Letters of the Hieromartyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage

(To the 1725th anniversary of his death) We are introduced to the life and work of the Hieromartyr Cyprian mainly through letters, and then through his biography, compiled, according to the testimony of Blessed Jerome, by the saint’s deacon, Pontius. Whether he really was the author of the Vita S. Cypriani (which some modern scholars doubt) or whether it was written by someone else is difficult to say; What is certain is that its author reverently revered Saint Cyprian, but understood little of his activities; he, and only he, has preserved several precious details from his life, and for this you put up with both the limitations of the narrator and the sluggish rhetoric of his story. Full name of Saint Cyprian: Caecilius Cyprian. He also had the nickname Tascius, by which all of Carthage knew him and which is mentioned in official documents. Its origin and meaning are not clear to us. He was born around 210 (the exact date is unknown) into a wealthy and prominent Carthaginian family, received an excellent education for that time, was a teacher at a rhetoric school (then university) and practiced law. We know nothing about his worldly life at that time. From the outside, it was probably the usual life of wealthy and cultured people of that time: serious studies alternated with entertainment, friendly conversation, and a cheerful party. In aristocratic Carthaginian circles, the young professor was his own man; here he began friendships that neither time nor the transition to Christianity could break: when the threat of execution hung over him, old friends urgently suggested that he hide in a safe refuge (Vita, 14). Why did a secular man, a famous lawyer and rhetorician, who remained in paganism until the age of 45, convert to Christianity? The author of the Vita mentions the old priest Caecilian, who with his conversations “led him out of worldly errors and led him to the knowledge of the true God” (Vita, 4). Saint Cyprian says nothing either about these conversations or about the inner work that led him out of paganism. He writes only about its final result: “The doubtful became certain, the closed was revealed, the darkness was illuminated, the difficult became feasible” (Ad Donat., 3); At Baptism, grace overshadowed him, completely regenerating him. His rejection of his former life was abrupt and complete. After Baptism, he led a strict ascetic life, gave away a significant part of his property, not only refused to read pagan authors (a difficult sacrifice for an educated person of that time), but tried to erase them from his memory; there is not a single quotation from Latin writers in his works; he is now busy studying the Holy Scriptures. His conversion to Christianity, of course, caused a lot of both angry and sympathetic amazement among the pagans; The appearance of a new brother in the Christian community did not go unnoticed. His strict life, the custom of keeping the house open: everyone could enter, and “not a single widow left him empty-handed... anyone in need of the help of a strong man found a patron in him” (Vita, 3); high level of culture, gift of speech - such people were not often met. Cyprian was soon ordained a priest, and a short time later, by popular demand, he was elevated to the rank of bishop, despite his energetic resistance. Such rapid progress caused envy in church circles. We do not know what measures Saint Cyprian took to govern the Carthaginian Church, but their spirit can be judged from his letters before the Decius persecution (1-4). The new bishop leads not only his own Church of Carthage: various African Churches turn to him for advice and help. Thus, the bishop of some small town asks in confusion whether he should consider as a member of the Church an actor who left the stage (the Christian Church accepted actors only under this condition), but started a kind of theater school: he teaches young people the art of acting (letter 2). Elsewhere, girls who had taken a vow of lifelong virginity were caught breaking it. The bishop of the city where such a disaster happened asks Saint Cyprian: what to do with these girls? “Punish them strictly,” the Saint answers, but if they are unable to keep their vow, then it is better to allow them to leave him, let them get married (letter 4). It is worth remembering this, imbued with severity and love, a truly pastoral attitude towards sinners: Saint Cyprian sees not only guilt, but also the guilty, takes into account their situation, is in accordance with their spiritual strength, wants to protect them from sins in the future. In the difficult issue of apostates, which will affect the entire Christian world, he will maintain the same line of behavior. The mentioned letters, together with the treatise “De lapsis” and the 11th letter (all of which are separated by short periods of time), make it possible to guess about the sad state of the African Churches. The old Bishop Rogatian complains about his rude deacon: he is unable to cope with him 1 . There is no respect for rank, the understanding of hierarchy is lost. And bishops are not always at the height of their position; sometimes they themselves do not believe in their strength and significance. If the usual way of church life is disrupted in some way, they become confused and are afraid to make a decision, although church discipline and practice suggest it. Many bishops, “disdaining the care of people entrusted to them by God, worry about worldly affairs” or, “leaving the see, abandoning the people, wander through foreign regions, pursue profitable deals, engage in usury, acquire land by deception and intrigues” (De lapsis, 6). Among the clergy there is the same pursuit of money, quarrels, rivalry. These people “renounced the world in words, but not in deeds”; Their faith is lukewarm, prayer is an obligatory boring activity during which they fall asleep (letter 11, I, 2; V, 1). African Churches needed renewal. Saint Cyprian worked hard and successfully on this renewal, and the Decius persecution only intensified this activity. In the last days of December 249, Emperor Decius, recently placed on the throne by the Illyrian legions, issued a decree commanding all residents of the Roman Empire, without distinction of religion or nationality, to take part in a nationwide supplicatio - prayer for the health and well-being of the emperor and his family: it consisted of certain prayers to the gods, the patrons of Rome, and making sacrifices to them, bloody or bloodless. The decree was not directed against Christians: the certificates found in Fayum about participation in the prayer service were clearly issued to pagans (one of them was to the priestess of the god Petesuch, a crocodile revered in Fayum), and it did not prescribe any persecution, as is clear from further events, which are evidenced by such an accurate witness as St. Cyprian, a contemporary of these events. He split, however, against his will, the Christian community into two numerically unequal parts: