Cyril of Alexandria : He calls the holy city "the church." It is sanctified not by the prescribed cultic system, for the law never perfected anyone, but it is made in the likeness of Christ and participates in his divine nature, according to the communication of the Holy Spirit, in whom we are sealed for the day of redemption, with all vileness washed and removed.… We have been justified by faith in him, who reinforces us in all safety and shelters us in his love from every fierce attack of the devil and wild surges of enemy opposition. And so he teaches us when he says "to Zion or Jerusalem, that is, the church of the living God." — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 5:1.52:1 Jerome : (Chapter 52, Verse 1) Arise, arise, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your garments of glory, O Jerusalem, holy city; for the uncircumcised and the unclean will no longer pass through you. (Verse 1 according to the Septuagint) Rise up, rise up, O Zion; put on your strength, O Zion, and put on your glory, O Jerusalem, holy city. Never again will the uncircumcised and the unclean pass through you. Again, in this place the name Zion is added, as in the Septuagint above, and for this reason it has been slain with the spear. To whom, therefore, he had said above (Chapter 51, verse 9): Lift up, lift up, arise, O Jerusalem; now he speaks to the same: Arise, arise, put on your strength, O Zion. But the following verse shows what Zion is: Put on your garments of glory, O Jerusalem. We have said this in order to prove that Jerusalem and Zion are one city. And it is commanded to her that she shall put off her mourning garments, and put on those which she had before she drank from the hand of the Lord the cup of fury. And the city is called the sanctuary, for it signifies 'codes' due to the temple that was established in it. Whether it is called 'holy' due to the knowledge of God, or 'sacred' because it alone in the world received the law. Therefore, even after the resurrection of the Savior, the bodies of the dead appeared in the holy city. However, because of blasphemy and the shedding of blood against the Lord, it could not be called holy (Matthew 27). And what is promised, if it rises after its ruin and is clothed with strength and glory, signifies that it will no longer be crossed by the uncircumcised and impure, as the Apostle Paul also says: 'What fellowship can righteousness have with iniquity?' Which society for light to darkness? Which agreement for Christ to Belial? Which part has the faithful with the unbeliever? What consensus has the temple of God with idols (I Cor. VI, 14, 15)? All of these, as we have begun to explain, refer to the state of the soul. And if it regains its original strength through repentance, let it be called the dwelling place of the Holy One, and let it become the temple of God, and by no means let the uncircumcised and unclean reasoning pass through it. Of these it was said: Cleanse me from my hidden sins, O Lord, and spare your servant from alien sins. If I am not dominated by them, then I will be blameless and cleansed from great offense (Ps. XVIII, 13, 14). But all the things that are promised to Zion and Jerusalem, are not as the Jews dream, referring to its stones and ashes and embers, so that it may be restored to its former state, but to the people of Jerusalem, who killed the Prophets and stoned those who were sent to them (Matt. XXIII), and finally even laid their hands on the Son of God. He who falls in the passion of Christ is raised in his resurrection: when many thousands believed of the Jews, and the remnants were saved. The same can be said of the Church, which is the vision of peace and a mirror; if it falls into heresy, it is commanded to depart and to receive the ornaments of the ancient faith. And if it is raised up, the rewards of holiness and continence are promised to it, so that no uncircumcised and unclean person may pass through it. This can be referred not to the circumcision of the flesh and the foreskin, but to the impurity or purity of works, so that we may call the uncircumcised and impure those who serve the pleasure of the body and lust. In fact, Jeremiah speaks not of circumcision of the flesh, but of the spirit: All the nations are uncircumcised in the flesh, but the children of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts (Jeremiah 9:26). And the blessed Apostle, in discussing virginity, continence, and marriage, made this statement: Someone who is called circumcised should not let his foreskin be brought forward. He who is called in uncircumcision, let him not be circumcised (I Cor. VII, 18). Which seems to me to say in other words: He who is called without a wife, and believes, let him not take a wife. Or conversely: having a wife, he has believed in Christ, let him by no means divorce her. This meaning, not only in circumcision and in uncircumcision, but also in freedom and slavery, he keeps, calling the unmarried and the continent free, and the slaves who render the debt to their wives. For it is not in our power to bring forth a foreskin after circumcision, as those who are said to have made foreskins for themselves in the book of Maccabees, which is said to apply to newborn sons and not to fathers. Or, as the book called, is more of a servant of Christ (Ibid., VII, 22), since in the baptism of Christ there is no difference between Jew, Gentile, Greek, and Barbarian, male and female, free and slave. — Commentary on Isaiah Theodoret of Cyrus : He calls the lower city "Jerusalem," and the city on high "Zion," but both together are one city. This is why he promises restoration to both; and, since foreign nations crossed through it without fear when its inhabitants had been taken captive, he is promising deliverance from these foreigners.… It is due to their sins that they have been sold, but it is by the benevolence of God that they have obtained deliverance. — COMMENTARY ON Isaiah 16:52.1-3