A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

264 A Source Book for Ancient Church History[239]Cyprian said: … It remains that upon this matter each of us shouldbring forward what he thinks, judging no man, nor rejecting fromthe right of communion, if he should think differently. Forneither does any one of us set himself up as a bishop of bishops,nor by tyrannical terrors does any one compel his colleagues tothe necessity of obedience; since every bishop, according to theallowance of his liberty and power, has his own proper right ofjudgment, and can no more be judged by another than he himselfcan judge another. But let us all wait for the judgment of ourLord Jesus Christ, who alone has the power of advancing us inthe government of His Church, and of judging us in our conducthere.(c) Cyprian, Epistula 67:5. (MSL, 3:1064.)The following epistle was written to clergy and people inSpain, i.e., at Leon, Astorga, and Merida, in regard to theordination of two bishops, Sabinus and Felix, in place ofBasilides and Martial, who had lapsed in the persecution andhad been deprived of their sees. The passage illustrates themethods of election and ordination of bishops, and the failureof Cyprian, with his theory of the episcopate, to recognize inthe see of Rome any jurisdiction over other bishops. Its dateappears to be about 257.You must diligently observe and keep the practice delivered fromdivine tradition and apostolic observance, which is also maintainedamong us, and throughout almost all the provinces: that forthe proper celebration of ordinations all the neighboring bishopsof the same province should assemble with that people for whicha prelate is ordained. And the bishops should be chosen in thepresence of the people, who have most fully known the life ofeach one, and have looked into the doings of each one as respectshis manner of life. And this also, we see, was done by you in theordination of our colleague Sabinus; so that, by the suffrage of