Official feasts used to be an important part of the human community. People would gather together to remember something sacred, express their faith and hope for the future, and / or just be together formally, recognizing each other as being part of a shared community. Few things express a desire for shared companionship and social intimacy more than dining together. Sadly, the gathering together for feasting is increasingly a relic of the past – at least here in the West.
It need not be so! Today we will remember the ancient feasts.
The Feast Day of Pope Saint Cornelius and Saint Cyprian
This feast day celebrates Cornelius, the third century Christian who served as Bishop of Rome from 251 to 253 AD, during the Roman persecution of Christians under Emperors Decius and Trebonianus Gallus. He presided over the ending of a schism concerning how the Church should treat converts who partook in paganism to avoid persecution. It is believed that he was martyred by beheading in 253 AD, however, some accounts attribute his death to the rigors of exile.
In subsequent centuries, Cornelius became an unofficial Patron Saint of Lovers in what is present-day Germany. Officially is a He is the patron against earache, epilepsy, fever, twitching, and also of cattle, domestic animals, earache sufferers, epileptics, and the town of Kornelimünster, Germany, where his head is enshrined. He also is part of a legend involving the Carnac stones in France, wherein as the story goes, Cornelius turned a pursuing pagan army into the aforementioned stones.
This feast also celebrates Saint Cyprian, of Carthage, a 3rd century Bishop who also played a pivotal role in opposing the Novatian schism. Cyprian was highly educated and is considered one of the preeminent writers of the early Church.
Pope Cornelius (Greek: Κορνήλιος) was the bishop of Rome from the 6th, or the 13th of March, 251 A.D., until his martyrdom in June, 253 A.D.
He was pope during and following a period of persecution of the church, while a schism occurred over how repentant church members who had practiced pagan sacrifices to protect themselves could be readmitted to the church. He agreed with Cyprian of Carthage that those who had lapsed could be restored to communion after varying forms of Reinitiation and Penance. This position was in contrast to the Novatianists, who held that those who failed to maintain their confession of faith under persecution would not be received again into communion with the church. This resulted in a short-lived schism in the Church of Rome that spread as each side sought to gather support. Cornelius held a synod that confirmed his election and excommunicated Novatian, but the controversy regarding lapsed members continued for years.
The persecutions resumed in 251 under Emperor Trebonianus Gallus. Cornelius was sent into exile and may have died from the rigours of his banishment; possibly he was beheaded.
Christian persecution
Emperor Decius, who ruled from 249 to 251, persecuted Christians in the Roman Empire rather sporadically and locally, but starting in January of the year 250, he ordered all citizens to perform a religious sacrifice in the presence of commissioners, or else face death. Many Christians refused and were martyred, (including Pope Fabian on 20 January 250), while others partook in the sacrifices in order to save their own lives.
Two schools of thought arose after the persecution. One side, led by Novatian, a priest in the diocese of Rome, said those who had stopped practising Christianity during the persecution could not be accepted back into the church, even if they repented. He held that idolatry was an unpardonable sin, and that the Church had no authority to forgive apostates, but that their forgiveness must be left to God; it could not be pronounced in this world. The opposing side, including Cornelius and Cyprian of Carthage, said the lapsi could be restored to communion through repentance, demonstrated by a period of penance.
During the persecution it proved impossible to elect a successor, and the papal seat remained vacant for a year. During this period the church was governed by several priests, including Novatian. When Decius left Rome to fight the invading Goths, the Roman clergy chose a new bishop. In the fourteen months without a pope, the leading candidate, Moses, had died under the persecution. The more moderate Cornelius was unwillingly elected over Novatian and others as the twenty-first pope in March 251.
Those who supported a more rigorist position had Novatian consecrated bishop and refused to recognize Cornelius as Bishop of Rome. Both sides sent out letters to other bishops seeking recognition and support. Cornelius had the support of Cyprian, Dionysius, and most African and Eastern bishops while Novatian had the support of a minority of clergy and laymen in Rome. Cornelius’s next action was to convene a synod of 60 bishops to acknowledge him as the rightful pope and the council excommunicated Novatian as well as all Novatianists. Also addressed in the synod was that Christians who stopped practising during Emperor Decius’s persecution could be re-admitted into the Christian community only after doing penance.
