The Patrologia Latina · Volume III
The Age of Cyprian
Volume 3 moves past Tertullian into the church of the mid-third century: the elegant dialogue Octavius, the prison diary of Perpetua, Novatian on the Trinity, and the letters and councils of the great baptismal controversy between Cyprian of Carthage and Rome. We are translating every one into English.
About this volume
Martyrs, councils, and a church under fire
This volume gathers the Latin church between roughly 200 and 260 AD, the generation after Tertullian. It opens with the Passion of Perpetua and Felicity, one of the earliest and most personal documents of the martyr church, and the Octavius of Minucius Felix, the most polished apology the early Latin church produced. Novatian contributes the first Roman treatise on the Trinity.
The heart of the volume is the baptismal controversy of the 250s AD: whether people baptized in separated communities had to be baptized again on entering the Church. Cyprian’s letters, the councils of Carthage he presided over, the decree of Pope Stephen against rebaptism, and Firmilian’s fierce letter from Cappadocia preserve both sides of the argument in their own words — and close with the trial records and passion accounts of Cyprian’s own martyrdom in 258 AD.
As across the whole project, we translate the original works only, in fresh English, and give them away free to read.
Where to start
Three to begin with
The martyr’s diary
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity
Passio SS. Perpetuae et Felicitatis
A young mother’s own account of her imprisonment and visions before her execution in 203 AD.
Read →The classic
Octavius
Octavius
A seaside debate between a pagan and a Christian — the most elegant apology in early Latin literature.
Read →The landmark
On the Trinity
De Trinitate
The first full treatise on the Trinity written at Rome, a bridge from Tertullian to Nicaea.
Read →The contents
28 works
Each is a fresh English translation from the Latin, free to read online, in the order Migne printed them.
- 01
The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity Passio SS. Perpetuae et Felicitatis
The prison diary of a young Carthaginian mother condemned to the beasts — one of the earliest surviving texts written by a Christian woman.
7 ch. Read free → - 02
The Muratorian Fragment on the Canon of the New Testament Fragmentum Acephalum de Canone SS. Scripturarum
The oldest surviving list of the books that make up the New Testament, preserved in a damaged Latin fragment that begins mid-sentence.
4 min Read free → - 03
Octavius Octavius
A pagan skeptic and a Christian friend debate the gods, the world, and the rumors against the Church on a beach at Ostia.
41 ch. Read free → - 04
A Chronicle Written under Alexander Severus Chronicon sub Alexandro Severo scriptum
A universal chronicle tracing the generations of the world from Adam to the reign of Alexander Severus, dated by the years of the Passover.
22 ch. Read free → - 05
The Letters of Cornelius and His Correspondents Epistolae et quae ad eum scriptae sunt
Thirteen letters between Cyprian of Carthage and Cornelius of Rome trace the twin schisms of Novatian and Felicissimus and the fight over readmitting Christians who lapsed under persecution.
12 ch. Read free → - 06
On the Trinity De Trinitate
The earliest surviving Latin treatise devoted to explaining and defending the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one God.
31 ch. Read free → - 07
On the Jewish Meats De cibis Judaicis
Novatian reads the Old Testament's clean and unclean animals as figures of virtue and vice, then argues Christ has set every food free.
7 ch. Read free → - 08
To Cyprian, on the Treatment of the Lapsed Ad S. Cyprianum Epistola
The Roman clergy write to Cyprian during a vacancy in their own see, backing his cautious, unified approach to reconciling Christians who had faltered under persecution.
12 min Read free → - 09
To Lucius, on His Return from Exile Ad Lucium Papam de Exsilio Reversum
Cyprian's letter congratulating Lucius, bishop of Rome, on his return from the exile that had already claimed the life of his predecessor Cornelius.
4 min Read free → - 10
To Stephen, on Marcianus of Arles Ad Stephanum Papam
Cyprian urges the bishop of Rome to act against a fellow bishop who has shut the door on penitent sinners.
7 min Read free → - 11
The Decisive Sentences on the Baptism of Heretics Decretoriae Sententiae de Baptismo Haereticorum
The bishop of Rome's own case, in five short arguments, for why baptism performed outside the Church should never be repeated.
5 ch. Read free → - 12
The Council of Rome under Stephen, on the Rebaptism of Converts Concilium Romanum sub S. Stephano Celebratum
The sole surviving record of a Roman synod under Pope Stephen that rejected the African bishops' demand to rebaptize every convert to the Church.
