St Cyprian was born in Carthage, in present day Tunisia, in about 200 and he was a teacher, orator and rhetorician until he came under the influence of a priest called Caecilian who convinced him of the truth of Christianity. Cyprian underwent a radical conversion, received baptism and exchanged his beloved pagan writers from Sacred Scripture. He took a vow of celibacy and was ultimately ordained to the priesthood.
Three years after his ordination he was consecrated Bishop of Carthage and was a kind but firm pastor to his flock.
Persecution arrived with the new Emperor Decius who ordered that all must sacrifice to pagan gods, leading to many Christians apostasising. Cyprian chose to go into hiding but continued to teach and preach through letters he wrote in secret, urging unity in the face of persecution.
He permitted those who had previously renounced their faith to return to the Church following a period of penance and condemned the priest Novatus for permitting apostates back without any conditions. Novatus went on to form a schismatic group. Cyprian was soon to clash with another priest, called Novatian, who occupied the other end of the spectrum and who, after declaring himself a bishop, adopted a hard line on the readmission of the lapsed. Cyprian maintained the centre ground with the support of St Cornelius, the Pope and future martyr.
Between 252 and 254, Cyprian had to contend with a plague then in 257 a new persecution began under the Emperor Valerian. Cyprian was exiled for refusing to participate in pagan worship, and arrested and brought back the following year where he was tried again for the same offence before he was put to death by sword on September 14, 258.
His legacy includes letters, sermons treatises and biblical commentaries, and show great attention to the causes of Church unity and such questions as the role of a bishop. According to Butler’s Lives of the Saints, much of what he wrote was of such enduring importance that St Cyprian was quoted in the documents of the Second Vatican Council