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On the Unity of the Church

Cyprian of Carthage

Section 22

About this work

A pastoral argument for the visible unity of the church around its bishops, written amid schism and persecution and framed through biblical images of one people and one household.

Author: Cyprian of Carthage
Date: c. AD 251
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Theological Treatise

22. For the Lord chose Judas also among the

‹ Section 21 Section 23 ›

apostles

,

and

yet

afterwards

Judas

betrayed

the

Lord

.

Yet

not

on

that

account

did

the

faith

and

firmness

of

the

apostles

fail

,

because

the

traitor

Judas

failed

from

their

fellowship

:

so

also

in

the

case

in

question

the

holiness

and

dignity

of

confessors

is

not

forthwith

diminished

,

because

the

faith

of

some

of

them

is

broken

.

The

blessed

Apostle

Paul

in

his

epistle

speaks

in

this

manner

:

“

For

what

if

some

of

them

fall

away

from

the

faith

,

shall

their

unbelief

make

the

faith

of

God

without

effect

?

God

forbid

:

for

God

is

true

,

though

every

man

be

a

liar

.

”

The

greater

and

better

part

of

the

confessors

stand

firm

in

the

strength

of

their

faith

,

and

in

the

truth

of

the

law

and

discipline

of

the

Lord

;

neither

do

they

depart

from

the

peace

of

the

Church

,

who

remember

that

they

have

obtained

grace

in

the

Church

by

the

condescension

of

God

;

and

by

this

very

thing

they

obtain

a

higher

praise

of

their

faith

,

that

they

have

separated

from

the

faithlessness

of

those

who

have

been

associated

with

them

in

the

fellowship

of

confession

,

and

withdrawn

from

the

contagion

of

crime

.

Illuminated

by

the

true

light

of

the

Gospel

,

shone

upon

with

the

Lord’s

pure

and

white

brightness

,

they

are

as

praiseworthy

in

maintaining

the

peace

of

Christ

,

as

they

have

been

victorious

in

their

combat

with

the

devil

.

Notes

61
Rom. iii. 3.