1 min Read free → - 13
The Third Council of Carthage under Cyprian, on Infant Baptism Carthaginense Concilium sub Cypriano Tertium de Infantibus Baptizandis
Sixty-six bishops rule that newborns deserve baptism from their earliest days, rejecting any delay modeled on the law of circumcision.
6 min Read free → - 14
The Fourth Council of Carthage under Cyprian, on Basilides and Martialis Carthaginense Concilium sub Cypriano Quartum de Basilide et Martiale
A council of bishops rules that two Spanish bishops who bought certificates of idolatry cannot be restored to the episcopate.
12 min Read free → - 15
The Fifth Council of Carthage under Cyprian, on Baptism Carthaginense Concilium sub Cypriano Quintum de Baptismo Primum
A council of African bishops rules that baptism performed outside the Church confers no true baptism at all.
6 min Read free → - 16
The Sixth Council of Carthage under Cyprian, on the Baptism of Those Baptized Outside the Church Carthaginense Concilium sub Cypriano Sextum de Baptismo Secundum
Cyprian reports a Carthaginian council's ruling to Rome: those baptized outside the Church must be baptized anew when they return.
5 min Read free → - 17
The Seventh Council of Carthage under Cyprian, on the Baptism of Those Outside the Church Carthaginense Concilium sub Cypriano Septimum de Baptismo Tertium
Eighty-seven African bishops, one by one, cast their individual vote on whether baptism performed outside the Church is valid.
27 min Read free → - 18
To Stephen of Rome, on the Peace of the Eastern Churches Epistolae Dionysii Alexandrini Episcopi ad Stephanum Papam Fragmentum
A brief letter from Dionysius of Alexandria to Stephen of Rome announcing that the once-divided churches of the East had been reunited in peace.
1 min Read free → - 19
To Quintus, on the Baptism of Those Outside the Church Epistola S. Cypriani ad Quintum de Haereticis Baptizandis
Cyprian's foundational letter arguing that baptism outside the Church confers nothing, and must be repeated upon return.
5 min Read free → - 20
To Jubaianus, on the Baptism of Heretics Epistola S. Cypriani ad Jubaianum de Haereticis Baptizandis
Cyprian's fullest surviving defense of the position that baptism confers no grace outside the Catholic Church, written to settle a fellow bishop's doubts during the mid-third-century rebaptism controversy.
29 min Read free → - 21
To Pompey, Against the Epistle of Stephen on the Baptism of Heretics Epistola S. Cypriani ad Pompeium contra Epistolam Stephani de Haereticis Baptizandis
Cyprian's fullest case for one baptism in one Church, forwarded to a fellow bishop as a rebuttal to Rome's Stephen at the height of the rebaptism dispute.
16 min Read free → - 22
To Magnus, on Baptizing the Novatians, and Those Who Obtain Grace on a Sick-Bed Epistola S. Cypriani ad Magnum de Baptizandis Novatianis et de Iis qui in Lecto Gratiam Consequuntur
Cyprian rules that baptism performed outside the Church is void, and that sprinkling a dying believer is no less true a baptism than full immersion.
24 min Read free → - 23
Firmilian to Cyprian, Against the Letter of Stephen Epistola Firmiliani Episcopi Caesareae Cappadociae ad Cyprianum contra Epistolam Stephani
A fellow bishop's blistering defense of Cyprian against Rome, complete with the tale of a Cappadocian prophetess who staged a counterfeit baptism.
32 min Read free → - 24
On Rebaptism Liber de Rebaptismate
An anonymous African bishop argues that those baptized outside the Church in the name of Jesus need only the laying on of hands, not a second baptism.
19 ch. Read free → - 25
Against Novatian Tractatus ad Novatianum Haereticum
An anonymous polemic defending the reconciliation of the lapsed, built on the allegory of Noah's raven and returning dove.
18 ch. Read free → - 26
The Life and Passion of Cyprian De Vita et Passione S. Cypriani
An eyewitness account of Cyprian of Carthage's charity, exile, and martyrdom, written by the deacon who stood beside him.
19 ch. Read free → - 27
The Proconsular Acts of the Martyrdom of Cyprian Acta Proconsularia S. Cypriani
The official court record of Cyprian's trial and execution, preserving the exact words exchanged between the bishop and the Roman proconsul.
6 ch. Read free → - 28
The Acts of the Martyrdom of Cyprian Passio S. Cypriani
The proconsular court record of Cyprian's final arrest, trial, and execution, preserved almost verbatim from the Roman transcript.
3 min Read free →
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