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| To Rogatianus, Concerning the Deacon Who Contended Against the Bishop.
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Epistle LXIV.2722
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Oxford ed.: Ep. iii. |
To Rogatianus, Concerning the Deacon
Who Contended Against the Bishop.
Argument.—Cyprian Warns the Bishop Rogatianus to Restrain the Pride
of the Deacon Who Had Provoked Him with His Insults, and to Compel Him
to Repent of His Boldness; Taking Occasion to Repeat Once More Whatever
He Has Said in the Previous Letter, About the Sacerdotal or Episcopal
Power.2723
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At what time this letter was written is uncertain, unless we may
gather from the similar commencement in both letters, that it was
written at the same synod with the following one. Perhaps
a.d. 249. |
1. Cyprian to his brother Rogatianus,
greeting. I and my colleagues who were present with me were
deeply and grievously distressed, dearest brother, on reading your
letter in which you complained of your deacon, that, forgetful of your
priestly station, and unmindful of his own office and ministry, he had
provoked you by his insults and injuries. And you indeed have
acted worthily, and with your accustomed humility towards us, in rather
complaining of him to us; although you have power, according to the
vigour of the episcopate and the authority of your See, whereby you
might be justified on him at once, assured that all we your colleagues
would regard it as a matter of satisfaction, whatever you should do by
your priestly power in respect of an insolent deacon, as you have in
respect of men of this kind divine commands. Inasmuch as the Lord
God says in Deuteronomy, “And the man that will do
presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest or the judge,
whoever he shall be in those days, that man shall die; and all the
people, when they hear, shall fear, and shall no more do
impiously.”2724
And
that we may know that this voice of God came forth with His true and
highest majesty to honour and avenge His priests; when three of
the ministers2725
—Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram—dared to deal proudly, and to exalt their neck
against Aaron the priest, and to equal themselves with the priest set
over them; they were swallowed up and devoured by the opening of the
earth, and so immediately suffered the penalty of their sacrilegious
audacity. Nor they alone, but also two hundred and fifty others,
who were their companions in boldness, were consumed by a fire breaking
forth from the Lord, that it might be proved that God’s priests
are avenged by Him who makes priests. In the book of Kings also,
when Samuel the priest was despised by the Jewish people on account of
his age, as you are now, the Lord in wrath exclaimed, and said,
“They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected
me.”2726
And that
He might avenge this, He set over them Saul as a king, who afflicted
them with grievous injuries, and trod on the people, and pressed down
their pride with all insults and penalties, that the despised priest
might be avenged by divine vengeance on a proud people.
2. Moreover also Solomon, established in the
Holy Spirit, testifies and teaches what is the priestly authority and
power, saying, “Fear the Lord with all thy soul, and reverence
His priests;”2727
and again, “Honour God with all
thy soul, and honour His priests.”2728
Mindful of which precepts, the
blessed Apostle Paul, according to what we read in the Acts of the
Apostles, when it was said to him, “Revilest thou thus
God’s high priest?” answered and said, “I wist not,
brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, Thou shalt
not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.”2729
Moreover, our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself, our King, and Judge, and God, even to the very day of His
passion observed the honour to priests and high priests, although they
observed neither the fear of God nor the acknowledgment of
Christ. For when He had cleansed the leper, He said to him,
“Go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the
gift.”2730
With
that humility which taught us also to be humble, He still called him a
priest whom He knew to be sacrilegious; also under the very sting of
His passion, when He had received a blow, and it was said to Him,
“Answerest thou the high priest so?” He said nothing
reproachfully against the person of the high priest, but rather
maintained His own innocence saying, “If I have spoken evil, bear
witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?”2731
All which
things were therefore done by Him humbly and patiently, that we might
have an example of humility and patience; for He taught that true
priests were lawfully and fully to be honoured, in showing Himself such
as He was in respect of false priests.
3. But deacons ought to remember that the
Lord chose apostles, that is, bishops and overseers; while apostles
appointed for themselves deacons2732
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[This is the Cyprianic theory.] | after the ascent of the Lord into
heaven, as ministers of their episcopacy and of the Church. But
if we may dare anything against God who makes bishops, deacons may also
dare against us by whom they are made; and therefore it behoves the
deacon of whom you write to repent of his audacity, and to acknowledge
the honour of the priest, and to satisfy the bishop set over him with
full humility. For these things are the beginnings of heretics,
and the origins and endeavours of evil-minded schismatics;—to
please themselves, and with swelling haughtiness to despise him who is
set over them. Thus they depart from the Church—thus a
profane altar is set up outside—thus they rebel against the peace
of Christ, and the appointment and the unity of God. But if,
further, he shall harass and provoke you with his insults, you must
exercise against him the power of your dignity, by either deposing him
or excommunicating him. For if the Apostle Paul, writing to
Timothy, said, “Let no man despise thy youth,”2733
how much
rather must it be said by your colleagues to you, “Let no man
despise thy age? And since you have written, that one has
associated himself with that same deacon of yours, and is a partaker of
his pride and boldness, you may either restrain or excommunicate him
also, and any others that may appear of a like disposition, and act
against God’s priest. Unless, as we exhort and advise, they
should rather perceive that they have sinned and make satisfaction, and
suffer us to keep our own purpose; for we rather ask and desire to
overcome the reproaches and injuries of individuals by clemency and
patience, than to punish them by our priestly power.2734
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[See letter liv. sec. 16, p. 345, supra.] | I bid you, dearest brother,
ever heartily farewell.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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