September 16th - St. Cyprian, Martyr
Cyprian was born Caecillus Cyprianus about the year 200, probably at
Carthage and was known among his friends as "Thascius." He was from a
well-to-do family and had the best education Carthage could offer. As a
lawyer, orator and teacher of rhetoric, he apparently led a very active
public and social life until middle age when he met an old priest named
Caecilian.
With his conversion, Cyprian's outlook changed dramatically. After his
baptism he took a vow of celibacy which so amazed those who knew him that
his biographer, St. Pontus is said to have remarked that no one had ever
seen such a miracle. Cyprian studied the Scriptures diligently, was
ordained
to the priesthood and in 248, against his wishes, was consecrated bishop
of
Carthage, which gained him a few clerical enemies.
Cyprian enjoyed peace in his diocese until a renewed outbreak of
persecution
began under Decius. Forced into hiding, Cyprian continued to lead his
people
by letter. Upon his return, Cyprian found that one of the priests who had
opposed him, Novatus, had set himself up in schism against Cyprian and was
receiving all those who had lapsed into apostasy back, without penance,
into
full reception of the sacraments. It was this situation which led Cyprian
to
write his now famous "De lapsis," which set down guidelines for receiving
back into full communion with the universal church, those who had denied
their faith.
Novatus and his group continued in schism, which brought more confusion
and
hard****p to the Church of Carthage. There were those who questioned the
validity of the baptisms performed by those who were in schism with the
universal Church. Cyprian, along with many of the Oriental clergy, refused
to accept the validity of heretical baptisms. This issue would remain
unresolved during his lifetime.
Cyprian's troubles were by no means at an end. In 257 with the outbreak of
the Valerian persecution, he was exiled to Curubis and a year later was
recalled to Carthage where he was again tried because he was a Christian
and
condemned to death. Cyprian was martyred at Carthage on September 14, 258.
Cyprian's writings are his greatest legacy to us. His "De Ecclesiae
Catholicae Unitate," emphasizes the need for unity under one head, the
Bishop of Rome. "Ad Demetrianum" vigorously defended the Christian faith
against pagan accusations and false beliefs. The majority of his writings
are directed to his people, teaching them the truths of their faith and
encouraging them in the face of persecution and martyrdom. His writings
give
us a good sense of the Church not only in Africa, but also in Rome, Gaul
and
Spain.
We see in his writings that Cyprian was a man of deep faith totally
committed to God and the shepherding of His people. We might say that
Cyprian was wrong in his strongly held belief about baptism and his
opposition to Pope Stephen in this regard. But, as St. Augustine pointed
out, this was most likely due to an innocent, but incomplete understanding
of the complexity of sacramental benefits, which was a common
misunderstanding of his day. One has to remember that in Cyprian's day
Rome
was still in a process of development, and the position of the bishop of
Rome on every issue was still not settled. Despite his position on
baptism,
Cyprian strongly sup****ted the pope and would never have considered
deposing
him because of their opposing views. In actuality it is most likely that
Cyprian was not even aware that his position on baptism was undermining
the
very unity that he was fighting for.
His was one of the few feasts of the earliest Martyrology calendar and his
name is included among the martyrs named in the canon of the Mass. His
writings have been a powerful tool of exegesis down through the ages and
are
only outnumbered by a few others such as Basil, Gregory and the other
great
Doctors of the Church.
Saint Quote:
This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair
garden,
under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and
looked out over the wide lands, you know very well what I would
see--brigands on the high roads, pirates on the seas; in the amphitheaters
men murdered to please applauding crowds; under all roofs misery and
selfishness. It is really a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world.
Yet
in the midst of it I have found a quiet and holy people. They have
discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasures of
this
sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They
have
overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians -- and I am
one of them.
-St. Cyprian, a letter
Bible Quote:
Do not set your mind on high things, but condescend to the lowly. Rom.
12:16
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A chapter from St. Cyprian's 'The Unity of the Catholic
Church' (AD 250):
[speaking of those that break with the Church such as Novatus
and Novatian, just as Core, Dathan, Abiron and Ozias of the
Old Testament broke the Law, and thus acted against the
Godhead]
These, certainly, they imitate and follow, who despise God's
tradition and seek after strange doctrines and introduce
teachings of human disposition. These the Lord rebukes and
reproves in His Gospel when He says: 'You reject the
commandment of God that you may establish your own
tradition.' This crime is worse than that which the lapsed seem
to have committed, who while established in penance for their
crime beseech God with full satisfactions. Here the Church is
sought and entreated, there the Church is resisted; here there
can have been necessity, there the will is held in wickedness;
here he who lapsed harmed only himself, there he who tried to
cause a heresy or schism deceived many by dragging them with
him; here there is the loss of one soul, there danger to a great
many. Certainly this one knows that he has sinned and bewails
and laments; that one swelling in his sin and taking pleasure in
his very crimes separates children from their Mother, entices
sheep from their shepherd, and disturbs the sacraments of God.
And whereas the lapsed has sinned once, the former sins daily.
Finally, the lapsed later, after achieving martyrdom, can
receive the promises of the kingdom; the former, if he is killed
outside the Church, cannot arrive at the rewards of the Church.
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