Letter 19

Cyprian to his brother Caldonius, greetings. We received your letter, beloved brother, and found it full of good sense, honesty, and faith. Given how deeply versed you are in the Lord's Scriptures, it is no surprise that you handle everything with such care and wisdom. You are entirely right about granting peace to those brothers and sisters who, through genuine repentance and the glory of confessing the Lord's name, have restored themselves — justified now by their words, when before they had condemned themselves by their actions. Since they have washed away their sin, and since the Lord's help has overcome their former stain through a more powerful virtue, they should not be left lying prostrate under the devil's power any longer. They have been banished, stripped of everything they owned — and they have risen to stand with Christ. I wish the others who fell would also repent and be restored to what they were. So you can see how I have dealt with those who rushed forward with reckless impatience, demanding peace, I am sending you a book along with five letters I wrote to the clergy, the people, and the martyrs and confessors. These letters have already been sent to many of our colleagues, and they are satisfied. They have written back to confirm that they share the same view, in accordance with the Catholic faith. Please share this with as many of our colleagues as you can, so that we may all follow one course of action and maintain one agreement, according to the Lord's commands. Farewell, beloved brother.

Epistle 19 Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99... Cyprian Replies to Caldonius. Argument.— Cyprian Treats of Nothing Peculiar in This Epistle, Beyond Acquiescing in the Opinion of Caldonius, to Wit, that Peace Should Not Be Refused to Such Lapsed As, by a True Repentance and Confession of the Name of Christ, Have Deserved It, and Have Therefore Returned to Him. Cyprian to Caldonius, his brother, greeting. We have received your letter, beloved brother, which is abundantly sensible, and full of honesty and faith. Nor do we wonder that, skilled and exercised as you are in the Scriptures of the Lord, you do everything discreetly and wisely. You have judged quite correctly about granting peace to our brethren, which they, by true penitence and by the glory of a confession of the Lord, have restored to themselves, being justified by their words, by which before they had condemned themselves. Since, then, they have washed away all their sin, and their former stain, by the help of the Lord, has been done away by a more powerful virtue, they ought not to lie any longer under the power of the devil, as it were, prostrate; when, being banished and deprived of all their property, they have lifted themselves up and have begun to stand with Christ. And I wish that the others also would repent after their fall, and be transferred into their former condition; and that you may know how we have dealt with these, in their urgent and eager rashness and importunity to extort peace, I have sent a book to you, with letters to the number of five, that I wrote to the clergy and to the people, and to the martyrs also and confessors, which letters have already been sent to many of our colleagues, and have satisfied them; and they replied that they also agree with me in the same opinion according to the Catholic faith; which very thing do you also communicate to as many of our colleagues as you can, that among all these, may be observed one mode of action and one agreement, according to the Lord's precepts. I bid you, beloved brother, ever heartily farewell.