic union of Christ. He writes:
“It is the duty of the teacher of the Church not to yield to winds of human opinion, but to anchor himself in the teachings handed down by the holy Apostles. For the deposit of faith is not his to alter, but to guard.”
(In Epistolam ad Theodosium Imperatorem)
Like St. Cyril, we must guard the faith not as innovators but as custodes traditionis, defenders of what has been entrusted.
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine…” (2 Tim 4:3)
This prophetic word rings with painful clarity in our own day. The Apostle warns that a time will come when men will prefer novelties and flatterers over truth. St. Cyril, a tireless combatant for orthodoxy, foresaw this danger as well. Speaking against the distortion of Christ’s identity, he warns:
“If Christ is divided, then is our salvation a house built on sand. But if He is truly one, God and man, then we must not suffer doctrine to be corrupted by clever words or deceiving philosophies.”
(Scholia de Incarnatione)
Sound doctrine is not only about abstract truths but about the foundation of salvation itself. Hence the urgency in Paul’s command to Timothy — and to every bishop and believer after him.
“I have fought a good fight… I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:7)
This is the crown to which St. Paul looked — not for fame or honor, but for fidelity. He did not innovate, he persevered. He did not run after the applause of the world, but ran the race of sanctity. His crown, the corona justitiæ, awaits not only him but all who love His appearing — a phrase laden with Eucharistic and eschatological longing.
St. Cyril saw this “fight” as not merely personal but ecclesial — a war for the very identity of Christ and His Church. And we must ask: are we prepared to enter into this same fight, not by our own strength, but by grace?
“You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.” (Matt 5:13-14)
These verses from the Sermon on the Mount speak of Christian identity as both preservative (salt) and illuminative (light). The Fathers frequently interpreted salt as the doctrine of truth, which prevents the corruption of souls, and light as the holiness of life which shines forth to the world.
St. John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage, says:
“Salt is the teacher’s word; light is the teacher’s life. Let him have both, and he shall preserve many.”
(Hom. in Matth. XV, 6)
But salt, if it lose its savor, is good for nothing. It is a sobering image: doctrine emptied of power through cowardice or compromise is cast out and trodden under foot. Similarly, light that is hidden — out of fear or false humility — denies Christ before men.
St. Cyril, reflecting on this, notes:
“The light which Christ kindles in the soul is meant not only to illumine the mind, but to enkindle the will unto holiness. It is a flame drawn from the divine fire, not to be extinguished by the cold winds of the world.”
(Glaphyra in Pentateuchum)
“Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass…” (Matt 5:18)
Our Lord here confirms the immutability of divine law. The Law is fulfilled in Him, not abolished. In a world where even moral norms are questioned or discarded, these words ring with eternal finality. No commandment is trivial; no teaching of Christ or His Apostles is optional.
St. Cyril stood precisely in this fidelity, and in doing so bore the hatred of men and endured great opposition. St. Apollonia, whose commemoration we keep today, bore witness with her very body — her teeth shattered and her life surrendered — rather than betray her faith.
Conclusion: Salt, Light, and the Crown of Justice
The spirit of these readings and of St. Cyril‘s teaching converge in a call to faithful witness. Whether as preachers of the Word, as teachers of the young, or as silent confessors in the workplace and home, we must strive to be salt that preserves, light that shines, and servants who finish the race without compromise.
May we, with St. Apollonia, resist the temptation to dull our salt or hide our light, and with St. Cyril, proclaim the true doctrine of Christ, unshaken by the world’s reproach. And in the end, may we, too, receive the corona justitiæ — the crown of justice prepared for those who endure in the truth.
Collect (adapted from the Common of Doctors):
O God, who didst make blessed Cyril, Thy Confessor and Bishop, a faithful defender of the divine maternity of the most holy Virgin Mary: grant, we beseech Thee, that we who believe her to be truly the Mother of God may, by his intercession, be saved by the Incarnate Christ whom she bore. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sancte Cyrille Alexandrine, ora pro nobis.
Sancta Apollonia, virgo et martyr, ora pro nobis.