those who made the sacrifice (the majority) and a group that refused to worship the pagan gods. Who were these people? The letters of the Holy Martyr Cyprian give a clear idea about them: these are poor people, people from the common people. Their cultural level is low; not high and moral: they are eager to drink, laze around, and live at someone else’s expense. The world of the powerful and rich is indifferent to them and considers them almost on a par with draft animals. And they themselves feel like people only in the circus and the amphitheater 2, completely forgetting about their human dignity the rest of the time. Christianity told these people that they were by no means draft animals, but children of God, that they had the right to address God: “Our Father,” that the Lord loved them so much that He came to earth, suffered and died on the cross for them, and that He calls to Himself those who are suffering and burdened. And they respond to this unexpected, unthinkable love with an explosion, a fire of love, in which everything that attracted to the earth burns. They passionately want one thing: to quickly meet Him, their beloved Teacher and Friend, Who is waiting for them on the threshold of eternity. To speed up this meeting, they will go to torture, to death; they wish for themselves and their friends this torment and death, just as they wish for happiness. And of course, they will not renounce Christ and will remain faithful until death; The soldiers of Christ, who confessed Him in the midst of a wide wave of apostasy, no longer feel like ordinary people: it seems to them that they are immeasurably higher than them. In the future, they will behave in accordance with this high opinion of themselves. Those who disobeyed the imperial decree were imprisoned until their fate was decided; the prison regime is very mild: they are visited in droves by fellow believers, admiring the courage of the “good confessors” (letter 5, II, 1), and priests come with the Holy Gifts. The authorities do not pay any attention to this; the faith of these stubborn people is indifferent to them; they are punished for violating the imperial edict: they are expelled for a certain, not very long, period from their native places, but within the same province. Those who wish can go wherever they want. The deportation took place at the end of January, at the latest at the beginning of February 250, and by mid-April of the same year the confessors were again in a Carthaginian prison, but now they are being treated cruelly: they are tormented by hunger, thirst, stuffiness (letter 22), tortured, and tortured cruelly (letter 10). Now they are taken as Christians, and they are being forced to renounce their faith (ibid.). “Christianity is sown with blood” - there was great truth in these words of Tertullian; and Saint Cyprian understood the great significance of confession and martyrdom, he honored and admired the martyrs, just as all ordinary members of the Christian community honored and admired them. But he was not its ordinary member: a bishop, the head of the Carthage Church officially, and in fact already the head and leader of all African Churches, a man of clear and sober thought and great political tact, he well understood what was needed today, and sought to settle everything and arrange it with an eye not only on the present, but also on the future. He clearly saw that for Christians, whom the state somehow tolerated, educated society contemptuously ignored or cheerfully ridiculed, and the common people openly hated, it was best to stay in the shadows and not focus attention on themselves. Therefore, he disappeared from Carthage when the crowd began to stubbornly shout: “Cyprian to the lion!”; therefore, he advised his flock not to organize gatherings, and the clergy to behave “in accordance with the circumstances” (letter 5, II, 1); therefore, the “impudent exaltation” of the confessors will write a bitter page in the history of the African Churches 3 . When passions subsided somewhat, the apostates who “fell” (lapsi, literally “those who slipped”) began to think about returning to the Church. At some point these people, by the voice of their hearts or minds, converted to Christianity; This transition did not promise any benefit at that time. They left pagan society; by their renunciation they excluded themselves from Christianity. The pagans laugh at them maliciously, their former co-religionists shun them. And they were already connected with the Christian community by many threads - business, friendship, and family; now they are torn off. And the Church has already become dear to them; it is difficult for them without Communion. The Church does not reject them, but requires long-term repentance. Saint Cyprian believed that the fate of the fallen must be decided upon the advent of times of peace, when the issue of them will be discussed by the Council of Bishops, the clergy and the people; for now they must repent humbly and contritely (letters 15, II, 2 and 17, II, 2). It was possible, however, to turn to the confessors with a request for speedy forgiveness: let them petition the bishop. And there is a growing tendency among the clergy to easily, almost without repentance, return apostates to the Church. Addressing confessors was a custom (Tertullian already reported on it), and there was nothing lawless or sinful here. The story of Saint Dionysius of Alexandria, preserved by Eusebius Pamphilus (Ecclesiastical History, VI, 42, 5–6), testifies to how blissfully and peacefully, thanks to the reasonable leniency of the confessors, relations between the fallen and the Church were settled. This would have been the case in Carthage if the enemies of Saint Cyprian had not intervened. We can determine with some confidence the composition of this enemy camp: there were fallen whom the bishop did not agree to return to the Church only at the request of the confessors; priests, whom he threatened with banning because they allowed the fallen without repentance to receive Communion (probably counting on some earthly goods: remember that most of the fallen were people of weight and fortune); There were, of course, also the old ill-wishers of the Saint, who had once opposed his election as bishop. At its head was the layman Felicissimo, a very influential and wealthy man. These people need to remove Saint Cyprian from the episcopal see and take control of the Church into their own hands, but here they need to take a roundabout route, since a direct attack on the bishop will end in defeat: the Carthaginian Christians loved and revered their primate; The common people, whose needs he always tried to alleviate, were especially devoted to him. All Christian Africa listened to his voice. This popularity and authority could only be broken by raising against the bishop people whose authority was no less high, who were revered as saints - it was necessary to move confessors against the bishop. A roundabout way has been found. We have already said that the confessors were people of little culture. They