Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of *Cyprian (bishop and martyr of Carthage, S00411), emphasising that the Church celebrates the days of martyrs' deaths and not those on which they were born. He also claims that Cyprian, venerated above all in Carthage, is known in many other regions, because of both his martyrdom and his writings. Sermon 310, delivered in Latin, probably in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa), sometime between 391 and 430.
E02839
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 310
[In natali Cypriani martyris
'On the feast of the martyr Cyprian']
1. Spiritus sanctus doceat nos in hac hora quae oporteat dicere: dicturi enim sumus aliquid de laude Cypriani gloriosissimi martyris, cuius natalem hodie, sicut nostis, celebramus. Quod nomen sic frequentat ecclesia, id est, natales, ut natales uocet pretiosas martyrum mortes. Sic, inquam, hoc nomen frequentat ecclesia, ut etiam qui non sunt in illa, hoc dicant cum illa. Quis enim hodie, non dicam in hac nostra ciuitate, sed plane per Africam totam transmarinas que regiones, non christianus solum, sed paganus, aut iudaeus, aut etiam haereticus poterit inueniri, qui non nobis cum dicat natalem martyris Cypriani? Quid est hoc, fratres? Quando natus sit, ignoramus; et quia hodie passus est, natalem eius hodie celebramus. Sed illum diem non celebraremus, etsi nossemus. Illo enim die traxit originale peccatum: isto autem die uicit omne peccatum. Illo die ex fastidioso matris utero istam processit in lucem, quae oculos carnis illecebrat: isto autem die ex occultissimo naturae sinu illam discessit ad lucem, quae uisum mentis feliciter et beate illustrat.
'May the Holy Spirit teach me what I should say at this moment; I'm going to say something, you see, in praise of the most glorious martyr, Cyprian, whose birthday (natalis), as you know, we are celebrating today. This expression, that is to say, birthdays, is regularly employed by the Church in this way, so that it calls the precious deaths of the martyrs their birthdays. This expression, I repeat, is regularly employed by the Church, to the extent that even those who don't belong to her join her in using it. Is there anyone to be found, I ask you, and I don't mean just in this city of ours, but throughout the whole of Africa and the regions overseas, and not only any Christian, but any pagan or Jew, or even heretic, who doesn't call today the birthday of the martyr Cyprian? Why is this, brothers? What date he was born on, we don't know; and because he suffered today, it's today that we celebrate his birthday. But we wouldn't celebrate that other day, even if we knew when it was. On that day he contracted original sin, while on this day he overcame all sin. On that day he came forth from the wearisome confines of his mother's womb into this light, which is also alluring to our eyes of flesh; but on this day he went away from the deep darkness of nature's womb to that light, which sheds such blessing and good fortune upon the mind.'
2. Carthaginensem ecclesiam uiuens gubernauit, moriens honorauit. Ibi episcopatum gessit, ibi martyrium consummauit. In eo quippe loco, ubi posuit carnis exuuias, saeua tunc multitudo conuenerat, quae propter odium Christi sanguinem funderet Cypriani: ibi hodie uenerans multitudo concurrit, quae propter natalem Cypriani bibit sanguinem Christi. Et tanto dulcius in illo loco propter natalem cypriani sanguis bibitur Christi, quanto deuotius ibi propter nomen christi sanguis fusus est Cypriani. Denique, sicut nostis, quicumque Carthaginem nostis, in eodem loco mensa deo constructa est; et tamen mensa dicitur Cypriani, non quia ibi est unquam Cyprianus epulatus, sed quia ibi est immolatus, et quia ipsa immolatione sua parauit hanc mensam, non in qua pascat siue pascatur, sed in qua sacrificium deo, cui et ipse oblatus est, offeratur ...
