Opening the library…

Search the Bible

On the Unity of the Church

Cyprian of Carthage

Section 10

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

10. Hence heresies not only have frequently been originated

‹ Section 9 Section 11 ›

,

but

continue

to

be

so

;

while

the

perverted

mind

has

no

peace

—

while

a

discordant

faithlessness

does

not

maintain

unity

.

But

the

Lord

permits

and

suffers

these

things

to

be

,

while

the

choice

of

one’s

own

liberty

remains

,

so

that

while

the

discrimination

of

truth

is

testing

our

hearts

and

our

minds

,

the

sound

faith

of

those

that

are

approved

may

shine

forth

with

manifest

light

.

The

Holy

Spirit

forewarns

and

says

by

the

apostle

,

“

It

is

needful

also

that

there

should

be

heresies

,

that

they

which

are

approved

may

be

made

manifest

among

you

.

”

Thus

the

faithful

are

approved

,

thus

the

perfidious

are

detected

;

thus

even

here

,

before

the

day

of

judgment

,

the

souls

of

the

righteous

and

of

the

unrighteous

are

already

divided

,

and

the

chaff

is

separated

from

the

wheat

.

These

are

they

who

of

their

own

accord

,

without

any

divine

arrangement

,

set

themselves

to

preside

among

the

daring

strangers

assembled

,

who

appoint

themselves

prelates

without

any

law

of

ordination

,

who

assume

to

themselves

the

name

of

bishop

,

although

no

one

gives

them

the

episcopate

;

whom

the

Holy

Spirit

points

out

in

the

Psalms

as

sitting

in

the

seat

of

pestilence

,

plagues

,

and

spots

of

the

faith

,

deceiving

with

serpent’s

tongue

,

and

artful

in

corrupting

the

truth

,

vomiting

forth

deadly

poisons

from

pestilential

tongues

;

whose

speech

doth

creep

like

a

cancer

,

whose

discourse

forms

a

deadly

poison

in

the

heart

and

breast

of

every

one

.

Notes

34
1 Cor. xi. 19.