26 September. Cyprian of Carthage. 1662 Book of Common Prayer.
A few things: (1)
brief-bio from http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/notes/saints.html#Cyprian (2) a
wiki-bio, and (3) at the end, an online resource for Mr. (Bp). Cyprian’s
writings in English.
From http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bcp1662/notes/saints.html#Cyprian, we
read: St. Cyprian, Archbishop, the great
Bishop of Carthage, exercising a kind of metropolitan jurisdiction (from A.D.
248-258). He was of high education and rank, converted in his manhood, and soon
after raised to the Episcopate; notable as the great upholder and establisher
in the Western Church of Episcopal dignity and authority, in staunch resistance
to the growing claims of Rome; stern alike against Puritanism and laxity in the
restoration of those who had "lapsed" under persecution; maintaining
even the need of rebaptism of those baptized by heretics, which was rigidly
opposed by the Bishop of Rome, and disallowed by subsequent Church authority; a
great ruler of unbounded influence and popularity; a writer of great vigor of
thought and perfection of style; finally a martyr under the persecution of
Galerius in 258. -- September 26th.
From Wiki-bio, we read below:
Cyprian (Latin: Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus) (c. 200 – September 14, 258) was bishop of Carthage and an important Early Christian writer, many of
whose Latin works are extant. He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at
Carthage, where he received a classical education. After converting to
Christianity, he became a bishop in 249 and eventually died a martyr at Carthage.
Early life
Cyprian was born sometime in the early third century. He
was a leading member of legal fraternity in Carthage, He was well into middle
age when he was converted to Christianity and baptised.[1] The site of his eventual martyrdom was
his own villa. Before becoming a Christian, he was an orator, "pleader in
the courts", and a teacher of rhetoric.[2] The date of his conversion is unknown,
but after his baptism about 245–248 he gave away a portion of his wealth to the poor of Carthage, as befitted a man of his status.
His original name was Thascius; he took the additional
name Caecilius in memory of the presbyter to whom he owed his conversion. In the
early days of his conversion he wrote an Epistola ad Donatum de gratia Dei
and the Testimoniorum Libri III that adhere closely to the models of Tertullian, who influenced his style and
thinking.
His contested
election as bishop of Carthage
Not long after his baptism he was ordained deacon, and soon afterward presbyter;
and some time between July 248 and April 249 he was chosen bishop of Carthage,
a popular choice among the poor who remembered his patronage as demonstrating
good equestrian style, while a portion of the presbytery opposed it, for all
Cyprian's wealth and learning and diplomacy and literary talents. Moreover, the
opposition within the church community at Carthage did not dissolve during his
episcopacy.
Soon, however, the entire community was put to an
unwanted test. Christians in North Africa had not suffered persecution for many
years; the church was assured and lax. Early in 250 the "Decian persecution" began. Measures were
first taken demanding that the bishops and officers of the church sacrifice to
the emperor. The proconsul on circuit, and five commissioners for each town,
administered the edict; but, when the proconsul reached Carthage, Cyprian had
fled.
It is quite evident in the writings of the church fathers
from various dioceses that the Christian community was divided on this
occasion, among those who stood firm in civil disobedience, and those who
buckled, submitting in word or in deed to the order of sacrifice and receiving
a ticket or receipt called a "libellus." Cyprian's secret departure from Carthage was interpreted by his enemies as
cowardice and infidelity, and they hastened to accuse him at Rome. The Roman clergy wrote to Cyprian in terms of
disapproval. Cyprian rejoined that he fled in accordance with visions and the
divine command. From his place of refuge he ruled his flock with earnestness
and zeal, using a faithful deacon as his intermediary.
Controversy over
the lapsed
The persecution was especially severe at Carthage,
according to Church sources. Many Christians fell away, and were thereafter
referred to as "lapsi", but afterwards asked to be received again into the Church. Their requests
were granted early, with no regard being paid to the demand of Cyprian and his
faithful among the Carthaginian clergy, who insisted upon earnest repentance.
The confessors among the more liberal group intervened to allow hundreds of the
lapsed to return to the Church.