are barely familiar with Christian dogmas; the meaning of such sacraments as Repentance, Eucharist, Priesthood is not understood. The words of Saint Cyprian about Lucian, the head of the confessors: “little taught by the Holy Scriptures” (letter 27, I, 1) and poorly understands it (ibid., III, 2), can be applied to the majority of confessors. And at the same time, they are filled with the consciousness of their special dignity and exaggerate their assessment of their rights and strengths. The reverent veneration of believers makes them dizzy: they are “burnt with their glory” (letter 16, III, 2). Once you skillfully give in to such a frenzy, this ignorant force can be moved in any direction; active ignorance is scary. The enemies of Saint Cyprian skillfully used all the circumstances that were in their favor: his inflexible demand for long-term repentance, the melancholy impatience of the “fallen,” the pride of the confessors. It was easy to convince the “fallen” that confessors have the right to “give peace” (“Who, when dying, will miss the opportunity to come to life? Who will not hasten towards his salvation?” (letter 15, II, 1); it did not take much effort to explain to the confessors that they, the friends of Christ, the future judges of the world, have the right and power to forgive apostates and return them to the Church, without insisting on repentance 4. The bishop will never agree with this; he he will arm against himself the “fallen” who consider themselves already reconciled with the Church, he will quarrel with confessors who are offended by the lack of recognition of their “rights”, he will alienate the people who so honor the confessors and trust them so much. The entire Christian community will stand against him in a united formation - the bishop will not be able to resist. All this was thought out, discussed, prepared since spring, and already at the end of it it was put into action - and with great success. Events unfolded rapidly: the confessors, having established themselves in the consciousness of their power, “daily handed out notes in the thousands” (letter 20, II, 2), drawn up more in the tone of an order than a request: “to accept such and such into communion with your associates” (letter 15). And in conclusion, the bishop received a letter that was exceptional in its rudeness of tone and impudence of content. “All confessors - to Bishop Cyprian: know that we have given “peace” to everyone who will account to you for what they did after what was done 5 . We want you to communicate this order to the other bishops. We wish you to remain in peace with the holy martyrs,” wrote Lucian (letter 23) 6 . This letter, about which Saint Cyprian wrote that it destroys faith, the fear of God and the Gospel commandments (letter 27, II, 1), and which he compared to a torch that ignited a fire, had an immediate effect: in several cities the crowd rushed at the primates of the Churches and by force forced them to recognize the “peace” given by the confessors; in Carthage “some troublemakers tried to obtain confirmation of the “peace” already received from the confessors” (ibid., III, 1-2); the fallen, whose reunification with the Church the bishop refused to recognize, were indignant and indignant; there was fermentation among the people (letters 16, I, 1 and 17, II, 2); many confessors went over to the enemy camp (letters 21 and 22). Did they see the misfortune that they, in their blind hatred of one person, brought upon the entire Church? For people absorbed in selfish calculations, preoccupied only with themselves and their well-being, the thought of the Church probably never entered their heads. Saint Cyprian saw what was threatening her. To recognize the right of confessors, i.e., laity, to forgive sins, meant to hand over the Church to the power of anyone who wants this power, be it a saint or a rogue; this meant destroying the meaning of the sacraments, declaring unnecessary the grace of the Holy Spirit, received by the apostles according to the promise of Christ and passed on successively to their deputies and henchmen. It was a question of the very existence of the Church. These terrible days were the days of her revival, and the merit of Saint Cyprian was great here. Saint Cyprian called the Church the Mother of all Christians, and believed that living with the Church, bearing her burdens and worries, working in her and for her is the common cause of all her children. From the very first days of his bishopric, he introduced both the clergy and the flock into the atmosphere of this common cause (letter 14, IV). Now he turned to the clergy with an ardent call to repentance, reproached him for laziness and inactivity, and charged him with the duty of instructing and curbing confessors. With the laity, with his clergy and with the bishops of other cities, he shares in writing his thoughts about the situation of the Church, his intentions and decisions; copies of these letters are requested to be distributed as widely as possible. Everyone is brought into the flow of events, everyone is called to work. All Christians are obliged to take up the fate of the fallen, and not just one bishop, not just the Bishops’ Council. The priests bear responsibility for those who stumble; they are to blame for their death because they failed to fulfill their duty to teach and instruct. All members of the Church mourn for the fallen, but grief alone is not enough; the bishop turns to his flock with a request: the brothers must brotherly help the apostates and with their calm, reasonable advice guide them on the right path - let them wait for that not-so-distant time when everything calms down and at the Council of Bishops the case of everyone who has received a “note” from the confessors 7 will be considered “in the presence and with your participation and discussion” (letter 17, I, 2, “to all the people”). “Reckless and arrogant” priests who allow the fallen to receive Communion without repentance will “defend themselves before us, before the confessors themselves and before all the people” (letter 16, IV, 2). Clerics who believed that by performing services and deeds of charity they fulfilled the entire range of duties to the Church and to people; ordinary members of the Christian community, who thought that by attending church services and putting their mite into the mug for the maintenance of the clergy, they were doing everything that was required of them as Christians, suddenly saw that they all had much greater responsibilities and a heavier responsibility. The laity are called to discuss matters affecting the entire Christian world, their voice will be listened to; the guilty priests will pronounce their excuses before them. The bishop himself asks them to “lead” (regere – “to guide”, “to lead with a consciousness of right and authority”) of the fallen. Both clergy and laity are drawn to a great common cause: communion in the great lifts and strengthens the most timid souls. The lazy cleric and the indifferent parishioner are transformed into zealous servants