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Cyprianus Plebi Cartagini Consistenti and the Origins of Donatism
- Journal of Early Christian Studies
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 26, Number 3, Fall 2018
- pp. 433-461
- 10.1353/earl.2018.0040
- Article
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Abstract:
Due to its strong condemnation of traditores within the church, the pseudo-Cyprianic letter Cyprianus plebi Cartagini consistenti has long been considered a late Donatist forgery. Such a diagnosis has largely sidelined the letter from serious academic consideration beyond supporting the Augustinian claim that the Donatists were willing to alter the Cyprianic corpus in order to advance their cause. In this article, I will offer both an English translation of this short document and a new interpretation as to its origin. Cyprianus plebi Cartagini consistenti is not, I argue, a Donatist forgery, but rather a misattributed early witness to the origins of the Donatist-Caecilianist schism.