Introduction to This Volume
How this book is arranged
This is the thirteenth volume of a series that gathers the writings of the early Church in order of date, from the generation after the apostles down to the eighth century. This volume holds Cyprian of Carthage and Novatian, from the period about AD 248 – 258.
Within each work the text is divided into chapters and numbered sections, so that any passage can be found again and cited. The small bold figures in the text are the section numbers.
The translations
The text is in English only. Wherever a modern English version has been prepared for SermonIndex it is used here; otherwise the book prints an older public-domain translation. In both cases the wording is the translator’s own: older translations have not been altered beyond dividing them into sections. The sources for every work are listed at the back of the book, together with the licence under which each text is released. All the works in this volume are printed in older public-domain translations.
In this volume
Cyprian was bishop of Carthage from about AD 249 until he was beheaded in AD 258. His treatises and letters show a bishop guiding his church through the Decian persecution, the dispute over those who had lapsed, and the argument over baptism by heretics.
Novatian was a Roman presbyter who became a rival bishop of Rome in AD 251 and led a stricter party in the church. His treatise On the Trinity is the earliest surviving Latin work devoted to the doctrine.
Cyprian’s letters are among the most valuable sources for the life of the church in North Africa and Rome in the middle of the third century. The Seventh Council of Carthage records the votes of the bishops who met under Cyprian in AD 256 on the baptism of those who came from heresy. Scholars debate whether Novatian wrote the short letter On the Jewish Meats.
Dates and authorship
Dates are approximate and are debated by scholars. Each work begins with a short introduction that states what is known about its author and its date, and what is uncertain.