of the Church. In front of the line of thoughtless destroyers of the Church, a line of its conscious defenders lined up. In the front row stood clergy who were devoted to the Church and shared the thoughts of the bishop. We know some by name 8; others are unknown, but Saint Cyprian more than once mentions his “colleagues” who were of the same mind with him (letters 25, I, 2 and 26, 2). He gathered and rallied “good and faithful slaves,” and here the Roman Church provided even greater help and support. The Carthaginian Church was in constant communication with her; she was not considered superior, but was treated with deep respect: she was the oldest, and the Apostle Peter himself founded it. Both Churches always exchanged church news and communicated their decrees and decisions to each other. In accordance with this tradition, the Roman clergy notified St. Cyprian by letter of the death of their bishop Fabian, which followed on January 20, 250; This letter (it has been lost) was handed over to Subdeacon Krementius, who came to Rome on some business, for transmission to Saint Cyprian. He was also given another letter. He gave both to his bishop. The second letter, illiterate (cases, gender of nouns, verb conjugations are mixed up), composed in violation of the mandatory requirements of the epistolary form (the name of the writer is not given, the addressee is not indicated), was written, undoubtedly, by a cleric of a very modest rank (it is unlikely that in Rome of the 3rd century a person who completed his education at the school of literacy would have been allowed to the high levels of the church). He is closely familiar with the activities of the Church during the days of persecution and somehow participates in it himself: the letter is replete with first-person pronouns - “we - we.” With the important self-confidence of a narrow-minded man who admires himself, he pours out teachings to the Carthaginians, holding up the Roman clergy as an example. With obvious pleasure, he picked up the rumors and gossip that hovered around Saint Cyprian, who left Carthage, and very clearly called him a mercenary who abandoned the herd entrusted to him when the wolf appeared. At the same time, he did not miss the opportunity to instruct the Carthaginian clergy: “You should not be mercenaries, but good shepherds” (letter 8, II, 1). However, he did not dare to raise his visor: he did not have the Spirit to identify himself and indicate to whom the letter was sent. Saint Cyprian sent this letter back, expressing doubt whether it was from the Roman clergy (letter 9, 1-2). No matter how it was written, however, it clearly showed him what unkind rumors were circulating about him in Rome; it was impossible to silently brush them aside: they not only stained the good name of the bishop, they undermined the good old relations between the two Churches. Saint Cyprian did not shrug it off: “I have learned, dear brothers, that you were told in bad faith and incorrectly about what I did and am doing. Therefore, I considered it necessary to write you this letter and give you an account of my actions, my zeal and fidelity to the church statutes” (letter 20, I, 1), and then he outlines the range of his activities and its content. To this letter he enclosed copies of thirteen letters written during his absence from Carthage; These letters convincingly testified that during this time nothing happened in church life that would have escaped the watchful and attentive eyes of the bishop. He led the clergy, sending them his orders: he indicated to the confessors how they should behave, he called “the whole brotherhood” to repentant prayer; approved and encouraged the martyrs; urged them to carefully distribute “notes” to the fallen; threatened to ban willful priests who allowed them to receive Communion without repentance; allowed to “give peace” to the fallen who were on their deathbeds 9 . We do not know to what extent Rome agreed with the author of the eighth letter, 10 but the letters sent by Saint Cyprian dispelled all suspicions, and in addition, the Roman clergy was, of course, flattered that the bishop of the Carthage Church, the first after Rome in the West, considered it necessary to account to him for his behavior. Good relations were restored; a lively correspondence began. Saint Cyprian received from “priests and deacons residing in Rome” a letter written with brilliance and the power of intelligent, somewhat heavy, rhetoric 11 . His intention to decide the fate of the fallen after the onset of peaceful times was warmly approved, and not individually, but at the Council, in which bishops, priests, deacons and the laity “who stood firm in the world” would take part. Such a great crime, committed by many, can only be decided “by the judgment of many” (letter 30, V, 3); for now, the fallen must wait patiently and repent, realizing that their wounds require slow, unhurried healing: “let them knock on church doors, but not break them down... let them chant prayers, but not warlike marches...” (letter 30, VI, 3). The Roman confessors also wrote (letter 31): “We cannot remain silent about what brought us special joy: we learned that you with appropriate severity reproached those who, forgetting about their crime, during your absence hastily and relentlessly extorted “peace” from the priests; He also reproached those who, having forgotten about the Gospel, gave away the Lord’s shrine too easily...” They also approved of his decision to convene the Council: “Such a great crime should, as you write, be considered by a meeting of bishops, priests and deacons and laity who have stood in the world” (ibid., XI, 2). From these same confessors - even earlier - a letter came to the Carthaginian confessors: they were reproached for distributing “notes” too frivolously (letter 27, IV). What was the “party of Felicissima” doing at this time, as Saint Cyprian called his enemies with this general name? Their hope collapsed: they failed to remove the bishop; there was nothing to even dream of about sovereign rule in the Church. Saint Cyprian acted energetically; the ranks of his supporters quickly rallied; Rome was also on his side. The opponents still did not want to give up the fight and retreat, and a decision was made: in contrast to the “Church of Cyprian”, to found a new one, their own, counting mainly on the fallen, whose wealth and influence could be a good support for the new church. The clergy was obvious to her: priests, dissatisfied with the orders of the bishop, frightened by the threat of prohibition (letter 16, IV, 2); his seasoned enemies, from among whom Felicissimo chose a bishop (he was ordained to this rank by five excommunicated bishops (letter 59, X)). The fallen flocked to the new church, seduced by the promise of quick forgiveness; confessors came, offended by Saint Cyprian for refusing to recognize the permissive power of their “notes”; the confused common people joined, not knowing where to stop (letter 41, I, 2). By early or mid-summer the new church was already fully organized. Its