On the Unity of the Catholic Church

Contents

1. 1Cyprian warns that the devil is most dangerous when he attacks secretly, under the appearance of peace.
2. 2We gain immortality by keeping Christ's commandments, building on the rock; otherwise we are blown about like dust.
3. 3The devil, defeated by Christ, invented heresies and schisms to deceive people under the Christian name.
4. 4Christ built the church on Peter to show its unity; the other apostles had equal honour and power, but the church begins from one and is one.
5. 5The bishops must uphold unity: the episcopate is one, held jointly by each, and the church is one like a sun with many rays or a spring with many streams.
6. 6The church is Christ's faithful bride and our mother; outside her, as outside Noah's ark, there is no salvation, for her unity reflects the unity of God.
7. 7Christ's seamless tunic, not torn at the cross, signifies the church's unity, unlike Ahijah's torn garment, which signified Israel's division.
8. 8There is one flock and one shepherd; like Rahab's house and the Passover lamb eaten in one house, salvation is found only within the one church.
9. 9The Spirit came as a dove, a sign of the simplicity and peace the church needs; the good never leave the church, only the chaff.
10. 10God permits heresies to test the faithful; schismatics make themselves bishops without lawful ordination.
11. 11Like the false prophets and broken cisterns in Jeremiah, schismatics offer a baptism that does not cleanse but defiles.
12. 12Christ's promise to be with 'two or three' applies only to those praying in unity within the church, not to schismatics.
13. 13God accepts neither prayer nor sacrifice from those at odds with their brothers, so schismatics cannot expect Christ's presence.
14. 14A schismatic who dies for the name is not a martyr, since without charity and unity even martyrdom profits nothing.
15. 15Miracles do not save without obedience; Christ summed up the law in love, which schismatics destroy.
16. 16The spread of heresy and schism fulfils Paul's prophecy of the last days.
17. 17Believers must shun schismatics, who set up a rival altar and profane the Lord's sacrifice.
18. 18Korah, Uzziah, and Aaron's sons were punished for usurping the priesthood, as schismatics will be.
19. 19Schism is worse than lapsing under persecution, since the lapsed repent and harm only themselves, while schismatics mislead many.
20. 20Confessors are not immune to sin; like Solomon, they can lose God's grace if they depart from his way.
21. 21Confession under persecution is only a beginning; confessors must persevere in humility and unity, or their guilt will be greater.
22. 22As Judas's betrayal did not discredit the apostles, so the fall of some confessors does not discredit the faithful majority.
23. 23Cyprian begs those misled by schism to return, for there is one God, one Christ, one church, and nothing cut off from it can live.
24. 24Christ left peace as our inheritance; the sons of God must be peacemakers.
25. 25In the apostles' time believers were of one mind, and so their prayers were effective.
26. 26Christians now give less than the first believers, showing that faith has weakened, as Christ foretold.
27. 27Cyprian urges believers to stay awake and ready for the Lord's sudden return.