The authority of Cyprian's name was such that all parties at the time of the Reformation found evidence sufficient to claim him among the creators of their particular heritage. The author shows how the complexity of his ecclesiology enabled this apparent paradox, and the book offers a useful guide both to Cyprian's thought and to its influence on later writers.

The authority of Cyprian's name was such that all parties at the time of the Reformation found evidence sufficient to claim him among the creators of their particular heritage. The author shows how the complexity of his ecclesiology enabled this apparent paradox, and the book offers a useful guide both to Cyprian's thought and to its influence on later writers.