A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

§ 52. Controversy over Baptism by Heretics 273a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter thekingdom of God” [John 3:5].Ch. 26. These things, dearest brother, we have briefly writtento you according to our modest abilities, prescribing to none andprejudging none, so as to prevent any one of the bishops doingwhat he thinks well, and having the free exercise of his judgment.(b) Cyprian, Ep. ad Magnum, Ep. 75 [=69]. (MSL, 3:1183.) Cf.Mirbt, n. 67.With your usual diligence you have consulted my poor intelligence,dearest son, as to whether, among other heretics, theyalso who come from Novatian ought, after his profane washing,to be baptized and sanctified in the Catholic Church, with thelawful, true, and only baptism of the Church. In answer to thisquestion, as much as the capacity of my faith and the sanctityand truth of the divine Scriptures suggest, I say that no hereticsand schismatics at all have any right to power. For which reasonNovatian, since he is without the Church and is acting in oppositionto the peace and love of Christ, neither ought to be, norcan be, omitted from being counted among the adversaries andantichrists. For our Lord Jesus Christ, when He declared in HisGospel that those who were not with Him were His adversaries,did not point out any species of heresy, but showed that all whowere not with Him, and who were not gathering with Him, werescattering His flock, and were His adversaries, saying: “He that [248]is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with mescattereth” [Luke 11:23]. Moreover, the blessed Apostle Johndistinguished no heresy or schism, neither did he set down anyspecially separated, but he called all who had gone out from theChurch, and who acted in opposition to the Church, antichrists,saying, “Ye have heard that Antichrist cometh, and even now arecome many antichrists; wherefore we know that this is the lasttime. They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they