members, however, felt insecure and turned to Saint Cyprian with a letter (it is lost, its contents can be guessed from the response letter of the Saint) 12, in which “on behalf of the church” they demanded confirmation of the “peace” given to them. Saint Cyprian answered decisively: “Let it not be that the troop (numerus) of the fallen calls itself a “church.” Remembering their crime, they should be submissive, quiet and humble, and not write on behalf of the “church,” knowing that they are addressing the Church” (letter 33, I, 2). The tone of the letter shows how firmly the bishop feels. Felicissimo, who apparently belonged to people who find it easier to act than to think, violently and rudely interfered with the orders of Saint Cyprian. The bishop sent a commission of two bishops and two priests to Carthage, who were given a certain amount: “Help our brothers from this money; if anyone wants to take up their craft, satisfy their desire by adding as much as is required, and at the same time figure out what their age, position, moral character is... and I want to promote the worthy, humble and meek to church positions” (letter 41, I, 2). Are we mistaken in thinking that the bishop meant confessors? The standard of living of a craftsman, who practiced his craft day after day, greatly decreased only due to some kind of disaster, personal or public (long-term illness, fire, civil strife, etc.). The confessor-craftsman returned to nothing: the old customers had moved to another master, the tools had rusted or disappeared, there was no material for the work. The bishop’s help could not have been more welcome: having descended from the heroic heights of confession, a person had the opportunity to rest, catch his breath, and get into the groove of calm creative work. From now on, he was connected with the bishop by gratitude for his kind participation, for the help given in a very difficult moment. It was a great honor to be invited to church work; if among the Carthaginian confessors there was still a feeling of irritation and annoyance with Saint Cyprian, then the kind and tactful behavior of the bishop should have extinguished and dispelled it. Felicissimo apparently understood this and was frightened; he not only interfered with the work of the commission, but also threatened to expel from his church those who would wish to obey the Saint. “I rejoice that the majority of the brothers have abandoned the insolent, preferring to remain with the Mother Church and receive help from her bishop,” wrote St. Cyprian (letter 41, II, 1). He excommunicated Felicissimo and his minions from the Church, and at the Council (spring 251) his decision was confirmed. Felicissimo rushed to Rome to the newly elected Roman Bishop Cornelius, but was driven away. The “Church on the Mountain” was clearly living its last days. It was not only a matter of excommunication of its leaders, although, of course, it also made an impression on the fallen - the main parishioners of the new church. From the very fact of their appeal to Saint Cyprian, despite the demanding and impudent tone of the letter, one can conclude that they understood the precariousness of their position. On the one hand, the Church, indestructibly firm, existing for the third century, in agreement and unity with both the local Churches and the Roman Church, headed by a man of such authority as St. Cyprian, and on the other, the “Church on the Mountain,” unknown to anyone, not recognized by anyone, led by suspicious people under excommunication. The difference was striking. And then the Council was about to open, the participants of which were not at all favorable towards the new church. And the Council will decide the fate of the fallen. And the schismatics humbly reached out to the Mother Church. The council opened in the early spring of 251 and immediately took up the fate of the fallen, dividing them into two categories according to the degree of guilt: one included those who actually made a sacrifice (sacrificati, thurificati), the other - those who did not participate in the sacrifice, but had a certificate of participation in it (libellatici from libellum - “testimony”) 13. The latter received forgiveness; those who made the sacrifice actually had to wait and repent for the time being. This very reasonable measure (it returned to the Church, probably, a considerable number of weary people and, splitting the camp of apostates, reduced the number of dissatisfied) caused, however, in some church circles a bewildered murmur directed at St. Cyprian, who, with good reason, one must think, was considered to have suggested this measure. The Numidian Bishop Antonian wrote to the Saint about this, and he answered him with a long, very remarkable letter, depicting him both as a shepherd concerned with the salvation of his flock, and as a statesman who understands that in complicated earthly relationships one cannot do without compromises, that the absolute truth remains absolute, but one must be guided by it not in an airless space, but in a specific situation, temporary and local, in communication with living people, whose needs and requirements cannot be ignored. take into account: “we must yield to the demands of the time” (letter 55, VII, 2; XI, 1); one cannot judge people wholesale: “one must consider the case of each individual” (ibid., XVII, 3), remembering that “one who is severely and cruelly pushed away from the Church can return to the pagans or go over to heretics and schismatics.” Not only libelians who are guilty of error deserve mercy, but also people who sacrificed to idols should be judged not by their actions, but by the motives that moved them to this act. Is the one who, having learned about the edict, immediately rushed to the forum with his entire household to do the will of the emperor, and the one who took the sin upon himself alone, making a sacrifice for all his family and acquaintances, and thereby freed them from participating in the pagan ceremony 14, and then atoned for his guilt by taking under his roof those expelled and those who fled and helping them in every possible way (ibid., XIII, 2). Decius died in the war in the summer of 251. He was succeeded by his comrade-in-arms, Trebonianus Gallus. There were rumors that Christians would again be persecuted, and the Council of 252 decided to forgive all the fallen: “Yielding to necessity, we decided to all who did not leave the Church of the Lord and from the very first day of their fall did not cease to repent, mourn and pray to the Lord, to give peace... it is now necessary to return to the Church not the weak, but the strong, not dying, but ready to live... 15, we will not leave them before the battle without armor and weapons, we will give the Body and Blood of Christ in defense” (letter 57, I, 2; II, 2). The persecution, however, did not happen; another misfortune came: the plague, which began in Ethiopia and wandered throughout the Mediterranean for 20 years, visited Carthage (252–253). These terrible days wrote one of the brightest pages in the