The verdict of the synod was sent to the Christian bishops, most notably the bishop of Antioch, a fierce Novatian supporter, in order to convince him to accept Cornelius as bishop of Rome. The letters that Cornelius sent to surrounding bishops provide information of the size of the church in Rome at that time. Cornelius mentions that the Roman Church had, “forty six priests, seven deacons, seven sub-deacons, forty two acolytes, fifty two ostiarii, and over one thousand five hundred widows and persons in distress.” His letters also inform that Cornelius had a staff of over 150 clergy members and the church fed over 1,500 people daily. From these numbers, it has been estimated that there were at least 50,000 Christians in Rome during the papacy of Pope Cornelius.
Death and letters
The Martyrdom of Cornelius in the Golden Legend (1497)
In June 251, Decius was killed in battle with the Goths; and persecutions resumed under his successor, Trebonianus Gallus. Cornelius was exiled to Centumcellae, Italy, where he died in June 253. The Liberian catalogue ascribes his death to the hardships of banishment; later sources say he was beheaded. He was entombed in a catacomb near the chapel of the popes, behind a Latin inscription, not Greek like his predecessor Pope Fabian and successor Lucius I. It translates to “Cornelius Martyr”. The letters he sent while in exile are all written in the colloquial Latin of the period instead of the classical style used by the educated such as Cyprian, a theologian as well as a bishop, and Novatian, who was also a philosopher. This suggests that Cornelius came from a financially average family and thus was given an ordinary education as a child. One letter mentions an office of “exorcist” in the church for the first time.
Veneration
Chapel from 1460 dedicated to Cornelius, in Hamme-Mille, Belgium
Some of his relics were taken to Germany during the Middle Ages; his head was claimed by Kornelimünster Abbey near Aachen. In the Rhineland, he was also a patron saint of lovers. A legend associated with Cornelius tells of a young artist who was commissioned to decorate the Corneliuskapelle in the Selikum quarter of Neuss. The daughter of a local townsman fell in love with the artist, but her father forbade the marriage, remarking that he would only consent if the pope did as well. Miraculously, the statue of Cornelius leaned forward from the altar and blessed the pair, and the two lovers were thus married.
A legend told at Carnac states that its stones were once pagan soldiers who had been turned into stone by Cornelius, who was fleeing from them.
The Catholic Church commemorated Cornelius by venerating him, with his Saint’s Day on 16 September, which he shares with his friend Cyprian. His Saint’s Day was originally on 14 September, the date on which both Cyprian and Cornelius were martyred, according to Jerome. Cornelius’s saintly name means “battle horn”, and he is represented in icons by a pope either holding some form of cow’s horn or with a cow nearby. He is the patron against earache, epilepsy, fever, twitching, and also of cattle, domestic animals, earache sufferers, epileptics, and the town of Kornelimünster, Germany, where his head is enshrined.
He was born around the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received a classical education. Soon after converting to Christianity, he became a bishop in 249. A controversial figure during his lifetime, his strong pastoral skills, firm conduct during the Novatianist controversy and outbreak of the Plague of Cyprian (named for his description of it), and eventual martyrdom at Carthage established his reputation and proved his sanctity in the eyes of the Church.
Cyprian was born into a rich pagan Roman AfricanCarthaginian family sometime during the early third century. His original name was Thascius; he took the additional name Caecilius in memory of the priest to whom he owed his conversion. Before his conversion, he was a leading member of a legal fraternity in Carthage, an orator, a “pleader in the courts”, and a teacher of rhetoric. After a “dissipated youth”, Cyprian was baptized when he was thirty-five years old, c. 245 AD. After his baptism, he gave away a portion of his wealth to the poor of Carthage, as befitted a man of his status.
