Letter 71: Cyprian and his colleagues to their brother Stephen, greetings.

Cyprian and his colleagues to their brother Stephen, greetings. We thought it necessary, dearest brother, to gather together and hold a council where many bishops were assembled, in order to settle certain matters and examine them through the deliberation of a common council. Many issues were raised and addressed, but the subject I must especially write to you about — one that touches directly on the authority of the priesthood, the unity of the Catholic Church, and its dignity as established by divine appointment — is this: those who have been immersed outside the Church, stained among heretics and schismatics with the taint of profane water, ought to be baptized when they come to us and to the one Church. The reason is simple. It is not enough merely to lay hands on them so they may receive the Holy Spirit — they must also receive the baptism of the Church. Only then can they be fully sanctified and made children of God, being born of both sacraments. For it is written: "Unless a man is born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" [John 3:5]. We find this practice upheld by the apostles themselves. In the Acts of the Apostles, when the Holy Spirit descended on the Gentiles gathered in the house of Cornelius the centurion — when they were filled with the Spirit, fervent in faith, and blessing God in many tongues — the blessed Apostle Peter nonetheless commanded that they be baptized, even though they had already received the Holy Spirit. He would not allow any part of the apostolic instruction to be neglected. What the heretics practice is not baptism. None of those who oppose Christ can receive benefit through his grace. We have set this out plainly in a letter to our colleague Quintus in Mauritania, as well as in a letter previously sent to the bishops presiding in Numidia. I have enclosed copies of both. Farewell, dearest brother.

Epistle 71