Novatianism

Novatianism or Novationism[1] was an early Christian sect devoted to the theologian Novatian (c. 200–258) that held a strict view that refused readmission to communion of lapsi (those baptized Christians who had denied their faith or performed the formalities of a ritual sacrifice to the pagan gods under the pressures of the persecution sanctioned by Emperor Decius in AD 250). The Church of Rome declared the Novatianists heretical following the letters of Saint Cyprian of Carthage[2] and Ambrose wrote against them.[3] Novatianism survived until the 8th century.[4]

Novatian theology was heavily influenced by Tertullian, and made heavy use of his writings.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Novationism". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  2. ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia : Novatian and Novatianism". NewAdvent.org. 1911-02-01. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
  3. ^ "Church Fathers : Concerning Repentance, Book I (Ambrose)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
  4. ^ "Novatian". earlychristianwritings.com. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Novatian (2012). The Sacred Writings of Novatian (Annotated ed.). Jazzybee Verlag. ISBN 978-3-8496-2144-5.