Though he had remained in seclusion himself, Cyprian now
censured all laxity toward the lapsed, refused absolution to them except in
case of mortal sickness, and desired to postpone the question of their
re-admission to the Church to quieter times. A schism broke out in Carthage. Felicissimus, who had been
ordained deacon by the presbyter Novatus during the
absence of Cyprian, opposed all steps taken by Cyprian's representatives.
Cyprian deposed and excommunicated him and his supporter Augendius.
Felicissimus was upheld by Novatus and four other presbyters, and a determined
opposition was thus organized.
When, after an absence of fourteen months, Cyprian
returned to his diocese, he defended leaving his post in letters to the other
North African bishops and a tract "De lapsis," and called a
council of North African bishops at Carthage to consider the treatment of the
lapsed and the apparent schism of Felicissimus (251). The council in the main
sided with Cyprian and condemned Felicissimus, though no acts of this council
survive. The "libellatici" were to be restored at once upon sincere repentance; but
such as had taken part in heathen sacrifices could be received back into the
Church only when on the point of death. Afterward this regulation was
essentially mitigated, and even these were restored if they repented
immediately after a sudden fall and eagerly sought absolution; though clerics
who had fallen were to be deposed and could not be restored to their functions.
In Carthage the followers of Felicissimus elected
Fortunatus as bishop in opposition to Cyprian, while in Rome the followers of
the Roman presbyter Novatian, who also refused absolution to all the lapsed, elected their man as
bishop of Rome, in opposition to Cornelius. The Novatianists secured the election
of a rival bishop of their own at Carthage, Maximus by name. Novatus now left
Felicissimus and followed the Novatian party.
But these extremes strengthened the firm but moderating
influence exhibited in Cyprian's writings, and the following of his opponents
grew less and less. He rose still higher in the favor of the people when they
witnessed his self-denying devotion during the time of a great plague and famine.
He comforted his brethren by writing his "De
mortalitate," and in his "De eleemosynis" exhorted
them to active charity towards the poor, while he set the best pattern by his
own life. He defended Christianity and the Christians in the apologia "Ad Demetrianum,"
directed against a certain Demetrius and the reproach of the heathens that
Christians were the cause of the public calamities.
Persecution under
Valerian
At the end of 256 a new persecution of the Christians
under Emperor Valerian I broke out, and both Pope Stephen I and his successor, Pope Sixtus II, suffered
martyrdom at Rome.
In Africa Cyprian courageously prepared his people for
the expected edict of persecution by his "De exhortatione
martyrii," and himself set an example when he was brought before the
Roman proconsul Aspasius Paternus (August 30, 257). He refused to sacrifice to
the pagan deities and firmly professed Christ.
The consul banished him to Curubis, modern Korba, whence he comforted to the best of his ability his
flock and his banished clergy. In a vision he saw his approaching fate. When a
year had passed he was recalled and kept practically a prisoner in his own
villa, in expectation of severer measures after a new and more stringent
imperial edict arrived, demanding the execution of all Christian clerics,
according to reports of it by Christian writers.
On September 13, 258, he was imprisoned at the behest of
the new proconsul, Galerius Maximus. The day following he was examined for the last time and
sentenced to die by the sword. His only answer was "Thanks be to
God!" The execution was carried out at once in an open place near the
city. A vast multitude followed Cyprian on his last journey. He removed his
garments without assistance, knelt down, and prayed. After he blindfolded
himself, he was beheaded by the sword.
The body was interred by Christian hands near the place
of execution, and over it, as well as on the actual scene of his death,
churches were afterward erected, which, however, were destroyed by the Vandals. Charlemagne is said to have had the bones
transferred to France, and Lyons, Arles, Venice, Compiegne, and Roenay in
Flanders claim the possession of the martyr's relics.
Writings
 |
Wikisource has original works
written by or about:
|
Cyprian's works were edited in volumes 3 and 4 of the Patrologia Latina. Besides a number
of epistles, which are partly collected with the answers of those to whom they
were written, Cyprian wrote a number of treatises, some of which have also the
character of pastoral letters.
