16 Sept: Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian – endurance

Today is the feast of Sts. Pope Cornelius, and Bp. Cyprian of Carthage, martyrs.

Their time on earth in the 3rd century was decisive for the Church’s practice of how to reconcile sinners.

It was a time of terrible persecution. The Emperor Decius commanded in 250 that Christians perform pagan sacrifice or be punished even with death. The idea was that there was a contractual relationship with the gods that had to be upheld under pain of treason. Refuse the pagans gods and you were an enemy of the state, as it were.

The persecution in Carthage was especially brutal and the Bishop, Cyprian, went into hiding. He had been born into a pagan family, was a well educated orator with a dissipated youth, rather like Augustine later. After his conversion he wrote lovely Latin about his baptism. He was rather swiftly ordained and then elected bishop by the populace because of his great care for the poor. The senior clergy was not happy about that and they resisted him during his episcopate. After some 18 months of persecution, there were many “lapsi”, Christians who had caved in and offered pagan sacrifice, sometimes under torture. They wanted to be reconciled. This caused division. Some were ready to readmit them to the Eucharist right away. Others were determined that they could never return. Cyprian took the middle road and determined that they could be readmitted after doing penance. A schism followed with the election of a rival bishop. Cyprian stayed the course and, even as a plague swept over them, he wore his opposition down.

Meanwhile, the persecution was going on in Rome. Pope Fabian was killed in 251. There was a gap of bishops for a year or so. When Decius left Rome to fight the Gauls, Cornelius was elected. They had the same problem in Rome about how to deal with the lapsed. Similarly, there were rigorists who elected an anti-pope, Novatian, and laxists on the other side.

Cornelius would eventually be exiled from Rome and he died either from the bad conditions or he was beheaded.

Cyprian was outright martyred in the time of the persecution by the Emperor Valerian, who killed Sixtus II in Rome with his 7 deacons including Lawerence.   Cyrpian’s trial in Carthage, on 13 September 258, went like this:

Proconsul Galerius Maximus: “Are you Thascius Cyprianus?”
Cyprian: “I am.”
Galerius: “The most sacred Emperors have commanded you to conform to the Roman rites.”
Cyprian: “I refuse.”
Galerius: “Take heed for yourself.”
Cyprian: “Do as you are bid; in so clear a case I may not take heed.”
Galerius, after briefly conferring with his judicial council, with much reluctance pronounced the following sentence: “You have long lived an irreligious life, and have drawn together a number of men bound by an unlawful association, and professed yourself an open enemy to the gods and the religion of Rome; and the pious, most sacred and august Emperors … have endeavoured in vain to bring you back to conformity with their religious observances; whereas therefore you have been apprehended as principal and ringleader in these infamous crimes, you shall be made an example to those whom you have wickedly associated with you; the authority of law shall be ratified in your blood.” He then read the sentence of the court from a written tablet: “It is the sentence of this court that Thascius Cyprianus be executed with the sword.”
Cyprian: “Thanks be to God.”

They took him immediately outside the city with a great following (authentic “walking together”). After Cyprian blindfolded himself, he was beheaded.  After Cyprian was murdered so were eight others, celebrated on 24 February as the Martyrs of Carthage in 259.

In the Gospel for today’s Mass from Luke 21, the Lord talks about how his true followers will suffer persecution and even death.  They will be betrayed even by their loved ones.   The pericope ends with

In patiéntia vestra possidébitis ánimas vestras.

The DRV renders this as: “By your patience you will win your souls”.  The RSV is a little more helpful, “By your endurance you will gain your lives.”  Clearly that indicates lives in Heaven.    I pushed a little on Greek word for “patience” and “endurance” and found the additional overtone of hypomené as “cheerful endurance”.