The What? Lapsed (ADJECTIVE): No longer believing or following the teachings of a religion. In Christianity, the term is applied to Christians who are baptized but do not follow the teachings of the Church. These Lapsed Christians are considered to be outside of Christian society for performing the sin of apostasy. Apostasy (NOUN): The abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief. The Lapsed Christians appeared during the Decian persecution

Background Emperor Decius ( ) desired the Roman Empire to return to its traditional roots. To that end, he issued an edict that required all Roman citizens to perform a sacrifice to Roman gods in the presence of the Roman magistrate. The edict did NOT specifically target Christians; the religion was persecuted because of its unfamiliarity to Roman citizens.

Lapsed Types The edict forced many Christians to choose between martyrdom or apostasy. Most chose death (becoming martyrs) while others fell into two categories: 1. Sacrificati: Lapsed Christians who had willingly sacrificed to roman gods. 2. Libellatici: Lapsed Christians who dodged the requirement by stealing, fabricating, or buying certificates of sacrifice, the Libelli. In the years following the Decian persecution, Christians were divided on how to view the Lapsed.

Solutions Many Christians did not believe that a serious sin such as apostasy could not be forgiven. Confessors (Christians who admitted their religion and somehow were NOT murdered) offered to forgive the Lapsed via their demonstrated faithfulness. Bishops argued against this idea, stating that only they have the authority to do such a thing because of their greater authority.

Enter Cyprian One of the most influential Western thinkers of all time, Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage ( ), led the Church through letters during the Decian persecution. He became alarmed over the Lapsed being forgiven by Confessors and began to argue in favor of the bishops. Cyprian’s argument was that the bishops have the authority to forgive the sins of the Lapsed because of Apostolic Succession. Over time, he began to soften his views on the lapsed and compromised through the system of penance.

Baptism vs. Penance Many Christians believed that forgiveness was impossible because of the one time only event of Baptism. However, there was increasing acceptance that venial sins could be forgiven through confession but greater discipline is need to forgive serious sins. Early Christian writer Tertullian advocated about the acceptance of venial sins through acts of contrition.

Novatian Causes Trouble A leader of the Church, Novatian ( ) is recognized for both his work On The Trinity and his position on the Lapsed. Novatian believed that the Church would become impure if the lapsed were allowed to rejoin it so he installed Novatianist bishops in other churches. He and his followers were excommunicated but his ideas lived on into the fifth century.

Valid Baptisms T he Roman Church and The North African Church began to argue over Novatianist baptisms conducted by priests outside of the Church. The North African Church argued that the baptisms are false as they were conducted by impure Christians who have left the Church. Stephen, the Bishop of Rome ( ), disagreed, as he believed that the performance mattered; any event acting through the power of the Trinity was valid. Eventually, the North African Churches adopted Stephen’s thinking.

Donatus and Afterwards In 316, a counter bishop named Donatus was elected to lead the Church in Africa. With 270 bishops in his lead, Donatus threatened to topple Rome’s power in Africa. Policies made by both the Roman Church and Constantine failed to stop the growth of Donatists. Even Donatus’ arrest and exile in Gaul in 346 could not stop his following. Augustine convinced the Roman Church to accept the Donatists back for the sake of unity.

Guiding Questions What did the Church consist of? A society of moral people or a society of sinners? Can there be more than one Church to unite all the rest? Is it right for Lapsed Christians to reenter the Church despite their immoral acts?

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