Today the Church commemorates Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Bishop and Martyr (A.D. 210-258). Widely regarded as one of the most influential Church Fathers, Cyprian’s writings have had a profound impact on the sacramental and ecclesial theology of the Western Church, and his staunch defense of the Nicene faith has laid the groundwork for the defense and preservation of confessional, orthodox doctrine in the Church.
Cyprian was born to a wealthy pagan family in North Africa in A.D. 210, perhaps in Carthage, where he received a classical education. Benedict XVI writes that Cyprian had a “dissipated youth,” during which he was an active member of a legal fraternity in Carthage. Though he was born a pagan, it is said that he actively courted discussion with Christian converts.
Originally named Thascius, he took the additional name Caecilius in honor of the priest to whom he owed his conversion to Christianity. Thus, his full name was Thascius Caecilius Cryprianus, hence why he is known as “Cyprinan.” He was baptized at thirty-five years old in A.D. 245, after which he used his illustrious and enthusiastic skills in defense of the Christian faith. He donated much of his wealth to the poor and, in the estimation of his deacon, Pontius, exemplified “the observance of that mercy which God has preferred to sacrifice.”
He was popularly acclaimed bishop of Carthage around A.D. 248, where he had been a monumentally influential theologian and became particularly active in controversial theological matters. Among them was the Novatianist controversy, whose teachers taught that heretics and lapsi, or those who had fallen away from the faith out of fear of persecution, could not be rebaptized or readmitted to the Lord’s Supper. Against this teaching Cyprian rightly taught that Novatians no longer held to the Ecumenical Creeds, since they rejected baptismal regeneration and the remission of sins through confession and absolution.
Though he was elected bishop by North Africans around A.D. 248, his acclamation was met with fierce resistance by the senior members of the North African clergy. When Emperor Decius issued an edict in A.D. 250 that demanded sacrifices be made to the gods throughout the Empire, Cyprian controversially went into hiding. While many clergymen considered this a “cowardice” move, Cyprian defended his actions by saying that he would continue to lead the faithful, albeit from a distance, while remaining safe from potential execution.
Cyprian was a staunch defender of infant baptism and baptismal regeneration, and his writings on the subject are extant. He emphasized the saving grace of God as the fundamental essence of baptism, and taught that the Word of God makes baptism efficacious. Roger Olson writes concerning Cyprian’s views on the tangible elements of Holy Baptism: "While he attributed all the saving energy to the grace of God, he considered the 'laver of saving water' the instrument of God that makes a person 'born again,' receiving a new life and putting off what he had previously been. The 'water of new birth' animated him to new life by the Spirit of holiness working through it.”
Though he faithfully and unambiguously articulated the orthodox faith concerning Baptism and repentance, Cyprian’s theological ideology was not without fault. He believed in infant communion, which by and large has been discouraged in the Western Church, though opinions on the matter have varied. Furthermore, he argued that baptisms administered by heretics are ineffective and urged those baptized by heretics to be rebaptized. He also argued that each day of Creation was a thousand-year period, which does not align with an exegetical reading of the Genesis narrative.
While his Eucharistic theology is atypical in lieu of his position views on infant communion, Cyprian rightly taught that the Eucharist cannot be properly consecrated outside of the Church. This protection of the Sacrament of the Altar reflects his faithful understanding of ecclesial theology, which was fundamentally paramount in his theological writings.
Cyprian was trained in Latin rhetoric, rendering him a pre-eminent writer of the Western Church before Jerome and Augustine, both of whom are Doctors of the Church. Though he is considered one of the most important theologians of the Latin Church, Cyprian is not considered a Doctor of the Church because martyrs had not been originally included on the list of Doctors.
Through his episcopate, Cyprian was known for his compassionate pastoral concern for the theological and temporal issues of his day. He organized a medical response to the plague of Carthage, and wrote extensively on the Sacraments and ecclesial theology, particularly in his groundbreaking work On the Unity of the Catholic Church.
Another persecution took place in September A.D. 258, for which Cyprian did not enter into hiding. Instead, he faced persecution and was arrested, tried, and beheaded in September A.D. 258. Because of this, St. Augustine writes that Cyprian atoned for his theological and pastoral controversies by his faithful martyrdom. His commemoration extends back into the patristic era, with his commemoration taking place on September 16th, two days after Holy Cross Day.
Have regard for our weakness, Almighty God: and since the weight of our own deeds bears us down, let the faithful example of Blessed Cyprian, Thy Bishop and Martyr, direct us to Thy mercy: through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost: ever one God, world without end. Amen.