In the early days of his conversion, he wrote an Epistola ad Donatum de gratia Dei and the Testimoniorum Libri III that adhere closely to the models of Tertullian, who influenced his style and thinking. Cyprian described his own conversion and baptism in the following words:
When I was still lying in darkness and gloomy night, I used to regard it as extremely difficult and demanding to do what God’s mercy was suggesting to me… I myself was held in bonds by the innumerable errors of my previous life, from which I did not believe I could possibly be delivered, so I was disposed to acquiesce in my clinging vices and to indulge my sins… But after that, with the help of the water of new birth, the stain of my former life was washed away, and a light from above, serene and pure, was infused into my reconciled heart… a second birth restored me to a new man. Then, in a wondrous manner, every doubt began to fade… I clearly understood that what had first lived within me, enslaved by the vices of the flesh, was earthly and that what, instead, the Holy Spirit had wrought within me was divine and heavenly.
Contested election as bishop of Carthage
Not long after his baptism, he was ordained a deacon and soon afterwards a priest. Sometime between July 248 and April 249, he was elected bishop of Carthage, a popular choice among the poor who remembered his patronage as demonstrating good equestrian style. However, his rapid rise did not meet with the approval of senior members of the clergy in Carthage, an opposition that did not disappear during his episcopate.
Not long afterwards, the entire community was put to an unwanted test. Christians in North Africa had not suffered persecution for many years; the Church was assured and lax. In early 250, the Decian persecution began. Emperor Decius issued an edict, the text of which is lost, ordering sacrifices to the gods to be made throughout the Empire. Jews were specifically exempted from that requirement. Cyprian chose to go into hiding, rather than face potential execution. While some clergy saw that decision as a sign of cowardice, Cyprian defended himself by saying that he had fled in order not to leave the faithful without a shepherd during the persecution and that his decision to continue to lead them, although from a distance, was in accordance with divine will. Moreover, he pointed to the actions of the Apostles and Jesus himself: “And therefore the Lord commanded us in the persecution to depart and to flee; and both taught that this should be done, and Himself did it. For as the crown is given by the condescension of God, and cannot be received unless the hour comes for accepting it, whoever abiding in Christ departs for a while does not deny his faith, but waits for the time…”
Controversy over the lapsed
The persecution was especially severe at Carthage, according to Church sources. Many Christians fell away and were thereafter referred to as “Lapsi“ (fallen). The majority had obtained signed statements (libelli) certifying that they had sacrificed to the Roman gods to avoid persecution or confiscation of property. In some cases, Christians had actually sacrificed, whether under torture or otherwise. Cyprian found those libellatici especially cowardly and demanded that they and the rest of the lapsi undergo public penance before being readmitted to the Church.
However, in Cyprian’s absence, some priests disregarded his wishes by readmitting the lapsed to communion with little or no public penance. Some of the lapsi presented a second libellus purported to bear the signature of some martyr or confessor who, it was held, had the spiritual prestige to reaffirm individual Christians. That system was not limited to Carthage, but on a wider front by its charismatic nature, it clearly constituted a challenge to institutional authority in the Church, in particular to that of the bishop. Hundreds or even thousands of lapsi were readmitted that way against the express wishes of Cyprian and the majority of the Carthaginian clergy, who insisted upon earnest repentance.
A schism then broke out in Carthage, as the laxist party, led largely by the priests who had opposed Cyprian’s election, attempted to block measures taken by him during his period of absence. After fourteen months, Cyprian returned to the diocese and in letters addressed to the other North African bishops defended having left his post. After issuing a tract, “De lapsis” (On the Fallen), he convoked a council of North African bishops at Carthage to consider the treatment of the lapsed and the apparent schism of Felicissimus (251). Cyprian took a middle course between the followers of Novatus of Carthage, who were in favour of welcoming back all with little or no penance, and Novatian of Rome, who would not allow any of those who had lapsed to be reconciled. The council in the main sided with Cyprian and condemned Felicissimus though no acts of that council survive.
The schism continued as the laxists elected a certain Fortunatus as bishop in opposition to Cyprian. At the same time, the rigorist party in Rome, who refused reconciliation to any of the lapsed, elected Novatian as bishop of Rome in opposition to Pope Cornelius. The Novatianists also secured the election of a certain Maximus as a rival bishop of their own at Carthage. Cyprian now found himself wedged between laxists and rigorists, but the polarisation highlighted the firm but moderate position adopted by Cyprian and strengthened his influence by wearing down the numbers of his opponents. Moreover, his dedication during the time of a great plague and famine gained him still further popular support.
