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Cyprian bishop of Carthage was a notable theologian and administrator. His theological focus was on the nature of the church as an institution. As such, he represents an important step in the maturing of the Church.
The central issue of CyprianÕs career was administrative Ñ what the church should do with Christians who wavered and fell under persecution, but wished to return to the church and their old positions in the church once the persecutions had passed. Cyprian, like Tertullian before him, converted to Christianity at the age of 40, and also like Tertullian, he had been trained in rhetoric. He could and would demolish his opponents by sheer force of his words. Cyprian viewed Tertullian as his mentor, calling him "the master." He, like Tertullian venerated the martyrs, who had given their lives for their faith, and loathed those Christians who had lapsed under the pressure of persecution.
Cyprian became bishop shortly before a round of heavy persecution began, and when they did begin, he fled Carthage to gather with other church leaders, guiding their flock thorugh extensive correspondence. This act, which many North African Christians viewed as cowardice, diminished the authority of the church leadership, and heightened that of the "confessors" who had stayed behind and suffered for their faith.
Some of these confessors among the clergy began to grant certificates to re-admit lapsed Christians into their church, on the strength of the extra virtue which they had gained through their suffering. The confessors believed that their merit could atone for the shortcomings of the lapsed without reference to the ecclesiastical hierarchy for permission. They were joined by other priests and presbyters who opposed Cyprian for political reasons, and quickly slid into schism.
Cyprian responded by calling a synod and regularizing the re-admission of lapsed Christians. The synod divided the lapsed Christians into three categories. Those Christians who had found a way to obtain documents certifying that they had sacrificed to Caesar, but had not actually performed the sacrifices could be re-admitted as long as they publically expressed their repentance. Those who had actually sacrificed and were penitent could be re-admitted to the church but only on their deathbeds, or at such a time as a renewed outbreak of persecution would allow them to demonstrate that their repentance was genuine. Those who sacrificed but were not repentant could not re-join the church.
The fundamental issue for Cyprian was his theology of the Church. He was willing to readmit those who had lapsed but had repented because he held that outside of the church there is no salvation. As he put it "no one can have God as Father who does not have the church as mother." (chapter 6) This view meant that the church needed to remain one, and the church heirarchy which he represented needed to be obeyed.
At the same time, Cyprian as a disciple of Tertullian, preached a rigorous Christianity. He could not make it easy for the lapsed to return. He needed real evidence of repentance before readmission.
Cyprian also distinguished between laity and clergy. A priest or presbyter who had fallen away could not regain his ecclesiastical office. The most he could hope for would be a return to communion as a lay person. For Cyprian the church had to be a community for saints, not merely a society of those who professed to be believers. The key to that society was the righteousness of its leaders.
Fifty years later these same issues would be picked up by the Donatists.
This page was based on the following sources, which you can consult for more detailed information:
WHC Frend, The Rise of Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. Pp 351-57 Justo Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. New York: Harper & Row, 1984 pp 88-90 JWC Wand, A History of the Early Church to AD 500. London: Methuen, 1937. Chapter X
For his writings, start with: http://listserv.american.edu/catholic/church/fathers/cyprian/cyprian.html
also in http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/ but it takes a long time to load.