On the Church: Select Treatises (Popular Patristics Series)
Overview
St. Cyprian, third-century bishop of Carthage, developed a theory of church unity almost universally accepted up to the European Reformation: to be a member of the body of Christ you needed to be in communion with a priest who was in communion with a bishop who in turn was in communion with all other bishops in the world. But, how could you discern who was a legitimate bishop? And, on what kind of issue would it be right to break off communion? Additionally, could self-authenticating ministries, like those of martyrs and confessors who had suffered for the faith, supersede this order? Finally, did the Church need, and in what form, a universal bishop who could guarantee the integrity of the network of bishops?
St. Cyprian wrestled with these questions in his letters and treatises. Each volume contains an introduction to the two principal controversies that spurred St. Cyprian to write his defense on church unity: first, the readmission to the Eucharist of those Christians who had lapsed or fallen in the persecution under Emperor Decius; and second, the sacramental validity of baptism in heretical and schismatic communities. This volume contains an introduction to the life and controversies of St. Cyprian.
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Key Features
- Offers a thorough introduction to St. Cyprian providing context and purpose to his treatises
- Delves into the theory of church unity set forth by St. Cyprian
- Examines ideas instigated by the early church and how they still apply
Contents
- The Struggle with Paganism
- To Donatus
- To Demetrian
- Church Order and Discipline
- The Fallen (De Lapis)
- The Unity of the Catholic Church (De Catholicae Ecclesiae Unitate)
Top Highlights
“Certainly Cyprian was actively involved in letter writing in order to determine whether Cornelius” (Page 38)
“The fallen Christian understands that the sin is of his own making, and he sorrows and beats his breast. The schismatic swells with pride in his fallen condition, and taking his pleasure in his own sins, he separates sons from their mother, he entices the sheep from their shepherd, he upsets solemn obligations to God. Though someone who has fallen has sinned once, the schismatic instead sins daily.” (Page 173)
“To be a member of the Church that is the body of Christ you needed to be in communion with a priest who was in communion with a bishop who in turn was in communion with all other bishops in the world. But how could you tell or decide? And on what kind of issue would it be right for dioceses to break off communion with each other, or to threaten to do so?” (Page 9)
“Boasting in order to gain praise for oneself is repugnant. One cannot boast but only be thankful for that which cannot be attributed to human ability but is proclaimed as from God’s grace. In consequence, faith begins when we start not sinning, when our previous sinning was the consequence human waywardness.” (Page 52)
“For this reason heresies both have been committed and continue being committed, because a mind that is perverted does not have peace, because bad faith that causes discord does not maintain unity.” (Page 161)
Product Details
- Title: On the Church: Select Treatises
- Author: St. Cyprian of Carthage
- Translator: Allen Brent
- Publisher: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press
- Publication Date: 2006
- Pages: 188
- Christian Group: Orthodox
- Resource Type: Ancient Texts
- Topic: Christianity
About Cyprian of Carthage
Cyprian of Carthage (AD 200–258) was an important early Christian writer. He was born in North Africa, received a classical education, and became a leading member of the legal fraternity in Carthage. He converted to Christianity as a middle-aged man and was baptized circa AD 245. Upon his baptism he gave a large portion of his wealth to the poor, among whom he was always popular. He became bishop of Carthage in AD 249. Under his leadership the Church in Carthage endured multiple periods of persecution. Cyprian consolidated his popularity with moderate, yet firm policies on reconciling recanters to the Church. In AD 256, a particularly severe wave of persecution called for the execution of all Christian clergy, culminating in Cyprian’s martyrdom in AD 258. A number of his pastoral epistles and treatises survive, including his most important work, On the Unity of the Church, in which he famously states “He can no longer have God for his father who has not the Church for his mother.”
About Allen Brent
Allen Brent is professor of early Christian history and literature at Edmund’s College, Cambridge.