Hermeneutical transformation of the views of St. Cyprian of Carthage in the treatise of St. Augustine of Hippo De baptismo contra donatistas

In the article the author discusses the rethinking of the teachings and personality of Hieromartyr Cyprian of Carthage by St. Augustine the Blessed in the treatise De Baptismo contra donatistas , as well as the significance of this rethinking for the success of St. Augustine’s polemics with the Donatists. The struggle of the Bishop of Hippo against Donatism continued for almost four decades. Initial attempts to polemize, though theologically honed, did not reach the hearts and minds of the Africans. A watershed moment can be seen in the awareness of St. Augustine of the need to attract to his side a figure of undoubted significance for the whole of North African Christianity, namely Hieromartyr Cyprian of Carthage, who was important both for the Donatists, who considered themselves his direct heirs, and for the Catholics, who saw in him an exemplary martyr bishop. Hieromartyr Cyprian is often perceived as the representative of the most rigorous point of view on the question of the boundaries of the Church, and, strictly speaking, he was. However, the Hipponian saint, on the one hand, raises him up on a pedestal of honor, and on the other hand, very subtly points out the discrepancy between his teachings and those adopted at a later time at the Ecumenical Councils, while bringing to the fore his love for the unity of the Church and his own confidence in the fact that if Hieromonk Cyprian were alive, he would certainly agree with the teaching of the whole Church, putting aside his point of view. The treatise is largely built on this exaltation and simultaneous rethinking.