biography of Saint Cyprian. Among the general confusion, the inaction of the authorities, who had lost their heads, and the stunning brutality of morals, he was the only one who retained calm, sobriety of thoughts and indestructible energy. He managed to organize his flock into a society to help the unfortunate city, and help was provided indifferently to both Christians and pagans. The rich gave money, the poor gave what was more valuable than money - their labor. “Through the joint efforts of many, something was created that was good for everyone” (De mort., 10). The following years were years of relatively quiet life: Saint Cyprian convened Councils and led them, wrote letters, which were sometimes small theological treatises; closely followed church life in the West 16, conducted a lively correspondence with Rome, promoted the recognition of Cornilnius, recently elected to the Roman See, and helped him in his struggle with Novatian 17. The most important question in these years (three Councils considered it: in 255 - with the participation of 31 bishops; in the spring of 256 - with the participation of 71 bishops; in the fall of the same year - with the participation of 87 bishops) was the question of whether heretics returning to Orthodoxy should be baptized. There were no direct instructions on this matter in the Apostolic Epistles; Their immediate successors did not say anything about this either. From ancient times, a local practice was established, which was obediently followed: the whole East and Africa believed that heretics must be baptized, for heretical baptism is not a real sacrament; in the West, in Rome, they were limited to the laying on of hands. At the Council convened in Carthage by Bishop Agrippinus, the predecessor of St. Cyprian, and at two Councils of Asia Minor (in Iconium and Sinnad), local East African practice was confirmed. Why did people in Africa worry and doubt its correctness? As a result of the revival of church life, a powerful impetus to which was given by Saint Cyprian, they began to think about what they had previously thoughtlessly adhered to? Confused by the difference with Western practice? In any case, the question of the baptism of heretics is “on the agenda”: ​​both laymen and bishops ask St. Cyprian for clarification (letter 69, to the layman Magnus, to the Mauritanian bishop Jubaian; to Numidian Quintus - letter 71); Eighteen Numidian bishops sent a collective letter to the Council meeting in Carthage (255), asking them to resolve their doubts. In response, they received a council decree: heretics must be baptized, because “no one can be baptized while outside the Church”; heretical baptism is only a profanation of the Sacrament (letter 70). At the Council of the following year, 256, this decree was confirmed. According to the long-established custom of exchanging ecclesiastical decisions, Saint Cyprian wrote to the Bishop of Rome, Stephen, about this solemn reinforcement of the old Carthaginian practice. The letter, calm and polite, ended with the words: “We do not force anyone and do not prescribe any law: the primate of each Church is free to act according to his own will and discretion; he will give an answer to God for his actions” (letter 73, III, 2). This letter, together with the acts of the Council, was taken to Rome. Stefan's behavior exceeded any measure of rudeness and tactlessness. He not only did not accept Africans, but forbade Roman Christians to let them into his house. He called Saint Cyprian a crafty worker, a false Christian and a false apostle and threatened both Africa and the Orthodox East with excommunication from the Church if they did not listen to him, the “bishop of bishops,” and did not accept Roman customs towards heretics. The indignation of the affected Churches was general; Firmilian, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, whom Saint Cyprian informed about everything that had happened, sent a sympathetic letter to the Saint, in which, without missing a beat, he called Stephen a fool (letter 75, XVII, 1) and said that, having excommunicated all the Eastern Churches (including Africa), he, Stephen, essentially excommunicated himself from the Church (letter 75, XXIV, 2). Saint Cyprian responded with a Council (September 1, 256). The minutes of this Council, entitled “Opinions of 87 Bishops on the Necessity of Baptism of Heretics,” with the “sentiment” of all its participants, have been preserved. The meeting began with the reading of the letters on the baptism of heretics exchanged between Bishop Jubaian and St. Cyprian, the message of the previous Council to Stephen and its threatening response. Then Saint Cyprian, as President of the Council, addressed those present: “You have heard, dear colleagues, the letter of Bishop Jubaian, who consulted with me about the lawless and unclean baptism of heretics, and my answer, containing the opinion I have repeatedly expressed that sinners returning to the Church should be baptized and sanctified by baptism in the Church. Another letter from Yubayan was also read to you, in which he, sincere and pious, not only expresses his agreement with me, but also thanks me for the fact that he is now instructed. Now it remains for each of us to express our opinion on this matter, without judging or excommunicating anyone for a different way of thinking. None of us sets ourselves up as bishops of bishops and does not force, through tyrannical intimidation, our colleagues to indispensable obedience. Each bishop is free and can exercise his power as he pleases; he cannot judge another and cannot be judged by others. Let us all wait for the judgment of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who alone has the power to put His Church at the head and to judge our actions.” Then each bishop (the protocol names the name and city in which he occupied the see) stated his “sentiment.” The opinions were unanimous. The minutes of this Council make it possible to draw up a geographical map showing how widespread Christianity was in Africa; together with the acts of other Councils, it provides information even more precious: it allows one to see the spiritual appearance of its primates. These people know that they are responsible for every soul entrusted to their care, they understand how great their power is and how heavy the responsibility is, therefore the question of the baptism of heretics returning to the Church is so hotly discussed, asked, thought, argued. And with the forgiveness of the fallen, not everything is going smoothly: there were disputes and disagreements (see letter 55, to Bishop Antonian). The fate of many, many depends on their decision; They have the right to return apostates to the Church. The opinion of Saint Cyprian, of course, has great weight for them: they agree with him, perhaps after a long internal struggle, but not out of a rude and imperious shout, but out of sincere conviction; They stand firmly on their decision. Everyone feels like members of the One Holy Universal Church; For the bishop of a small African