serene beauty of his death: “Brought before the Proconsul and asked who
he was, Cyprian replied: ‘I am a Christian and a Bishop.’ When the
sentence of death was pronounced, he said, ‘Thanks be to God.’” Despite
his disagreement and actual disobedience, St. Cyprian was never
excommunicated, and ironically, his name was entered among the list of
martyrs and read out during the Mass together with the names of those
Popes he sometimes opposed. As St. Augustine would later say, “he
merited to attain the crown of martyrdom, so that any cloud which had
obscured the brightness of his mind was driven away by the brilliant
sunshine of his glorious blood.”
Themes for study:
The growth of the Novatianist schism;
St. Cyprian’s contradictory writings concerning the primacy of
Rome and Church unity;
St. Cyprian’s disobedience towards Pope St. Stephen re baptism of
heretics;
St. Cyprian’s martyrdom and restoration to favor.
Further reading:
Warren H. Carroll, The Founding of Christendom (A History of
Christendom), Vol. 1, Christendom Press, 1985, pp. 494-495;
Fernard Hayward, A History of the Popes, J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd.,
1931, pp. 34-35;
Philip Hughes, A History of the Church, Vol. 1, Sheed and Ward,
1948, pp. 112-118;
Fr. John Laux, Church History, TAN Books and Publishers, 1930,
pp. 71-72.
 |
 |
 |