The Death of St. Cyprian

Today marks the anniversary of the death of St. Cyprian, bishop and martyr, in the year 258. 

His feast was originally kept on this date, according to the Church’s ancient custom that Saints are celebrated on the day of their entry into eternal life. But, the feast day was later bumped forward to the 16th by the Exaltation of the Cross.

Tertullian & St. Cyprian

After Tertullian, St. Cyprian is the second major Church Father who wrote in Latin, and one of the most important creators of a specifically Christian form of Latinity. Like Tertullian, he was educated in the great tradition of Roman rhetoric, but unlike him, he never allowed that training to get the better of him stylistically. His writing is generally clear and to the point, whereas Tertullian is often obscure and verbose. Although Tertullian died outside the peace of the Church as a member of the Montanist sect, St. Cyprian always referred to him as “the Master,” and read his works assiduously.

A Timeline

Cyprian’s career in the Church was unusually meteoric:

  • Circa 245: Baptized at the age of 46 
  • Circa 246-248: Ordained deacon and priest and then 
  • Circa 248-249: Elected bishop of Carthage, the most important see of Roman North Africa
  • Circa 249: Emperor Decius began the first general persecution of the Christians, which caught the Church in Africa very much by surprise, since it had mostly been at peace for nearly fifty years. 
  • Circa 249: Cyprian fled from Carthage, which brought a fair amount of negative criticism since many believed it was the bishop’s duty to die courageously with his flock. 

To this he replied that “the Lord commanded us in the persecution to depart and to flee, and both taught that this should be done, and Himself did it. For as the crown is given of the condescension of God, and cannot be received unless the hour comes for accepting it, whosoever abiding in Christ departs for a while does not deny his faith, but waits for the time.” (De lapsis 10)

More Persecutions

Cyprian’s time came in the next persecution, which broke out in the reign of Valerian in 256. 

In late August of 258, he was arrested and tried before the proconsul of Africa, Galerius Maximus. 

The record of this interrogation survives since the early Christians preserved copies of the trials of the martyrs whenever they could. This was done not only for the sake of record keeping; the accounts of martyrs’ deaths, including trial records such as this one, were actually read out to the faithful on their feast days as part of the celebration of Mass. Here is the transcript of St. Cyprian’s interrogation.

St. Cyprian's Trial Transcript

 

Ancient Roman parchment with ornate painting and decoration. In Latin, the transcript of St. Cyprian's trial is written.

 

In Latin

Galerius Maximus proconsul Cypriano episcopo dixit: “Tu es Thascius Cyprianus?” Cyprianus episcopus respondit: “Ego sum.” Galerius Maximus proconsul dixit: “Tu Papam te sacrilegae mentis hominibus praebuisti?” Cyprianus Episcopus respondit: “Ego.” Galerius Maximus proconsul dixit: “Jusserunt te sacratissimi Imperatores caeremoniari.” Cyprianus Episcopus dixit: “Non facio.” Galerius Maximus ait: “Consule tibi.” Cyprianus Episcopus respondit: “Fac quod tibi praeceptum est. In re tam justa nulla est consultatio.” Galerius Maximus collocutus cum concilio sententiam vix aegre dixit verbis hujusmodi: “Diu sacrilega mente vixisti, et plurimos nefariae tibi conspirationis homines aggregasti, et inimicum te diis Romanis et sacris legibus constituisti, nec te pii et sacratissimi principes Valerianus et Gallienus Augusti, et Valerianus nobilissimus Caesar, ad sectam caeremoniarum suarum revocare potuerunt. Et ideo cum sis nequissimorum criminum auctor et signifer deprehensus: eris ipse documento his, quos scelere tuo tecum aggregasti: sanguine tuo sancietur disciplina.” Et his dictis, decretum ex tabella recitavit: “Thascium Cyprianum gladio animadverti placet.” Cyprianus Episcopus dixit: “Deo gratias.”

English Translation of St. Cyprian's Trial

Galerius Maximus the proconsul said to Cyprian the bishop: “Are you Thascius Cyprianus?” Cyprian the bishop answered: “I am.” Galerius: “You have offered yourself as the bishop to men of irreligious mind?” Cyprian: “I have.”  Galerius: “The most sacred Emperors have commanded you to conform to offer the rites.” Cyprian: “I refuse.”  Galerius: “Take heed for yourself.” Cyprian: “Do as you are ordered; in so just a case, there is no need for deliberation.” Galerius, after briefly conferring with his council, with little reluctance pronounced the sentence as follows: “You have long lived an irreligious life, and have gathered to yourself a great many men in an unlawful association, and set yourself as an enemy to the Roman gods and the sacred laws; nor have the pious, most sacred emperors Valerian and Gallienus been able to bring you back to the way of their religious observances And therefore, since you have been apprehended as the author and leader of most wicked crimes, you yourself shall be an example to those whom you have gathered to yourself in your crime; the punishment shall be ratified in your blood.” Then he read the sentence from a written tablet: “It pleases (the court) that Thascius Cyprianus be executed with the sword.” The bishop Cyprian said: “Thanks be to God.”