Cyprian comforted his brethren by writing his De mortalitate and in his De eleemosynis exhorted them to active charity towards the poor and set a personal example. He defended Christianity and the Christians in the apologiaAd Demetrianum, directed against a certain Demetrius, and countered pagan claims that Christians were the cause of the public calamities.
In late 256, a new persecution of the Christians broke out under Emperor Valerian, and Pope Sixtus II was executed in Rome.
In Africa, Cyprian prepared his people for the expected edict of persecution by his De exhortatione martyrii and set an example when he was brought before the Roman proconsul Aspasius Paternus (30 August 257). He refused to sacrifice to the pagan deities and firmly professed Christ.
The proconsul banished him to Curubis, now Korba, where, to the best of his ability, he comforted his flock and his banished clergy. In a vision, he believed he saw his approaching fate. When a year had passed, he was recalled and kept practically a prisoner in his own villa in expectation of severe measures after a new and more stringent imperial edict arrived, which Christian writers subsequently claimed demanded the execution of all Christian clerics.
On 13 September 258, Cyprian was imprisoned on the orders of the new proconsul, Galerius Maximus. The public examination of Cyprian by Galerius Maximus, on 14 September 258, has been preserved:
Galerius Maximus: “Are you Thascius Cyprianus?” Cyprian: “I am.” Galerius: “The most sacred Emperors have commanded you to conform to the Roman rites.” Cyprian: “I refuse.” Galerius: “Take heed for yourself.” Cyprian: “Do as you are bid; in so clear a case I may not take heed.” Galerius, after briefly conferring with his judicial council, with much reluctance pronounced the following sentence: “You have long lived an irreligious life, and have drawn together a number of men bound by an unlawful association, and professed yourself an open enemy to the gods and the religion of Rome; and the pious, most sacred and august Emperors … have endeavoured in vain to bring you back to conformity with their religious observances; whereas therefore you have been apprehended as principal and ringleader in these infamous crimes, you shall be made an example to those whom you have wickedly associated with you; the authority of law shall be ratified in your blood.” He then read the sentence of the court from a written tablet: “It is the sentence of this court that Thascius Cyprianus be executed with the sword.”
Cyprian: “Thanks be to God.”
The execution was carried out at once in an open place near the city. A vast multitude followed Cyprian on his last journey. He removed his garments without assistance, knelt down, and prayed. After he blindfolded himself, he was beheaded by the sword. The body was interred by Christians near the place of execution.
Cyprian’s works were edited in volumes 3 and 4 of the Patrologia Latina. He was not a speculative theologian, his writings being always related to his pastoral ministry. The first major work was a monologue spoken to a friend called Ad Donatum, detailing his own conversion, the corruption of Roman government and the gladiatorial spectacles, and pointing to prayer as “the only refuge of the Christian”. Another early written work was the Testimonia ad Quirinum. During his exile from Carthage Cyprian wrote his most famous treatise, De Ecclesiae Catholicae Unitate (On the Unity of the Catholic Church) and on returning to his see, he issued De Lapsis (On the Fallen). Another important work is his Treatise on the Lord’s Prayer. Doubtless only part of his written output has survived, and this must apply especially to his correspondence, of which some sixty letters are extant, in addition to some of the letters he received.
Cyprian of Carthage is often confused with Cyprian of Antioch, reputedly a magician before his conversion. A number of grimoires, such as Libellus Magicus, are thus mistakenly attributed to Cyprian of Carthage.
Biography
Pontius the Deacon wrote a biography of Cyprian titled The Life and Passion of St. Cyprian, which details the saint’s early life, his conversion, notable acts, and martyrdom under Valerian.
Theology
Sacraments
Cyprian believed in infant baptism and infant communion. Cyprian, however, spoke against the efficacy of baptism performed by heretics and insisted on their rebaptism, and he believed that the Eucharist cannot be properly consecrated outside the Church.
