A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

§ 50. The Episcopate in the Church 263little more than his personal ideal. The following sections shouldalso be consulted in this connection.Additional source material: Cyprian deals with the hierarchicalconstitution in almost every epistle; see, however,especially the following: 26:1 [33:1], 51:24 [55:24], 54:5[59:5], 64:3 [3:3], 72:21 [73:21], 74:16 [75:16] (important [238]for the testimony of Firmilian as to the hierarchical ideas inthe East). Serapion's Prayer Book, trans. by J. Wordsworth,1899.(a) Cyprian, Epistula 68, 8 [=66]. (MSL, 4:418.)Although a rebellious and arrogant multitude of those who willnot obey depart, yet the Church does not depart from Christ; andthey are the Church who are a people united to the priest, and theflock which adheres to its pastor. Whence you ought to know thatthe bishop is in the Church and the Church in the bishop; and thatif any one be not with the bishop, he is not in the Church, and thatthose flatter themselves in vain who creep in, not having peacewith God's priests, and think that they communicate secretly withsome; while the Church, which is Catholic and one, is not cutnor divided, but is indeed connected and bound together by thecement of the priests who cohere with one another.(b) Council of Carthage, A. D. 256. (MSL, 3:1092.)The council of Carthage, in 256, was held, under the presidencyof Cyprian, to act on the question of baptism by heretics.See § 52. Eighty-seven bishops were present. The full reportof proceedings is to be found in the works of Cyprian. SeeANF, V, 565, and Hefele, § 6. The theory of Cyprian which ishere expressed is that all bishops are equal and independent,as opposed to the Roman position taken by Stephen, and thatthe individual bishop is responsible only to God.