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Dr. Nancy Llewellyn

Co-Founder, Veterum Sapientia Institute
Magistra - Introductory Latin


Magistra Annula is Associate Professor of Latin at Belmont Abbey College, coming to North Carolina after a decade at Wyoming Catholic College. She teaches Latin at the Charlotte Diocese’s new St. Joseph College Seminary in addition to her work at Belmont. Earlier in her career she studied with Fr. Reginald Foster and at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome. Returning to her native California, Nancy founded SALVI in 1997 and served on its board until 2019, directing SALVI workshops (Rusticationes) around the country and abroad. She holds her PhD (2006) from UCLA.

Fr. Dylan Schrader, PhD

Magister - Scholastic Theology

Pater Pelagius is a priest of the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, ordained in 2010. He holds a PhD in systematic theology from the Catholic University of America and is the translator of several Scholastic works, including On the Motive of the Incarnation, the first volume in CUA’s Early Modern Catholic Sources series, and Book 2 of Thomas Aquinas’s Commentary on the Sentences, edited by the Aquinas Institute for the Study of Sacred Doctrine. Fr. Schrader is the author of The Shortcut to Scholastic Latin, published by the Paideia Institute Press. He has attended every Veterum Sapientia conference since its inception.

Mr. Christopher Owens, STM

Chief Executive Officer

Christopher Owens completed licentiate studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (“the Angelicum”) with a concentration in Thomism, and is a doctoral candidate at the same university. His research investigates the question of predestination in the writings of the early Thomists. More generally, Christopher’s research interests in both philosophy and theology are focused on the preambles of faith, ontology, meta-ethics, and action theory as found principally in the Thomistic tradition, as well as in the medieval dialectic of the University of Paris. Additionally, Christopher serves on the editorial board for Philosophical News, the official journal of the European Society for Moral Philosophy, and is vice-president of the Albertus Magnus Center for Scholastic Studies, based in Norcia, Italy.

Fr. Joseph Matlak

Magister


Fr. Joseph Matlak is a priest of the Eparchy of Saint Josaphat in Parma (Ukrainian Greek-Catholic). Born in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England, he studied Ancient History at King’s College London, and completed seminary studies and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Catholic University of America, Washington DC. He is currently finishing a doctorate at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge, England. He serves as administrator of Saint Basil the Great Parish in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is an instructor within the Honors College of Belmont Abbey College. He has previously worked in parishes and missions, schools, youth and young adult ministry, liturgical music, and Catholic media, among other roles.

Magister Marcus Porto

Magister - Introductory Latin

Magister Marcus holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College and a Latin Fluency Certificate from Academia Vivarium Novum, where he learned to speak Latin under Luigi Miraglia. He is currently a graduate student at Kentucky University, studying Latin under Terence Tunberg and Milena Minkova, and works as a classical languages’ instructor, Liberal Arts teacher, and editor at Instituto Hugo de São Vitor, Brazil.

Dr. Samuel Stahl

Magister

Samuel Stahl earned a PhD in Classics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. His dissertation is an annotated verse translation from Claudian’s carmina minora; his passions, both personal and professional, include Christian poetry and ecumenism. In addition to his work with VSI, he teaches ELA at a Catholic grammar school in Western New York, where he lives with his wife and two cats.

Magister Tod Post, MA

Magister

Mr. Post holds a B.A. in philosophy from St. John’s Seminary College in Camarillo, CA and an M.A. in Medieval Studies from the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto. His areas of study and interest include codicology and palaeography and creating medieval and classical inks and writing materials. He particularly enjoys working in his garden surrounded by plants from the classical world such as papyrus, acanthus, figs, olives and grapes which also gives him an opportunity to practice his botanical Latin. He is a lifelong resident of southern California where he has been teaching and promoting Latin since 2004 and where he resides with his wife and six children.

Kit Adderley

Magister

Kit Adderley became interested in Ancient Rome at a young age, and following a particularly interesting and formative Roman History class in high school, decided to study Classics at Franciscan University of Steubenville. While studying and in subsequent years, Kit was blessed to attend many spoken Latin programs both in the United States and in Rome. Kit has taught Latin for 10 years at the high school and middle school level in Texas and Minnesota, most recently designing and implementing a spoken Latin program for high school that enjoyed tremendous success. Kit currently works in the finance industry but continues to love Latin and the classical world and is excited to work with Veterum Sapientia in bringing that knowledge to others.

Matthew Ratcliff

Coordinator for Marketing and Course Development

Matthew Ratcliff is a graduate from Belmont Abbey College, where he fell in love with Latin while studying under Nancy Llewellyn and Gregory DiPippo, and where he encountered the natural method for the first time. He has previously taught for Aquinas Learning Center in Charlotte for the 2023-2024 academic year. Matthew firmly believes that everyone can learn Latin well. He loves incorporating physical movement in the classroom and is excited to share the joy of the language with every class!

Magister Gregory DiPippo

Director of Academic Development, Assistant to the Dean, Magister - Introductory Latin

Magister Gregorius was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, where he attended a high school which offered an excellent Latin program. He attended McGill University in Montreal, where he studied Classical Languages and Literature, and the Augustinian Patristic Institute in Rome, where he studied the Fathers of the Church. For 23 years, he worked as a tour guide in Rome, and for the last 15 years, he has been a regular contributor (and for 10 years editor) to the New Liturgical Movement website.

Andrea Allen

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