Ante-Nicene Christian Library; Translations Of The Writings Of The Fathers Down To A.D. 325, Volume 8: The Writings Of Cyprian, Volume 1, Containing the Epistles and some of the Treatises

발행: 1868년

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THE EPISTLES OF CYPRIAM 271 tho Fathor and tho Lord and God os Christ, can receive remission of sins in the name of Christ ' What, momovenis that, and of What hind is it, that he who dentes the Son ofGod has not tho Fathor, and he Who dentes tho Fastorinould bo thought to havo the Son, although tho Son Him-

soli testifim, and says, No man can come unio me exceptit mere oven unio him of my Father τ' So that it is evident, that no remission os sins can be received in baptismhom the Son, whieli it is not plain that tho Father has granted, especialty sines He further repeara, and says,

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communicate With such as come to the church Without baptism, do not consider that they are becoming partisera mithother men's, yea, With eternal sins, When they admit without baptism those Who cannot, excepi in baptism, put off the sinsos thoir blasphemies. 20. Besides, hoW vain and perverse a thing it is, that Whentho heretios themselves, having repudiated and forsahencister tho error or the wichedness in Whicli they had pr viously been, achnowledge the truth of the chureli, me aliould mutilato the righis and sacrament of that fame truth, and sayto those Who come to us and repent, that they had obtainedromission os sins When they consess that they have sinned, andare for that reason come to seeh the pardon os sis churchi Whoresore, dearest brother, me ought both firmiy to maintaintho faith and truth of tho catholic church, and to leach, and by ali tho evangelicat and apostolicat precepis to set sortii, tho plan of the divine dispensation and unity.

21. Can the poWer os baptism be greater or os more avarithan consession, than suffering, When one consesses Christbefore men and is baptiged in his own bloodi And yetoven this baptism does not benefit a heretic, although ho has consessed Christ, and beon put to death oulside the church,

unless the patrons and advocates of heretics declaro that theheretics who are flain in a false confession os Christ arem artyrs; and, contrary to the testimony of the apostle, Whosays that it Will profit them nothing although they mereburni and flain, assign to them the glory and the crois of martyrdom. But is not even the baptism os a public consession and blood can profit a heretic to salvation, because there

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THE EPISTLES OF CYPRIAM 273 is no salvation out of tho church, hoW much l f shali it bo os Qvantage to him, it in a hissingilace and a cave of robbors,stainod missi the contagion os adultemus mater, he has notonly not put ost his old sins, but rather heaped up stili nomerand greater onesi meretore baptism cannot be common tous and to heretics, to Whom neither God the Fastis, nor Clirist the Son, nor tho Holy Ghost, nor the faith, nor thech ch itself, is common. And thereiare it behoves inoso tobe baptized who como Dom heresy to the church, that so theyWho are prepared, in the la sul, and true, and only baptismos the holy church, by divine regeneration, for the Engdomos God, may bo bom of both sacrament' becauso it is initten, Excepi a man bo bom of mater and of the Spirit, he camnot enter into the hingdom of God. λ22. Οn Whicli place some, as ii is human reasoning theymero able to mahe Void the truth of the Gospei declaration, object in us the case of catechumens; ashing is any ono oftheso, botoro ho is baptized in the church, should be apprehendod and flain on confession of tho name, Whether howould loso tho hopo of salvation and the reward of confession, bocauso he had not previously been bom again os mater Lot men of this End, who are aidem and favo ers of her lics, know the fore, sint, that those catechumens hold thosound faith and truth of the church, and advance fram thedivine camp to do batus with tho devii, with a fuli and sincere achnowledgment of God tho Father, and of Christ, and of tho Holy Ghost; then, that they certainly are not deprivedos the sacrament os baptism Who ars baptiged Mith the most glorious and greatest baptism of blood, conceming Which the Lord also said, that He had μ another baptism to be baptized th. But the fame Lord declares in the Gospei, stat those Who are baptietod in their own blood, and sanctified by susse ing, ars persected, and obtain the grace of the divine promise, when He speas to tho thiel besiering and confessing in HisVery passion, and promises that ho fhould bo with mmmd

