Τὰ ἄρχαῖα ἔθη κρατέιτο; Cyprian: On the Unity of the Church

Τὰ ἄρχαῖα ἔθη κρατέιτο.

Let the ancient examples prevail.

The occasion of this post is a simple question:  what do I mean when I (or you) say "I love the Church"?  Augustine in his Confessions posed the question, what is it that I love, when I love God? It is the sort of question that one either sees as profound or simplistic.  To some, the asking of such a question borders on nonsense, either because it ought to be obvious that one simply loves God, or that one gropes about in the dark, and utters an untruth, when one says "I love God".  To others, asking the question is the first step in having it answered, as the soul expresses its desire for God and begins its journey homeward. 

I hear many people in Anglican circles saying "I love the Church".  Yet what do we mean when we say that?  With various loves appearing to move the church in different directions, perhaps the first question should be what do I mean when I say "I love".  But be all that as it may, I think the question about loving the Church needs to spark, at least for some Anglicans, the further question:  what is the Church?  And this is where our friend Cyprian comes in.  His treatise On the Unity of the Church was probably written c. 251, which is 7 years before the time of his martyrdom.  In this short treatise Cyprian lays out for the reader a few considerations about the nature of the Church.  I hope over the next two weeks or so to do a short study of this little treatise of his, in expectation that it might give the contemporary church some insight into what at least a few Christians of old thought about when they declared their love for the Church.

The online text of Schaff's translation can be found here, or here.

This sacrament of unity, this bond of a concord inseparably cohering, is set forth where in the Gospel the coat of the Lord Jesus Christ is not at all divided nor cut, but is received as an entire garment, and is possessed as an uninjured and undivided robe by those who cast lots concerning Christ’s garment, who should rather put on Christ.

Holy Scripture speaks, saying, “But of the coat, because it was not sewed, but woven from the top throughout, they said one to another, Let us not rend it, but cast lots whose it shall be." That coat bore with it an unity that came down from the top, that is, that came from heaven and the Father, which was not to be at all rent by the receiver and the possessor, but without separation we obtain a whole and substantial entireness.

He cannot possess the garment of Christ who parts and divides the Church of Christ.

Cyprian, On the Unity of the Church, vii

Update:  links to the rest of the posts in this series:

related posts: Cyprian On the Unity of the Church
intro
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4

Comments

[The Sheepcat]

Wow. He don't pull too many punches, that Cyprian, do he?

[joseph]

Sheepcat: it's just my own limited observation, but I have found that writers who have gone on to be martyred for their faith tended to be a bit, shall we say, bolder in their proclamation during their ministries.

[Malcolm+]

As I read the Gospel at yesterday's service, I cast aside the sermon I had planned and did a riff on the Messianic Secret - including a one-liner much like your closing thought.

[Malcolm+]

Of course, that last comment from me was supposed to be on the next post.

[joseph]

Malcolm - noted and moved to correct location, thanks.

[alex]

Malcolm - what is the "Messianic Secret"? Just that Jesus did not go around saying "Hey, guess what guys, I'm the Messiah!"?

[joseph]

alex - it's that little bit where Jesus tells his disicples not to tell anyone that he is the Messiah jsut after Peter's confession. The question is, why would Jesus sternly order them NOT to tell anyone that he is the Messiah. Or at least, not to tell them yet...