Letter 70: No Baptism Outside the Church

Cyprian, Liberalis, Caldonius and the others, to their brothers Januarius and the others: greeting. [a]

When we were together in council, dearest brothers, we read the letter you sent us about those who are thought to have been baptized by heretics and schismatics: whether, when they come to the one true catholic church, they ought to be baptized. You yourselves also hold the catholic rule in its truth and firmness; yet since, out of our love for one another, you have thought it good to consult us, we give our judgment not as something new. In kindred harmony we join with you in what was settled long ago by our predecessors and is observed by us. We think, that is, and hold for certain, that no one can be baptized outside the church, since there is one baptism appointed in the holy church. And it is written, the Lord himself speaking, “They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Again, holy Scripture warns us and says, “Keep away from strange water, and do not drink from a fountain of strange water.” The water, then, must first be cleansed and sanctified by the priest, so that by baptism in it, it may be able to wash away the sins of the one baptized. For the Lord says through the prophet Ezekiel, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed from all your filthiness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.” But how can someone cleanse and sanctify the water who is himself unclean, and with whom the Spirit is not? For the Lord says in Numbers, “And whatever the unclean person touches will be unclean.” Or how can the one who baptizes give forgiveness of sins to another, when outside the church he cannot free himself from his own sins? [b]

Moreover, the very question that is put in baptism is a witness to the truth. For when we say, “Do you believe in eternal life, and the forgiveness of sins through the holy church?” we mean that forgiveness of sins is not given except in the church, and that among heretics, where the church is not, sins cannot be forgiven. So those who claim that heretics can baptize should either change the question or uphold the truth; unless, indeed, they grant a church as well to those whom they claim have baptism. [d] The one who is baptized must also of necessity be anointed, so that, having received the chrism, that is, the anointing, he may be the anointed of God and have within him the grace of Christ. Further, it is the eucharist by which the baptized are anointed, the oil sanctified on the altar. But one who has neither altar nor church cannot sanctify oil, the thing God created. So neither can there be any spiritual anointing among heretics, since it is acknowledged that among them the oil cannot be sanctified, nor the eucharist celebrated. But we ought to know and remember that it is written, “Do not let the oil of a sinner anoint my head.” The Holy Spirit gave this warning beforehand in the Psalms, so that no one, leaving the track and wandering from the path of truth, should be anointed by heretics and adversaries of Christ. Moreover, at a baptism, what kind of prayer can a profane priest who is a sinner offer? For it is written, “God does not hear a sinner; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, him he hears.” [e]

But who can give what he does not have himself? Or how can someone perform spiritual acts who has himself lost the Holy Spirit? So whoever comes to the church not yet initiated must be baptized and received, so that inside the church he may be made holy through the holy. For it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy, says the Lord.” So the one who was led astray into error and washed outside should, in the true baptism of the church, put off this very thing as well: that he, a man coming to God, while looking for a priest, fell through the deceit of error upon a profane one. But to acknowledge any case in which they have baptized is to approve the baptism of heretics and schismatics. [g] For part of what they do cannot be void and part of it valid. If he could baptize, he could also give the Holy Spirit. But if he cannot give the Holy Spirit, because, being set outside, he is not with the Holy Spirit, neither can he baptize anyone who comes to him. For there is one baptism and one Holy Spirit and one church, founded by Christ the Lord upon Peter, from an origin and principle of unity. So it follows that, since everything among them is void and false, nothing that they have done ought to be approved by us. For what can be ratified and confirmed by God that is done by those whom the Lord calls his enemies and adversaries? He declares in his gospel, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” And the blessed apostle John too, keeping the commandments and precepts of the Lord, wrote in his letter, “You have heard that Antichrist is coming; even now there are many antichrists, by which we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us.” From this we too ought to infer and consider whether those who are the adversaries of the Lord, and are called antichrists, can give the grace of Christ. So we who are with the Lord, who hold to the unity of the Lord, and who by his gracious gift administer his priesthood in the church, ought to repudiate and reject and count as profane whatever his adversaries and antichrists do. And to those who come from error and wickedness and acknowledge the true faith of the one church, we should impart the reality of unity and faith by all the sacraments of divine grace. [h] We bid you, dearest brothers, a heartfelt farewell always.