Cyprian the Bishop

by Burns Jr.,J. Patout

• ISBN13: 9780415238502
• ISBN10: 0415238501
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2001-12-31
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This is the first up-to-date, accessible study on the rule of Cyprian as the Bishop of Carthage in the 250s AD. Using the tools of cultural anthropology,Cyprian the Bishopexamines the interplay between the shift in the social structures of Christian churches in third-century Roman Africa, the development of their ritual practices, and the efficacy assigned to them in changing a person's standing-not only within a community-but before God. By concentrating on social structures, J. Patout Burns, Jr. reveals the logic of Cyprian's plan, the basis for its success in his time, and the reason why it failed in later centuries.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
List of abbreviations	xi
History of Cyprian's controversies	1	(11)
Christians of Carthage under persecution	12	(13)
Necessity of repentance	25	(26)
Efficacy of the reconciliation ritual	51	(27)
Indivisibility of the church	78	(22)
Initiation into unity	100	(32)
Purity of the church	132	(19)
Unity of the episcopate	151	(15)
Cyprian's African heritage	166	(11)
Notes	177	(56)
Bibliography	233	(2)
Index	235