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274 THE EPISTLES OF CYPRIAM tho faith and truth, and repent, and beg that their sins should

bo remitted to them; but to instruct them When corrected

by us, and reformed sor the hingdom of heaven is celestialdiscipline. 23. But some one says, What, then, shali become of thoso vho in past times, coming from heresy to the church, urere received without baptism τ' The Lord is able by His mercyto give indulgence, and not to separate hom the gisti ofΗis churcii those Who by simplici mere admitted into tho

there baptized is considerod just and legitimate, they mill thinhthat they are justly and legitimately in possession of the churchalso, and the other gitis of the church ; nor mill there be anyreason for their coming to us, When, as they have baptism, they seem also to have tho rest. But further, When th know that there is no baptism Without, and that no remissionos sins can be oven oulside the church, they more eagerly and readily hasten to us, and implore the gitis and benefiis of tho church our Mother, assured that they can in no miseattain to the true promise of divine grace unless they fidit come to the truth of the church. Νor will heretics resuse tobo baptized among us with the lawsul and true baptism o the church, when they shali have learat from us that they also

mere baptized by Paul, Who already had boon baptized Miththe baptism of Jolin, as Wo read in the Acts of the Apostles.

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since baptism and the church can by no means be Separate lsrom one another, and divided, he who has first been able tolay hold on baptism has equalty also laid hold on the church: and you begin is appear to him M a heretic, When you beinganticipaled, have begun to be last, and by yielding and givingway have relinquished the right which you had received. But hoW dangerous it is in divine mattera, that any oneshould depari from his right and pomer, holy Scripture declares When, in Genesis, Esau thenco tost his birthright,

1 Cor. xi. 16.

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276 THE EPISTLES OF CYPRIAN.

that they who endeavoured to annui the old custom about receiving heretica were to be eaecommunicated; but the other,

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THE EPISTLES OF CYPRIAM 277Ι havo fully comprisod What is to M said concerning the

cndeamuring to maintain the cause of heretios against Chri tians, and against the church os God. For among other mattere, Which mero etther haughtily assumed, or mere notpertaining to the matter, or contradictory to his οὐ Viem

on him for repentance; since the heretim themselves, in their oWn proper character, do not baptige such as como tostem hom one another, but only admit them in communion.

2. He forbade ono coming from any heresy to be baptized in the church; that is, ho judged the baptism os ali hereti to be just and lawsul. And although speciat herestes havs speciat baptisma and different sins, he, holding communion illi tho baptism os ali, gathered up the sins Oi all, hea dimether into his own bosom. And he charged that nothingshould bo innovatod excopi What had been handia down; asit he wero an innovator, Who, holding the uni , claims sorthe ono church ono baptism; and not manifestly he who, io gelses of uni , adopta the lies and tho contagiona os a profane Washing. Let nothing be innovated, says he, exceptWhat has been handia down. Whenee is that tradition Whether does it descend from tho authori of the Lord and of the gospei, or does it come iram tho commanda and the episties of the apostlest For that those things Whicli are written must be done, God Mitnesses and admonishes, sayingto Jostiua tho son of Nun: The book of this law shali notdepart out os thy mouth; but thou shali meditate in it du

