Editing Cyprian (section)

== Contested election as bishop of Carthage ==
Not long after his baptism, he was [[Holy orders|ordained]] a deacon and soon afterwards a priest. Sometime between July 248 and April 249, he was elected [[bishop of Carthage]], a popular choice among the poor who remembered his patronage as demonstrating good [[Equestrian order|equestrian]] style. However, his rapid rise did not meet with the approval of senior members of the clergy in Carthage,<ref name=Oshitelu>Oshitelu, G.A., ''The African Fathers of the Early Church'', Ibadan, Nigeria, 2002</ref> an opposition that did not disappear during his [[episcopate]].

Not long afterwards, the entire community was put to an unwanted test. Christians in North Africa had not suffered persecution for many years; the Church was assured and lax. In early 250, the [[Decian persecution]] began.{{sfn|Benedict XVI|2008|p=52}} [[Decius|Emperor Decius]] issued an edict, the text of which is lost, ordering sacrifices to the gods to be made throughout the [[Roman Empire|Empire]].<ref name="frend">{{cite book|title=The Rise of Christianity|author=W. H. C. Frend|author-link=W. H. C. Frend|publisher=Fortress Press, Philadelphia|year=1984|page=319|isbn= 978-0-8006-1931-2}}</ref> Jews were specifically exempted from that requirement.<ref>{{cite book|title= Third-Century Christianity.|series =In The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume XII: The Crisis of Empire, edited by Alan Bowman, Averil Cameron, and Peter Garnsey|author= Graeme Clarke|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2005|isbn=0-521-30199-8}}</ref> Cyprian chose to go into hiding, rather than face potential execution. While some clergy saw that decision as a sign of cowardice, Cyprian defended himself by saying that he had fled in order not to leave the faithful without a shepherd during the persecution and that his decision to continue to lead them, although from a distance, was in accordance with divine will. Moreover, he pointed to the actions of the Apostles and Jesus himself: "And therefore the Lord commanded us in the persecution to depart and to flee; and both taught that this should be done, and Himself did it. For as the crown is given by the condescension of God, and cannot be received unless the hour comes for accepting it, whoever abiding in Christ departs for a while does not deny his faith, but waits for the time..."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Cyprian|title=De Lapsis}}</ref>