251

The lapsed after the Decian persecution and the schism of Novatian

During the Decian persecution many Christians sacrificed or obtained certificates of having done so, and the question arose whether to readmit the apostates and who had the right to decide – the confessors or the bishops. In Carthage the confessors issued "letters of peace," and Cyprian insisted that the right of reconciliation belongs to the bishop, who takes into account the recommendations of the martyrs. The Council of Carthage in 251 adopted a moderate policy – to determine the degree of guilt and assign penance – and in 252, under the threat of a new persecution, decided to readmit at once those who had begun penance. In Rome the presbyter Novatian, who refused forgiveness to the lapsed, set himself against Bishop Cornelius, and his supporters consecrated their own bishop.