town, the misfortune of a distant Spanish community is his own misfortune, and he is obliged to come to the rescue. The owner of his district, he remembers that he will answer to God for his deeds: he is His servant, appointed by Him; he walks before His Face. And this service invests him with dignity, inherent only to his rank. It is difficult to imagine that these people would humiliate themselves, chasing profit, engaging in usury: before what was given to them from above and the price of which they know, the gold of the whole world is dust and ashes. Through his activities, his words, and the charm of his personality, Saint Cyprian raised people who served the Church with all their hearts and all their minds. And a terrible blow was already hanging over the Church: in 257, real persecution began, ordered by Emperor Valerian. The first edict prohibited Christians, under penalty of death, from gathering in cemeteries (the usual place for their meetings and worship: chapels and churches were built in cemeteries). Members of the clergy were required to make sacrifices to the pagan gods. In August 258, a second edict followed, ordering bishops, priests and deacons to be executed if they persisted in their confession. The fate of Saint Cyprian during these years is narrated by the Acta proconsulari - the protocols of two interrogations carried out on the bishop by the proconsuls of these years. The unknown cleric connected these protocols with brief reports of what happened between the two interrogations, and added to them the story of an eyewitness to the death of the Saint. All together they formed a brief account of his last days; it was read in the Church on the day when they “commemorated” the Hieromartyr. The story is very simple, dry, devoid of any literary embellishment and very accurate in conveying all the details of the arrest, interrogation, and execution. After the first edict, Proconsul Paternus summoned Saint Cyprian, invited him to perform “Roman ceremonies,” that is, to make a sacrifice to the gods, and after his refusal, he sent him to the charming seaside town of Kerubis, 150 kilometers from Carthage; according to Pontius, the bishop was often visited by Christians; the inhabitants of the city loved him very much and provided him with everything he needed (Vita, 12). Saint Cyprian spent a year in Kerubis awaiting his verdict. During this time, he put church affairs in order as required; ordered the distribution of the remains of his property to the poor, sent a generous parcel to Christians exiled to the Siguzian mines. In August 258 he was summoned by the proconsul Galerius Maximus. The bishop arrived in Carthage and settled in his house, awaiting arrest. Then he learned about the second edict of Valerian, about the execution of the Roman Bishop Sixtus and four of his deacons; notified Bishop Success of everything and instructed him to “report this to other brethren... so that everywhere they can strengthen the brothers and prepare them for the spiritual struggle... let them rejoice and not be afraid of confession... the soldiers of God and Christ are not killed, but crowned” (letter 80, II). The proconsul, meanwhile, left for Utica and sent for Saint Cyprian, but the bishop disappeared; he writes in his last, farewell letter to “priests, deacons and all the people,” amazing in its strength, warmth and some kind of, already unearthly, calm: “It is fitting for a bishop to confess the Lord in the city where he stood at the head of the Church of the Lord... the honor of our so glorious Church will be diminished if the sentence is pronounced on me in Utica, and from there I will go to the Lord as a martyr; I have always prayed earnestly and asked that in order to make my confession to you, to suffer here and from here, as a martyr, to go to the Lord... I am awaiting the return of the proconsul to Carthage, and there I will hear from him the imperial command...” (letter 81, 2-3). When Galerius arrived in Carthage, the bishop returned to his home, and on September 13, two officers from the proconsul's headquarters came for him. The bishop was respectfully seated in the carriage, and since the proconsul postponed the matter until tomorrow, Saint Cyprian spent his last night in the house of one of the above-mentioned officers. A huge crowd of Christians gathered near the house; Having learned about this, the bishop instructed the clergy to guard the girls; the crowd did not disperse all night. The same crowd of people accompanied the bishop to the proconsul. Here is the record of this last interrogation of the Saint: “Galerius Maximus, proconsul, said to Bishop Cyprian: -Were you the leader of godless people? “The most sacred emperors ordered you to make a sacrifice. - Do as you are ordered. In a matter so fair, there is no need to think twice. Galerius Maximus, after talking with his advisers, with difficulty and annoyance pronounced the following sentence: “Tastius Cyprian is sentenced to execution by the sword.” Bishop Cyprian said: “Glory to God.” A crowd of brothers began to say: “Let us be beheaded along with him.” The bishop was led away; he was accompanied by a military convoy and a huge crowd of people: all the Carthaginian Christians came to see off their bishop, and many pagans also came. When they arrived at the place of execution, Saint Cyprian took off his outer clothing and remained in only a linen shirt; he knelt down and began to pray; then he ordered to give the executioner twenty-five gold pieces and blindfolded himself. The body of the martyr was hastily placed in a grave, prepared in advance nearby, “so that the pagans would not be curious.” At night, in a solemn procession with candles and torches, he was carried to the cemetery of Macrobius Candidiana, which is located on the Mappalika road near the ponds. Saint Cyprian spent his life after his conversion in service for the good of the Church and her children. His services to the Carthaginian Church are great: he saved it from decline and collapse, kept it united and holy. He raised worthy servants; with his attitude towards people, in which severity was tempered by ardent, sincere love (“Their wounds hurt me,” he wrote about the fallen (letter 17, I, 1)), he saved many, many for the Church. He could be formidable, but he knew how to console and guide people on the right path. His justice was justice not in letter, but in spirit, which always gives life. He enjoyed enormous authority, and not only in Africa, and did not force anyone to do anything by the force of this authority alone. He had the clear mind of a statesman, determining which path should be followed, what should be kept intact, where and what could and should be conceded. He could not be intimidated: he remained unshakably courageous even before the storm unleashed by the triple alliance of his enemies, apostates and confessors, and in the terrible days of the plague, and in the face of death, when he ended his holy life with a martyr’s, holy death. The tact with which Saint Cyprian responds to the poor old man is touching. He