Cyprian of Carthage
Carthage
Nine stops with the bishop who had to say what to do about those who gave way
In January of 250 the Emperor Decius ordered every inhabitant of the empire to sacrifice to the gods and collect a signed certificate proving it. At Carthage the Christians did not have to be hunted down. They queued. Their bishop wrote afterwards that they ran to the forum of their own accord, and that when the magistrates put them off until the next day some of them begged not to be delayed. Then the persecution ended, and thousands of them came back to the church door and asked to be let in — and Cyprian had to say what was to be done about people who had given way. He refused both of the easy answers: that nothing had happened, and that nothing could be done. This road walks nine stops with him, from a late and unlikely conversion to a morning in a field outside Carthage. It is for anyone who has failed at the one thing they most meant to hold to, and does not know whether there is a way back.
The nine days
Day 1 · The Convert — He Did Not Think He Could Change
Carthage, about 246
Day 2 · The Bishop — They Called Him Out of His House
Carthage, 248 or 249
Day 3 · The Edict — Everyone Must Sacrifice
Carthage, January 250
Day 4 · The Fall — They Did Not Wait To Be Arrested
The forum at Carthage, 250
Day 5 · The Absence — The Bishop Who Was Not There
In hiding, 250 to Easter 251
Day 6 · The Cheap Peace — Pardons Signed by the Dying
Carthage, 250
Day 7 · The Rule — What Was Decided at Carthage
The council of Carthage, spring 251
Day 8 · The Plague — They Buried the Ones Who Had Hunted Them
Carthage, 252
Day 9 · The Sentence — Thanks Be to God
A field outside Carthage, 14 September 258