Do Not Wait for Me

Cyprian to the elders and deacons, his brothers: greetings. I am surprised, dear brothers, that you have sent me no answer at all to the many letters I have written you again and again — when both the good of our brotherhood and its urgent needs would certainly be best served if I could get word from you, look into the state of things exactly, and give my advice on how they should be handled. [a]

But since I see that there is still no chance of my coming to you, and that summer has already begun — a season broken up by constant and serious illness — I think a decision has to be made now about our brothers. Those who have received certificates from the martyrs, and so can be helped by the standing the martyrs have with God: if any of them is overtaken by some misfortune and falls dangerously ill, they need not wait until I am there. Let them make confession of their sin before whatever elder is at hand — or, if no elder can be found and death is coming on fast, before even a deacon. Then, with hands laid on them for repentance, let them go to the Lord with the peace the martyrs asked in their letters to us to have granted them.

As for the rest of the people who have lapsed, warm them by your presence and lift them with your comfort, so that they do not lose their hold on the faith and on God’s mercy. The Lord’s help and support will not abandon those who have kept on in good works, gently, humbly, and with true repentance; for them too the divine cure will be granted. And do not let your watchfulness fail the hearers either, if any of them is caught by danger and brought close to death. The Lord’s mercy must not be refused to people who are begging for God’s favor.

I wish you well always, dear brothers, and heartily; and remember me. Greet the whole brotherhood in my name, and remind them and ask them to keep me in mind. Farewell.