By spring 251, Cyprian was back in Carthage. Summoning all his rhetorical skills, he addressed the community in a memorable oration “on the lapsed,” a work at once wise, generous, biting, and resolute. He praises the courage and faith of the confessors, he grieves for the “wounded,” meaning those who had sacrificed, and even counts himself among the “fallen” because of his flight. The long years of peace had “undermined the practice of the faith,” and all must share the blame. Nevertheless Cyprian was unbending on the key point: no one except the bishop can forgive a sin committed against God
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