does not show that he understands how powerless he is: “You showed us honor and acted with your usual modesty by turning to us”; he delicately reminds of his power: “You could have punished him right away” and reassures the offended: “We, your brothers, will willingly agree with any of your decisions that you make with your episcopal authority against your impudent deacon.” Circus - an ellipse-shaped area where horse racing took place; Gladiator fights were held in the amphitheater. The common crowd felt like a mistress in both places: it often controlled, for example, the fate of gladiators, demanding either the death of a fighter who did not please it, or a reward, for example, the release of a gladiator it liked. The saint instilled in the confessors that they should behave quietly and humbly, without being arrogant or arrogant: “the true confessor is the one of whom the Church is proud, and not the one for whom she blushes.” St. Cyprinan wrote about the tactics of his enemies: “They had long flattered some confessors and persuaded them not to be in agreement with their bishop and not to obey with faith and in calm, according to the commandments of the Lord, the requirements of church discipline... It was not enough for them to seduce some confessors, arm them against the bishop of God and break the bonds of brotherhood between people - they turned their poisonous lies to the destruction of the “fallen” and, falsely promising an imaginary peace, they call for insolent and destructive actions” (letter 43, II, 1–2). Commissum - this is how the act of renunciation is secretly designated. Correspondence of St. Cyprian with confessors and about confessors tells about what happened in reality, and about what would have been desirable for the bishop. Perhaps some of the confessors wrote him polite letters, asking him to consider their requests and “give peace” to some of the fallen, so that “at the end of the persecution” they would begin to “gather together with the clergy” (letter 15, I, 2). “They wrote and asked me,” says the Saint, “to consider their requests and “give peace” after, by the grace of God, our Mother herself finds peace and we return to our Church” (letter 16, III, 2). However, it is also possible that these words contained a lesson: the bishop, with the tact characteristic of him in everyday relationships, suggested to the confessors how they should write to him, and did not directly reproach them for rudeness. But throughout the course of events it is clear that letters of the style “to accept such and such into fellowship” were common, “distributed daily by thousands without analysis and consideration of every request” (letter 20, II, 2). The exhortations to confessors to “carefully and carefully weigh the desires of those asking” were unlikely to be fulfilled, if only because the confessors found themselves under siege (“I hear, courageous and dear brothers, that shameless people are pressing on you and raping you”). Shameless bargaining began to boil around the simple-minded and self-important simpletons: “they are begging for notes for strong and influential people, wanting to serve them, or even simply trading them” (letter 15, III, 1–2). The “fallen”, having received such a “note” and believing that they had already been returned to the Church, were especially indignant at the bishop’s refusal to agree to the peace given to them. The affairs of these dissatisfied people had to be sorted out first. For example, famous priests: Rogatian, through whom St. Cyprian gave money to his clergy to distribute to the poor (par. 7:2); Tertul, who led the Carthaginian martyrology (item 12, II, 1), monitored the mood in Carthage and kept the bishop from returning to Carthage prematurely (item 14, I, 2); Numidik, who was a priest in some city, where the pagans almost killed him (St. Cyprian took him into his clergy); Herculanus and Caldonius, a cautious, reasonable man who knew how to think for himself, but considered individual decisions inappropriate and fragile (paragraph 24, I, 2). Letters were addressed to the clergy: 5th, 7th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 19th; people – 17th; to confessors – 6th, 10th, 13th, 15th. Did St. Cyprian clearly does not discover that the eighth letter was written from the entire Roman clergy (“I read your letter, which you recently sent to our clergy through Subdeacon Crementius” (item 20, III, 2), and only with his usual tact pretends to doubt whether this letter is really from the clergy (item 9, II, 1-2). Since the author of the letter was undoubtedly a cleric, this gave the right to write: ad vos - "to you." Its author was the priest Novatian, who later organized the schism. According to the chronological calculations of modern researchers, it was written in August 250. By this time, the new church was already in operation; it was called “the church on the mountain” - after the hill where Felicissimo lived and where the parishioners of this church gathered. All participants in the pagan prayer service received an official document certifying their participation. Forty such documents were found in Fayoum (Egypt). In Roman Africa, thousands of them were made according to a certain pattern in the office of the proconsul, and they became the subject of brisk trade for small office workers, from whom these “certificates of trustworthiness” were bought up by people who did not want to perform pagan rituals, but were afraid of being among the violators of the edict. This evidence is quite remarkable: Eusebius, emphasizing the ferocity of the persecution, writes that everyone was called to sacrifice by name - (“Palestinian Martyrs”, 8). From the words of St. Cyprian makes it clear that, at least in Africa, such a practice did not exist and the imperial edict did not prescribe it. To the fallen, seriously ill and near death, in the summer of 250 St. Cyprian allowed for absolution and communion to be given. The authority the Carthaginian Church enjoyed can be judged by the fact that the two Spanish Churches, embarrassed by the fact that people stained by apostasy had been appointed bishops, appealed with a complaint not to Rome, but to the Bishop of Carthage. St. Cyprian considered their letter at the Council (254) and responded with a collective letter on behalf of the 37 bishops who were present at this Council. Novatian was, by his education and gift of speech, one of the most prominent members of the Roman Church. They said that he aimed to become a bishop, and when Cornelius was elected to the episcopal throne, he acted as his opponent, forcing several bishops who had little understanding of what was happening in Rome to ordain themselves. He was the founder of the schism, named after him: the Novatians argued that no matter how the fallen repented, they would not receive forgiveness; the meaning of repentance was destroyed, as St. Cyprian (item 55, XXVIII, 1–2). The heresy of Novatian touched Africa and did not create any disturbance in the African Churches; at most, it only confused some bishops.