CENT. III.
St. CYPRIAN, L. C.-“ Christ addresses Peter (Mat. 16, 18.) I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.—He that does not hold this Unity of the Church, can he think that he holds the Faith? He that opposes and withstands the Church, can be trust that he is in the Church?” De Unit. Eccles. p. 194, 195.-—“Let no one imagine, that the good can depart from the Church. The wind blows not away the corn; the storm overturns not the tree, that is fixed by a firm root. Light straws are dispersed by the tempest; weak trees give way, and fall. Such men as these are severely censured by the Apostle John: (1 John ii. 19.) They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us. Hence heresies often are, and often have been, while the perverse mind has no peace, and discord rejects unity.” Ib. “ Then what peace can these men promise to themselves? What sacrifices do they pretend to offer? Do they fancy, when they are assembled, that Christ is with them while they are not in his Church? They may offer up their lives, confessing Christ: but he cannot be a martyr, who has deserted the Church; he cannot arrive at the kingdom, who quits her that is to reign. Christ gave us his peace : he commanded us to be of one mind, and to preserve inviolate the bonds of charity; and shall he be a martyr, who violates fraternal charity?” Ibid. p. 198.-" The faith and constancy of the Apostles failed not, because Judas fell: so, at this time, because the faith of some has given way, the character of those that stand is not injured. The greater part remains firm. They forfeit not the peace of the Church, and even render their own faith the more conspicuous, because they have escaped the contagion.” Ibid. p. 202.
