Cyprian of Carthage, On the Unity of the Church 8
What kind of person would be so depraved and disloyal, so consumed by the madness of discord, as to think the unity of God can be torn apart or even dare to try to tear it apart - the unity that is the Church of Christ, the very garment of the Lord? In his Gospel, Christ himself teaches us that there will be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:16), which raises the question: can there be one flock with many shepherds, or multiple flocks in one place? The Apostle Paul urges us to unity, begging us in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to speak with one voice and avoid schisms (1 Corinthians 1:10), to be of the same mind and share the same opinion, and to support one another in love, working together to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). Can someone who leaves the Church and sets up their own separate gatherings and meeting places really expect to stand and live? Consider the story of Rahab, who prefigured the Church: she was told to gather her family into her house, and anyone who left the house would be guilty (Joshua 2:18-19). The Passover sacrament, as described in the law of Exodus, also emphasizes unity: the lamb, which represents Christ, must be eaten in one house, and the flesh must not be taken outside (Exodus 12:46). This means the body of Christ, the holy thing of the Lord, cannot be taken outside, and there is no other place for believers to gather except the one Church. The Holy Spirit announces this unity, this hospitality, in the Psalms, saying that God brings like-minded people together in one house (Psalm 68:6), and it is in the house of God, in the Church of Christ, that those who are of one mind dwell, living in harmony and simplicity.
Latin
Quis ergo sic est sceleratus et perfidus, quis sic discordiae furore vesanus, ut aut credat scindi posse aut audeat scindere unitatem Dei, vestem Domini, Ecclesiam Christi? Monet ipse in Evangelio suo et docet dicens: Et erit unus grex et unus pastor. Et esse posse uno in loco aliquis existimat aut multos pastores aut plures greges? Apostolus item Paulus, hanc eamdem nobis insinuans unitatem, obsecrat et hortatur dicens: Obsecro, inquit, vos, fratres, per nomen Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ut id ipsum dicatis omnes, et non sint in vobis schismata. Sitis autem compositi in eodem sensu et in eadem sententia. Et iterum dicit: Sustinentes invicem in dilectione, satis agentes servare unitatem spiritus in conjunctione pacis. Stare tu et vivere putas posse de Ecclesia recedentem, sedes sibi alias et diversa domicilia condentem, cum dictum sit ad Rahab, in qua praeformabatur Ecclesia: Patrem tuum et matrem tuam et fratres tuos et totam domum patris tui colliges ad te ipsam in domum tuam, et omnis qui exierit ostium domus tuae foras, reus sibi erit. Item sacramentum Paschae nihil aliud in Exodi lege contineat quam ut agnus, qui in figura Christi occiditur, in domo una edatur. Loquitur Deus dicens: In domo una comedetur, non ejicietis de domo carnem foras. Caro Christi et sanctum Domini ejici foras non potest, nec alia ulla credentibus praeter unam Ecclesiam domus est. Hanc domum, hoc unanimitatis hospitium designat et denuntiat Spiritus sanctus in Psalmis dicens: Deus qui inhabitare facit unanimes in domo. In domo Dei, in Ecclesia Christi, unanimes habitant, concordes et simplices perseverant.