The Plague of Cyprian: A Demonstration of the Kingdom
The widespread response to the Plague of Cyprian contrasts the hopelessness of the pagan world with the radical, service-driven faith of the early Christians, leading to significant growth of the Church.
| Feature | Pagan Response | Early Christian Response |
| Reaction to the Sick | Fear drove people to abandon the sick, even their closest family members, throwing the ailing into the streets before they were dead to protect themselves. | Christians, led by Bishop Cyprian of Carthage and Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria, organized into a “battalion of nurses.” They deliberately sought out the sick, attending to their needs without thought of danger. |
| Attitude Towards Death | Death was a terror, and for the pagans, the plague terrified them because it called all their traditional faiths into question. | Death was seen as a transition to a glorious reward. Cyprian encouraged his people, writing that the Christian should “rejoice, and to embrace the benefit of the occasion,” going forward to Christ. |
| Scope of Service | They fled the sick and abandoned corpses. Pagan physicians, like Galen, often fled the cities. | They not only cared for their own but, as Cyprian taught, also ministered to the non-Christian heathen, practicing clemency and love to their very persecutors. They washed and buried the unburied corpses of both Christians and non-Christians. |
| Outcome | Communities without a strong Christian presence suffered devastating losses. | In communities with a strong Christian nursing presence, some estimates suggest a significantly lower mortality rate (e.g., 10% vs. 30% without Christian care), proving the efficacy of their service. |
The faith that propelled them was not one of fear, but of profound hope in eternal life. Bishop Cyprian urged the Christians not to be troubled by the mortality, but to view the crisis as a chance to demonstrate their faith.
“How suitable, how necessary it is that this plague and pestilence, which seems horrible and deadly, searches out the justice of each and every one and examines the minds of the human race; whether the well care for the sick, whether relatives dutifully love their kinsmen as they should, whether masters show compassion…”
This witness of self-sacrificial love—loving their neighbor as Christ loved them—was a powerful factor in the growth of Christianity, as outsiders saw the true nature of their God demonstrated through their actions.
The Return Question
This story of the early Church’s response to the Plague of Cyprian powerfully illustrates a core principle that is central to the doctrine of the Lord’s Return:
How does a “seasonal, biblical mindset” transform the posture of the Church during times of global crisis?
The Christians of the 3rd century did not panic; they saw the plague as part of the “gift of the occasion”—a providential event to prove their faith. Your focus on a seasonal, biblical mindset aligns with this. The early believers were focused on a grand, eschatological cycle (the “last days” as foretold by Christ) rather than the panic of the present moment.
- Instead of viewing the plague as a random disaster, they saw it as one of the signs Christ said would increase (“afflictions such as wars, famines, pestilence, and earthquakes would increase in the last days”).
- This perspective did not lead to passivity, but to radical, hopeful service, making their faith visible and compelling.
This is a beautiful example of the principle you are exploring—that aligning our lives with a larger, divinely appointed framework moves us from fearful reaction to purposeful action. It speaks directly to the detailed information you are compiling on The Lord’s Return