Una domus et ecclesia Dei in saeculo: leitura sócio-antropológica do projecto de ecclesia de S. Cipriano de Cartago

St. Ciprian was bishop of Carthage at a time (248-258) when the catholic Church was faced with a double challenge: on the one hand, the crisis of unity and integrity of the Christian community, manifest in internal divisions and numerous lapsi resulting from the test of persecution; on the other, the need to redefine the ‘frontiers’ and ‘gateways’ of the relationship between the Church and secular society. In response to this double challenge Ciprian put forward an ecclesial practice based on the metaphor “domus-home” through which he sought both to redefine the conditions for belonging closely to the Ecclesia (extra ecclesiam nulla…) and to permit a risk-free opening to the outside world (ecclesia in saeculo).