Journal of Ecumenical Studies, volume 59, issue 4, pages 522-542

Cyprian the Inclusivist? Cyprian's Soteriology in a Pluralistic World

D Forrest Mills
Publication type: Journal Article
Publication date: 2024-09-01
scimago Q2
SJR: 0.161
CiteScore: 0.4
Impact factor: 0.2
ISSN: 00220558, 21623937
Abstract
precis: Some scholars have argued for inclusivism as the theology of the early church prior to the legalization of Christianity with the Edict of Milan in 313. Part of this attempt to retrieve inclusivism from the patristic period has involved a reinterpretation of Cyprian's famous axiom, "outside the church, there is no salvation." At the very least, advocates for this recovery of inclusivism have argued for agnosticism concerning his beliefs, and some have even tried to claim him as an early inclusivist. The new interpretation has maintained that the Constantinian church took Cyprian's ideas out of context by applying them to all people outside the church rather than just to schismatics. Since Cyprian was writing only about schismatics, scholarship cannot say for certain what he believed concerning the extent of salvation. While laudable for reading Cyprian based upon his context, this new interpretation argues from silence and misunderstands how his axioms enhanced his case against schismatics. He used the notion of exclusivism as a weapon to counter the arguments for schism. Since there is no salvation outside the church, the schismatics were not saved, just as the pagans were not. After summarizing and evaluating scholarship arguing for this new interpretation of Cyprian, this essay will reveal Cyprian's underlying exclusivism that is found across his entire corpus.
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