Shrine of St. Frideswide, Christ Church Cathedral Oxford.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Feast, September 13; Cyprian of Carthage

St. Cyprian of Carthage.
St. Cyprian was born in Carthage around the year 200. In his early life he was a known aristocrat, and taught rhetoric until 245 when he converted to Christianity. Just two years later he was elected as the bishop of Carthage writing several treatises, books while continuing to preach the gospel. Some of his subjects included the Lord's Prayer where he says that we say 'Hallowed be thy Name' because we desire that his name be made holy within us and that we may continue what we have been made through baptism (Lesser Feasts and Fasts). He also wrote on the importance of episcopacy, and many of his works survive. He went into hiding during the persecutions under the Emperor Decius, but continued to rule his church in secret. It was during the second persecution that he endured, when he was captured in Carthage an put to death on September 14th, 258.

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