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c. 155 – 325 AD
Cyprian of Carthage
c. 200 – 258 AD
Carthage, Tunisia
Overview
A wealthy lawyer turned bishop who managed the church during the Decian persecution and a massive plague.
Did You Know?
Famous for the maxim: "He can no longer have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother."
Historical Note
Saint*He believed that heretics had to be re-baptized if they joined the Catholic Church.
Status: Saint (with asterisk). The Church later ruled he was wrong (baptism is valid even if done by a heretic), but he did it out of zeal for the purity of the Church, not rebellion.
Major Writings
Historical Context
The Ante-Nicene Fathers
The "Apologists" and early theologians living under persecution before the Council of Nicaea.
7 Church Fathers in this era
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Part of The Ante-Nicene Fathers