Rome grew more and more,
so that it was the greatest, and richest, and most important church of
all. Now the bishops who were at the head of this great church were
naturally reckoned the foremost of all bishops, and had more power than
any other; so that if a proud man got the bishopric of Rome, it was too
likely that he might try to set himself up above his brethren, and to
lay down the law to them. Stephen was, unhappily, a man of this kind,
and he gave way to the temptation, and tried to lord it over other
bishops and their churches. But Cyprian held out against him, and made
him understand that the bishop of Rome had no right to give laws to
other bishops, or to meddle with the churches of other countries. He
showed that, although St. Peter (from whom Stephen pretended that the
bishops of Rome had received power over others) was the first of the
Apostles, he was not of a higher class or order than the rest; and,
therefore, that, although the Roman bishops stood first, the other
bishops were their equals, and had received an equal share in the
Christian ministry. So Stephen was not able to get the power which he
wished for over other churches, and, after his death, Carthage and Rome
were at peace again.

PART III. A.D. 257-258.

About six years after the death of the Emperor Decius, a fresh
persecution arose under another emperor, named Valerian (A.D. 257). He
began by ordering that the Christians should not be allowed to meet for
worship, and that the bishops and clergy should be separated from their
flocks. Cyprian was carried before the governor of Africa; and, on being
questioned by him, he said, "I am a Christian and a bishop. I know no
other gods but the one true God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that is in them. It is this God that we Christians serve; to Him we
pray day and night, for ourselves and all mankind, and for the welfare
of the emperors themselves." The governor asked him about his clergy.
"Our laws," said Cyprian, "forbid them to throw themselves in your way,
and I may not inform against them; but if they be sought after, they
will be found, each at his post." The governor said that no Christians
must meet for worship, under pain of death; and he sentenced Cyprian to
be banished to a place called Curubis, about forty miles from Carthage.
It was a pleasant abode, and Cyprian lived there a year, during which
time he was often visited by his friends, and wrote many letters of
advic