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E EPISTLES OF CYPRIAM

273 and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to allthat is writton therein.V- Also the Lord, sending His apostles, commands that the nations should be baptiged, and taught to observe ali things Which Ηe commanded. I theresore, it is either prescribed in the Gospei, or containedin the episties or Acts of tho Apostles, that those Who comefrom any heresy should not be baptized, but only hanci laidupon them to repentanee, let this divine and holy traditionbe observed. But is everyWhere heretics are called nothingelse than adversaries and antichrista, ii they are pronouncedio be peοple to be avoided, and to be perverted and condemned of their own solves, where ore is it that they should not be thought Worthy of boing condemned by us, since it is evident iram tho apostolic testimony that they are of theiro vn Selves condem nodi So that no one ought to defame theapostles as is they had approved of tho baptisms of heretios,or had communicated with them Without the church's baptism, When they, the apostles, Uroto such things of the heretics: and this, too, While as yet the more terribie plagues of heresyhad not brohen sortii ; whilo Marcion of Pontus had not yotemerged hom Pontus, whose master Cerdon came to Romewhile Hyginus was stili bishop, Who was the ninth bishop in that ci , Whom Marcion followed, and with greater impudenco adding other enhancementa to his crime, and more daringly set himsols to blaspheme against God the Father, tho Creator, and armed with sacrilegious arma the hereticalmadness that rebelled against tho church With greater Wiched-ness and determination.

3. But is it is ovident that subsoquently herestes beramemore numerous and morae; and is, in time past, it Was neverat ali proscribed nor Written that only hands should bo laidupon a heretic sor repentance, and that so he might be communicatod with; and is there is only one baptism, Whicli is With us, and is Within, and is granted of the divine condoscension to the church alone, What obstina is that, or What presumption, to prefer human tradition to divine ordinance, and not to observe that God is indignant anil angry as osten

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TNE EPISTLES OF CYPRIAM 279

are specialty heretics do not baptige those Who come to themirom one another, but only receive them to communion.

To this potnt of ovit has tho church of God and spouso of Christ been devoloped, that she follo a the examples of heretics; that for the purpose of celebrating the celestialsacramenta, light should borro her discipline from darkness, and Christians should do that which antichrisis do. Butwhat is that blindness of foui, What is that degradation offaith, to refuso to recogniso the unity whicli comes hom God the Father, and srom tho tradition of Jesus Christ the Lordand our God i For is tho church is not with hereties, there- fore, because it is one, and cannot be divided; and is thus tho Holy Spirit is not thore, because He is one, and cannot

be among profane persons, and those who are Without; ce

the church Dor from the Ηoly Spirit. 5. Or is they attributo tho effect of baptism to the majes of the name, so that they Who are baptized any here and anylio , in the name of Jesus Christ, are judged is berene ed and sanctified; Where ore, in the name of the fame

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280 THE EPISTLES OF CYPRIAM Christ, ars not hands laid upon the baptized persons among them, for tho reception of the Holy Spirit 3 Mhy doos notthe samo majesty of the samo name avail in tho impositionos hands, Which, they contend, massed in the sanctificationos baptismi For is any one born out of the chureli canbscomo Goaes temple, Wis cannot the Holy Spirit also bopoured out Mon the templet For he who has been sancti-fled, his sins Ming put a V in baptism, and has been spiritualty r formed into a neW man, has become fitted forreceiving the Holy Spirit; since the apostle says, As many of Du as have been baptized into Christ havo put on Christ.' Ηο Who, having been baptized among the heretics, is able toput On Christ, may much more receive the Holy Spirit whom Christ sent. Otherwiso Ho who is sent Will be greater than Him Who sends; so that one baptized Without may beginindeed to put on Christ, but not in be able to receive tho Hesy Spirit, as is Christ could either be put on without in Spirit, or the Spirit be separated hom Christ. Moreover,it is silly to say, that although the second birth is spiritual, bywhich Wo ars born in Christ through tho laver of regeneration, One may be born spiritualty among the heretim, Wherethey say that the Spirit is not. For Water alono is not ablo

also the Holy Spirit. Whereforo it is necessary that thus uid grant tho Hob Spirit to M there, Where they saythat baptism is; or olso that there is no baptism Wheretho Hesy Spirit is no because there cannot be baptismwithout tho Spirit. 6. But What a thing it is, to asseri and contend that in

Who are not bom in tho church can be tho sons os Godi Forthe blessed apostlo seis forth and proves stat baptism is that Whorein the old man dies and the neW man is born, saying, He saved us by the washing of regoneration. But is regeneration is in the washing, stat is, in baptism, hoW canheresy, Which is not tho spouse os Christ, generate sons to

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