Cyprian was one of the earliest of the Church Fathers to enunciate clearly and unambiguously the doctrine of baptismal regeneration (“the idea that salvation happens at and by water baptism duly administered”): “While he attributed all the saving energy to the grace of God, he considered the ‘laver of saving water’ the instrument of God that makes a person ‘born again,’ receiving a new life and putting off what he had previously been. The ‘water of new birth’ animated him to new life by the Spirit of holiness working through it.”
Church
Cyprian believed that the lapsed could be re-admitted to the Church after penance and he opposed the Novatians.
Cyprian believed the see of Peter (Rome) is the direct heir of Peter. While Cyprian believed that all the apostles were equal and that all the bishops followed the Apostles in succession, Cyprian emphasized the unity of the Church under a single cathedra (chair): “he [Jesus Christ] assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were that also which Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord.”
Other
Cyprian was amillennial. Augustine argued that Cyprian taught the gift of perseverance. Cyprian argued that each day of the Genesis creation account consisted of 1,000 years.
Veneration
Churches were erected over his tomb and over the place of his death. In later centuries, however, these churches were destroyed by the Vandals. The graves of such saints as Cyprian and Martin of Tours came to be regarded as “contact points between Heaven and Earth”, and they became the centres of new, redefined, Christian urban communities. A surviving homily from Augustine on Cyprian’s feast day indicates that his following was fairly widespread throughout Africa by the fourth century.
Charlemagne is said to have had the bones transferred to France; and Lyons, Arles, Venice, Compiègne, and Roenay in Flanders all have claimed to possess part of the martyr’s relics.
The Catholic Church celebrates his feast day together with that of his good friend Pope Cornelius on 16 September, and in the Catholic Middle Ages the Sarum use observed it on the day of his death, 14 September. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates him on 31 August. Lutherans now commemorate him on 16 September, while Anglicans celebrate his feast usually either on 13 September (e.g. the Anglican Church of Australia) or 15 September (the present-day Church of EnglandCalendar of saints) remembers him with a Lesser Festival.
What is a food to eat when celebrating the Feast Day Pope Saint Cornelius and St. Cyprian?
One excellent meal that might help you celebrate both St. Cornelius and St. Cyprian is a North African dish (where St. Cyprian is from) that is quite tasty.
Chicken Tagine with Harissa
picture and recipe (along with additional tips) via yummymideast.com
Begin by preheating your oven to 350°F. Select a Dutch oven or tagine for this recipe.
Prepare the key components of the dish. Zest a small piece of orange peel and set it aside. Juice the orange until you have approximately one cup of juice. Peel ten cloves of garlic, leaving them whole. Prepare a quantity of Kalamata olives. Thoroughly clean and dice a leek and a fennel bulb into bite-sized pieces.
Prepare the chicken by seasoning skinless chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
In the Dutch oven or tagine, combine chicken stock, harissa, orange juice, sweet paprika, ground cumin, turmeric, and additional salt and pepper. Thoroughly mix these ingredients.
Introduce the prepared leek, fennel, whole garlic cloves, lemon wedges, olives, and chopped fresh mint leaves into the liquid mixture. Combine these elements. Place the seasoned chicken pieces on top of this flavorful base.
Cover the Dutch oven or tagine with a lid and bake in the preheated oven at 350°F for one hour.
After one hour, remove the lid and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes. This uncovered baking period will contribute to a desirable crispness on the chicken and facilitate the reduction of the sauce to the desired consistency.
Once the cooking process is complete, the dish is ready to be served.
What is a prayer you say to celebrate the Feast Day of Pope Saint Cornelius and Saint Cyprian?
God our Father, in Saints Cornelius and Cyprian you have given your people an inspiring example of dedication to the pastoral ministry and constant witness to Christ in their suffering. May their prayers and faith give us courage to work for the unity of your Church. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal)
When is the Feast Day of Pope Saint Cornelius and Saint Cyprian celebrated?
These feast days are celebrated on the same day annually – 16 September.
I hope everyone who celebrates has a wonderful day!
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