Christ the Alchemist

Commenting on Isaiah 60:17, Cyril of Alexandria describes the alchemical transformation that Christ brings: “all things are to be transformed to something better in order to distinguish the first [dispensation] from the second. The paideia of the law will certainly end with the paideia of Christ – that is, in the evangelical oracles -p and the difference will be as great as that between gold and bronze. For bronze has the look of gold but is not gold, and iron has the look of silver for it has a glitter, but it is not silver and is much less to be preferred. Thus some might liken the paideia of the law to brass and that of Christ to gold. And again someone might liken the power of the way of life according to sin, which only has limited radiance but the way o f life in Christ, the evangelical way, to silver, for this has the most perfect, spiritual splendor.”