Cyprian of Carthage

Life events

1. Born

   Cyprian (birth name Thascius) was born into a wealthy pagan Roman African family in Carthage sometime during the early third century, around 210 AD. Before his conversion he worked as an orator, a pleader in the courts, and a teacher of rhetoric.

2. Baptized — 245

   After a dissipated youth, Cyprian was baptized at around the age of thirty-five, c. 245 AD. He took the additional name Caecilius in memory of the priest responsible for his conversion, and distributed a portion of his wealth to the poor of Carthage.

3. Consecrated

   Between July 248 and April 249, Cyprian was elected bishop of Carthage, a popular choice among the poor who remembered his earlier patronage. His rapid elevation was opposed by senior Carthaginian clergy who had not approved his candidacy, an opposition that persisted throughout his episcopate.

4. Exiled — 250

   When Emperor Decius issued his edict requiring universal sacrifice to the Roman gods in early 250, Cyprian withdrew from Carthage rather than face execution. He continued governing his diocese through correspondence during fourteen months of absence, arguing that a shepherd was more valuable alive than martyred prematurely.

5. Wrote — 251

   During his exile from Carthage, Cyprian wrote De Ecclesiae Catholicae Unitate (On the Unity of the Catholic Church), his most famous treatise, arguing for the visible unity of the Church under episcopal authority. On returning to his see he issued De Lapsis (On the Fallen), defining the moderate penitential path for those who had lapsed under persecution.

6. Council — 251

   Returning to Carthage in 251, Cyprian convoked a council of North African bishops to address the treatment of the lapsed (Latin: lapsi) and the schism of Felicissimus. The council sided with his moderate position requiring public penance before readmission, and condemned Felicissimus, though no council acts survive.

7. Exiled — 257

   On 30 August 257, Cyprian appeared before the Roman proconsul Aspasius Paternus, refused to sacrifice to the Roman gods, and was banished to Curubis (modern Korba). After approximately a year he was recalled and held under house arrest at his villa near Carthage in anticipation of a more stringent imperial edict.

8. Martyred — 258

   On 14 September 258, Cyprian was publicly examined by proconsul Galerius Maximus, refused to conform to Roman religious observances, and was sentenced to death by the sword. He removed his garments without assistance, knelt in prayer, blindfolded himself, and was beheaded in an open place near Carthage; his body was interred by Christians near the execution site.

Relationships

Documented claims

• The transcript of Cyprian's public examination by proconsul Galerius Maximus on 14 September 258 has been preserved verbatim, making it one of the earliest surviving trial records of a Christian martyr. (certain)
• Cyprian insisted that baptism performed by heretics was invalid and that those so baptized required rebaptism upon entering the Church, a position that placed him in direct conflict with Rome and remains one of the most debated sacramental questions of early Christianity. (likely)
• Cyprian's command of Latin rhetoric led to his being considered the pre-eminent Latin writer of Western Christianity until the generation of Jerome and Augustine. (likely)
• Pontius the Deacon wrote The Life and Passion of St. Cyprian, one of the earliest surviving Christian biographies, detailing Cyprian's conversion, ministry, and martyrdom under Valerian. (likely)
• Cyprian of Carthage is frequently confused with Cyprian of Antioch, a figure reputedly a magician before his conversion; several grimoires, including the Libellus Magicus, are mistakenly attributed to the Carthaginian bishop. (likely)