'Living, he governed the Church of Carthage, dying he adorned it. It was there that he exercised his episcopate, there that he achieved his martyrdom. In the very place where he laid aside the trappings of his flesh, a savage crowd gathered then, which out of hatred for Christ would shed Cyprian's blood; there a reverend crowd assembles today, which on account of Cyprian's birthday drink the blood of Christ. And all the more delightfully is the blood of Christ drunk in that place on account of Cyprian's birthday, the more devotedly the blood of Cyprian was shed in the same place for the sake of the name of Christ. Eventually, as you know, any of you who know Carthage, a table was erected to God in the very same place; at yet it's called Cyprian's table (mensa Cypriani), not because Cyprian ever dined there, but because he was crucified there, and because by this very sacrifice of himself he prepared this table; not as one on which to feed or be fed, but as one on which sacrifice might be offered to God, to whom he offered his very self ...'
3. Sed cum Carthago habuerit cathedram eius, carthago habeat memoriam eius; unde nos celebraremus natalitia eius, nisi esset pretiosa in conspectu domini mors sanctorum eius?
'But since Carthage is where he had his bishop's throne (cathedra), Carthage should be where he has his memorial shrine (memoria); why would we here be celebrating his birthday (natalitia) if it were not the case that "precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his saints" (Ps 116:15).'
In what follows Augustine refers to the writings of Cyprian, who, thanks to them, is known in many regions not only as a martyr, but also as an author.
Text: Patrologia Latina 38, 1412-13.
Translation: Hill 1994, 68-69.
Summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Cult PlacesAltar
Place of martyrdom of a saint
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Pagans
Jews
Crowds
Theorising on SanctityConsiderations about the veneration of saints
Source
Augustine of Hippo was born in 354 in the north African city of Thagaste. He received an education in rhetoric at Carthage, and after a period teaching there moved to Rome, and then in 384 to a public professorship of rhetoric in Milan. In these early years of adulthood Augustine was a Manichaean, but then got disillusioned with this religion, and in Milan in 386, largely under the influence of Ambrose, bishop of the city, he converted to Christianity, and was baptised by Ambrose in 387. Returning to Africa in 388, he was ordained a priest in 391 at Hippo Regius (in the province of Numidia), and rapidly acquired a reputation as a preacher. In 395 he became bishop of Hippo, which he remained until his death in 430. Details of his early life were recorded by Augustine himself in his Confessions, and shortly after his death a pupil and long-time friend, Possidius, wrote his Life, focused on Augustine as an effective Christian writer, polemicist and bishop (E00073).Amongst his many writings, the most informative on the cult of saints are his numerous Sermons, the City of God, and a treatise On the Care of the Dead. The Sermons tell us which saints (primarily African, but with some from abroad) received attention in Hippo, Carthage and elsewhere, and provide occasional details of miracles and cult practices. The City of God records the distribution, and subsequent miracles, of the relics of saint Stephen, after they arrived in Africa from Palestine in around 420. On the Care of the Dead, discusses the possible advantages of burial ad sanctos (in other words, close to a saint), and theorises on the link between the saints who dwell in heaven and their corporeal remains buried in their graves. In these works, and others, Augustine reveals his own particular beliefs about the saints, their relics and their miracles.
The date of this sermon is impossible to fix with any certainty. It was not preached in Carthage since in ch. 3 Augustine refers to those who may know this city, assuming that not all members of his audience belong to this category. Thus, Hippo, Augustine's episcopal see is the most probable venue of this sermon.
Discussion
Augustine claims that the day of Cyprian's feast (his natalis or natalitia) is widely known and referred to as such even by pagans and Jews. It is difficult to say, however, whether this remark reflects reality or is just a rhetorical exaggeration.The term memoria (literally 'memory' or 'memorial'), which appears in §3, is also used by Augustine both for the shrines of martyrs and, more narrowly, for their relics. Since it is evident that, for Augustine, the memorial shrine (memoria) of a saint contained relics of that saint, there is often (as here) no substantive difference in the ways he uses the word.
Bibliography
Edition:Migne, J.P., Patrologia Latina 38 (Paris, 1865).
Translation:
Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 9. Sermons 306-340A for the Saints (New York: New City Press, 1994).
Dating:
Kunzelmann, A., "Die Chronologie der sermones des hl. Augustinus," Miscellanea Agostiniana, vol. 2 (Rome: Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana, 1931), 417-452.
Robert Wiśniewski
11/04/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00411 | Cyprian, bishop and martyr of Carthage | Cyprianus | Certain |
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