Letter 61: Cyprian, Caecilius, Victor, Sedatus, Tertullus, and the presbyters present with them, to our brother Pomponius,...

Cyprian, Caecilius, Victor, Sedatus, Tertullus, and the presbyters present with them, to our brother Pomponius, greetings. We have read your letter, dearest brother. You asked us to weigh in on certain virgins in your community who, after having solemnly committed to preserve their virginity, were found to have been sharing beds with men — one of them a deacon. The virgins in question insist they are still chaste, despite confessing they slept alongside these men. You want to know what we think. Know that we do not depart from the traditions of the Gospel and the apostles. We take counsel for our brothers and sisters with constancy and firmness, upholding the discipline of the Church as the Lord instructs: "I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and they will feed you with discipline" [Jeremiah 3:15]. And again: "Whoever despises discipline is wretched" [Wisdom 3:11]. So first of all, dearest brother: it is the duty of overseers and the whole community to ensure that the divine commands are observed with full discipline, and that we do not allow our brothers and sisters to live according to their own whims. Virgins must not live with men — I will not say share a bed, but even share a roof — since their vulnerable state and their age, still subject to temptation, require restraint in every respect. If a virgin has genuinely kept her vow, and an examination confirms she is still intact, let her be received back into communion and admitted to the church — but with a stern warning not to repeat such behavior. If, however, any of them has been corrupted, she has committed adultery — not against a husband, but against Christ. She must be compelled to a full course of repentance proportionate to the offense. And those who stubbornly refuse to separate from these men and reform their conduct should be expelled from the Church. Let no one imagine we are being harsh. The harshness would be in allowing the scandal to continue unchecked, and in letting the reputation of women who pledged themselves to Christ be destroyed by carelessness. Farewell, dearest brother.

Epistle 61