St. Cyprian: Letters, (1-81)
Overview
St. Cyprian’s works fall naturally into two groups: treaties (sermons, libelli, tractus) and letters (epistulae). This volume features his letters, of which 81 have come down to us, written from c. 249 until his death in 258 AD.
They give a penetrating insight into the affairs of the Church in Africa in the middle of the third century. They reveal problems of doctrine and of discipline which had to be decided in a period of crisis and persecution when the Church, still in its infancy, had not yet emerged from the catacombs. Most important of all, they make Cyprian vividly alive as an understanding bishop who could be both gentle and firm, enthusiastic and moderate. He was prudent enough to go into exile to direct his flock from afar when his presence was a potential source of danger to the people; he was courageous enough to face martyrdom that he knew would ultimately be his.
Of these letters, 59 were written by Cyprian himself and six more, emanating from Carthaginian Councils or Synods, were largely his work also. 16 letters were written by others; apparently 11 were lost.
In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
For more of the church fathers, check out the Fathers of the Church: Greek Fathers of the Ante—Nicene Era (23 vols.).
Top Highlights
“But Christ, who teaches and shows that the people of the Gentiles were coming into that place which the Jews had lost and that we were arriving afterward through the merit of faith, made wine from water, that is, He showed that the people of the Gentiles rather would resort together and come to the nuptials of Christ and of His Church when the Jews were leaving. For the Divine Scripture declares in the Apocalypse that the waters signify the peoples, saying: ‘The waters that thou sawest on which that harlot sits, are peoples and crowds and nations of the heathen and tongues.’23 We perceive that this is actually, also, contained in the Sacrament of the Chalice.” (Pages 210–211)
“It is necessary also for him who is baptized to be anointed that, having received chrism, that is anointing, he can be anointed of God and have in himself the grace of Christ. But, in turn, it is by the Eucharist that the oil by which the baptized are anointed is sanctified on the altar.” (Page 260)
“we all judge that the mercy and grace of God must be denied to no man born” (Page 217)
“Judaic carnal circumcision, that was a pledge prefigured in the shadow and in the image, but it was fulfilled with truth with the coming of Christ. For, because the eighth day, that is, the first day after the Sabbath, was to be that on which the Lord rose and vivified us and gave us a spiritual circumcision, this octave day, that is the first after the Sabbath, and Sunday, has come forth as a prefiguring. The image ceased with the coming of the truth afterwards and with the giving to us of the spiritual circumcision.” (Page 218)
- Title: Saint Cyprian: Letters (1–81)
- Author: Cyprian of Carthage
- Series: The Fathers of the Church
- Volume: 51
- Publisher: Catholic University of America
- Print Publication Date: 1964
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 368
- Era: era:ante-nicene
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Cyprian, Saint, Bishop of Carthage
- Resource ID: LLS:LETTERS181
- Resource Type: text.monograph.letters
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:12:28Z