His most important work is his "De unitate
ecclesiae." In it, he states: "He can no longer have God for
his Father who has not the Church for his mother; . . . he who gathereth
elsewhere than in the Church scatters the Church of Christ" (vi.); "nor
is there any other home to believers but the one Church" (ix.).
The following works are of doubtful authenticity: De
spectaculis ("On Public Games"); De bono pudicitiae
("The Virtue of Modesty"); De idolorum vanitate ("On the
Vanity of Images," written by Novatian); De laude martyrii ("In
Praise of Martyrdom"); Adversus aleatores; De duobus montibus
Sina et Sion (On the Two Mountains Sinai and Zion); Adversus Judaeos;
and the Cena Cypriani ("Cyprian's Banquet", which enjoyed wide circulation in the
Middle Ages). The treatise entitled De duplici martyrio ad Fortunatum
and attributed to Cyprian was not only published by Erasmus, but probably also composed by him.
The Plague of Cyprian is named after
him due to his description of it.
St Cyprian's first writing starts out as a speech he made
to his friends. It is called, Ad Donatum. It speaks out against the
Roman Government and gladiator shows. He says that the only refuge from these
evils is the prayerful life of a Christian. St. Cyprian was the first great
Latin writer among the Christians. Until the days of Jerome and Augustine, Cyprian's
writings had no rivals in the West.[3]
Feast Day in the Anglican/Episcopal Church is September
13.[citation
needed]
Notes
2. Jump up ^ Michael Walsh,
ed. "Butler's Lives of the Saints," New York: HarperCollins
Publishers, 1991, p. 289.
3. Jump up ^ Chapman, John. "St. Cyprian of Carthage." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 15 Jan. 2013
The Catholic Church celebrates his feasts together with
that of his good friend Pope St. Cornelius on September 16.
References
- Brent, Allen, editor and translator, "St Cyprian of Carthage: Selected
Treatises," St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2007, ISBN 0-88141-312-7
- Brent, Allen, editor and translator, "St Cyprian of Carthage: Selected
Letters," St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2007, ISBN 0-88141-313-5
- Campbell,
Phillip, editor, "The Complete works
of Saint Cyprian" Evolution Publishing, 2013, ISBN 1-935228-11-0
- Daniel, Robin, "This Holy Seed: Faith, Hope and Love in the Early
Churches of North Africa," (Chester, Tamarisk Publications, 2010:
from www.opaltrust.org) ISBN 095385634
- Christian Classics Ethereal Library: Cyprian texts
- J.M. Tebes, "Cyprian of Carthage: Christianity and Social World in the 3rd. century", Cuadernos de Teología 19, (2000) (Spanish)
External links
- Pontius the Deacon (Pontius Diaconis), "The Life
and Passion of Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr"
- "The Plague of AD 251"
- Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Cyprian
- Works by Cyprian at the IntraText Digital Library,
with concordance and frequency lists
- Acta proconsularia S. Cypriani
- Multilanguage Opera Omnia
English Translations of Mr. (Bp.) Cyprian are available
at: http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/20_30_0200-0258-_Cyprianus_Carthaginensis,_Sanctus.html
Some Wiki-quotes from Cyprian:
Quotes
- Habere non potest Deum patrem qui ecclesiam non habet matrem.
- No one can have God for his Father, who has not the
Church for his mother.
- De Ecclesiae Catholicae Unitate (AD 251), ch. vi.
- Salus extra ecclesiam non est.
- There is no salvation outside the Church.
- Letter to Jubaianus (AD 256), Letter 73
- For the helmsman is recognized in the tempest; in the warfare the
soldier is proved.
- It is a persistent evil to persecute a man who belongs to the grace of
God. It is a calamity without remedy to hate the happy.
- Treatise on Jealousy and Envy ch. ix
- Think not that you are thus maintaining the Gospel of Christ when you
separate yourselves from the flock of Christ.
- Letter to the Roman Confessors, that they should return to unity Letter 43.
- Men imitate the gods whom they adore, and to such miserable beings
their crimes become their religion.
- Letter to Donatus Letter 1, ch. viii
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