The Testimony of Saint Cyprian Against Rome: an Essay Towrds Determining the Judgement of Saint Cyprian Touching Papal Supremacy

The Testimony Of Saint Cyprian Against Rome: An Essay Towrds Determining The Judgement Of Saint Cyprian Touching Papal Supremacy by George Ayliffe Poole surveys Saint Cyprian’s positions on papal supremacy and church unity. Poole analyzes Cyprian’s De Unitate Ecclesiae, De Lapsis, and related epistles to show that Cyprian treated Peter as a symbol of unity and the episcopate as the principle guarantor of unity, with bishops sharing equal dignity and authority rather than submitting to a single head in Rome. The work also traces Cyprian’s stance against universal papal jurisdiction, his rejection of the transmission of Peter’s primacy to the Bishop of Rome, and his prohibition of appeals to Rome in discipline. Drawing on Augustine, Optatus, and Firmilian, Poole demonstrates that early Fathers argued for episcopal equality and the independence of local synods, while Rome’s claims appear inconsistent with Cyprian’s writings and conduct. The volume discusses Cyprian’s baptism controversies, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and the role of tradition, concluding with Appendix material on Cyprian’s ambitions, forgeries, and related methodological cautions. The author defends tradition and episcopal unity as the true basis of church unity.