Letter 55: I had hoped, beloved brothers and sisters — and earnestly prayed — that circumstances would allow me to come to you...

Cyprian to the people of Thibaris, greetings. I had hoped, beloved brothers and sisters — and earnestly prayed — that circumstances would allow me to come to you in person, as you have so often asked. Being present among you, I could have strengthened the brotherhood with whatever words of encouragement I could manage. But pressing affairs keep me here, unable to travel far or to be long absent from the people over whom, by God's mercy, I have been placed. So I have written this letter to stand in my stead. By the Lord's instruction — for he warns me often — I bring this anxiety to your attention as well: you should know and believe and hold it as certain that the day of affliction hangs over our heads. The end of the world and the time of Antichrist are drawing near. We must all stand ready for battle. Do not think of what is coming as being anything like what has already passed. A more severe and fiercer fight now threatens. The soldiers of Christ must prepare themselves with uncorrupted faith and unshakable courage. Consider this: they drink the cup of Christ's blood daily, precisely so that they themselves may be able to shed their blood for Christ. To wish to be found with Christ is to imitate what Christ both taught and did, as the Apostle John says: "Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk as Christ walked" [1 John 2:6]. And Paul teaches: "We are God's children. But if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him" [Romans 8:16-17]. All of this must be weighed now, so that no one longs for anything from a world that is already dying, but follows Christ, who lives forever and gives life to his servants who are grounded in faith. The time is coming, beloved brothers and sisters — and it is already closer than we think — when the Lord will test his people, not by persecution alone, but by the threat of death itself. Be ready. Those who stood once may be called to stand again. And those who fell once must not fall twice. Arm yourselves. Make the day of battle find you strong, not scrambling. Whatever happens, hold fast to the Lord. What we lose in this world, we gain in the next — a hundred times over, and forever. Farewell, beloved brothers and sisters.

Epistle 55