The Unity of the Church according to St. Cyprian of Carthage
The Unity of the Church according to St. Cyprian of Carthage

Summary/Abstract: St. Cyprian of Carthage (200/210-258), an eminent bishop, proving a state of the art ecclesiastic personality, was never nailed down by pagans, heretics or schismaticcharacters. All his life was a continuous struggle for the Unity of the Church as hismost valuable asset, emerging from his inner strength in fulfi lling his ideal. TheHoly Father brings forth the bishop’s centripetal role in keeping the ecclesial unityaltogether. Whoever is not in communion with the bishop will defi nitely miss thecommunion with the Church of Christ. Meanwhile, the bishop who makes his wayout from the harmony and communion with fellow bishops, he will be left aside theunity of the Church. Bishops should be entangled in the law of love, understandingand fellowship.Local Churches are the branches belonging to one and the same tree, the Churchuniversal. Same as the sunrays are many but the light is one, or the branches of atree are many but the power holding them together is one, same as the rivers fl owingfrom one spring are many but the source or mother spring is one, the same thelocal or regional Churches are many but they build together the Church universal,the Body of Christ. St. Cyprian of Carthage compares the universal Church to the nonwoven robe of Christ. There is no redemption besides the Church of Christ,mother of all of us. One can no longer have God for his Father, who has not theChurch for his mother.According to St. Cyprian of Carthage, the Church lies on several fundamentals: TEOLOGIA2 \ 2017142 STUDIES AND ARTICLESChristological, where the Church is the Body of Christ; Pnevmatological, wherethe unity of Church relies in the Holy Spirit; Trinitarian, where the oneness of thePersons of the Holy Trinity shapes the model of the ecclesial unity; Eucharisticwhere the holy communion is the main liaison to the Church oneness; episcopal,where the communion and fellowship among bishops belonging to local Churches confers the universal Church unity and not least, the love and harmony among the Church members

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