Letter 66: Faustinus, our colleague in Lyons, has written to me more than once, dearest brother — and I know he has written to...

Cyprian to his brother Stephen, greetings. Faustinus, our colleague in Lyons, has written to me more than once, dearest brother — and I know he has written to you too, along with other fellow bishops in the province — informing us that Marcianus, the bishop of Arles, has attached himself to Novatian and departed from the unity of the Catholic Church and from the agreement of our body and priesthood. He has embraced the worst feature of Novatian's heresy: that the comforts and remedies of divine love and the Father's tenderness are closed off to God's servants who repent, who mourn, who knock at the gate of the Church with tears and groans and grief. The wounded are refused treatment. The sick are abandoned without hope of peace and communion, left to be torn apart by wolves and seized by the devil. This is our business to address, dearest brother — we who weigh divine mercy and hold the balance in governing the Church. Yes, we show the rigor of discipline to sinners. But we do not refuse the medicine of God's goodness and mercy to the fallen and wounded. You need to write a very strong letter to our fellow bishops in Gaul. Marcianus can no longer be allowed to insult our fellowship by boasting that he has separated himself from our communion by siding with Novatian — a man already excommunicated and judged an enemy of the Church. Direct that a letter of excommunication be sent to the province and the people of Arles, so that Marcianus may be replaced and another bishop chosen in his place. The reason I write to you about this is not that you don't already know it — you do. But since between us bishops there must be a mutual care and a common watchfulness, I felt compelled to share the burden of this concern with you. The flock at Arles is scattered and wounded. Send the shepherds. Remove the wolf. The people there have suffered enough under a bishop who has abandoned mercy. Farewell, dearest brother. [Context: This letter reveals the developing relationship between the African and Roman churches. Cyprian writes to Stephen, Bishop of Rome (254-257 AD), urging him to act against Marcianus of Arles, who had joined the rigorist Novatian schism. Cyprian assumes a collegial relationship with Rome — he informs and urges, but does not defer. The letter is often cited in debates about papal authority, since Cyprian treats the Roman bishop as a peer with broader influence, not as a superior with binding jurisdiction.]

Epistle 66