The Fragrance of Christ 

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Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

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For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. (2 Corinthians 2:14-15)

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St Cyril of Alexandria also using the imagery of fragrance to describe Christ and the spiritual life writes: 

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The words of the blessing, I believe, denote the spiritual aroma in Christ, like that of a field or a meadow blooming abundantly,

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spreading a beautiful and pleasant fragrance from its spring flowers.

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So Christ described himself to us in the Song of Songs, saying, ‘I am a flower of the plain, a lily of the valleys.’ [Song 2.1]

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He was, indeed, a lily and a rose sprung up from the earth, for the sake of humankind.

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Since he knew no sin, he was the most Godlike of those inhabiting the whole world, bringing forth a pleasing aroma through the perfection of his deeds.

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Therefore, it likens Christ to a field blessed by God,

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and rightly so, as he is the fragrance of the knowledge of God the Father. (GLPHYRA ON THE PENTATEUCH Vol 1, p 27)

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