Novatian
Opposed to | Pope Cornelius |
---|---|
Orders | |
Consecration | 251 |
Personal details | |
Born | c. 200 |
Died | c. 258 |
Occupation |
|
Novatian (
He was a noted
Life
Few details are known as to his life. He was a man of learning and had been trained in literary composition.[3]
For his profound learning, Cornelius sarcastically defined him as "that creator of dogmas, that champion of ecclesiastical culture", but his eloquence impressed Saint Cyprian of Carthage and Pope Fabian made him a priest despite the protests of the clergy that one who had been baptised only and had not been confirmed could not become a priest.[5]
The story told by Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria, that Novatian was an archdeacon of Rome consecrated a priest by the pope in order to prevent his succeeding to the papacy, is contradicted by Cornelius and is based on a later state of affairs in which Roman deacons were statesmen rather than religious ministers.[3]
Novatian became a leading presbyter of the Roman Church, and one of the most noted personages in the Church of the 3rd century.
Decian persecution
On 20 January 250, during the Decian persecution, Pope Fabian was martyred and the persecution was so fierce that it proved impossible to elect a successor, with the papal seat remaining vacant for a year. During this period the church was governed by several priests, including Novatian. In a letter the following year, Cornelius speaks of his rival whose cowardice and love of his own life made him deny to the persecutors that he was a priest and refuse to comfort his brothers in danger. The deacons urged him to come out of hiding, but he told them that he was in love with another philosophy and thus did not want to be a priest any longer. The anonymous work Ad Novatianum (XIII) states that Novatian, "so long as he was in the one house, that is in Christ's Church, bewailed the sins of his neighbours as if they were his own, bore the burdens of the brethren, as the Apostle exhorts, and strengthened with consolation the backsliding in heavenly faith".[3]
Novatian wrote two letters during the persecution in the name of the Roman clergy to Saint
Novatian disagreed with this viewpoint and believed that reconciling those who had lapsed would compromise the integrity of the Church.[7] Arguing that idolatry was an unforgivable sin and that the church had no right to readmit lapsed members to communion, Novatian argued that the church could admit the penitent to penitence-for-life, but only God could grant forgiveness. Such a position was not completely new, as Tertullian had criticised Pope Callixtus I's introduction of pardons for adultery. Even Saint Hippolytus was inclined towards severity, and laws were promulgated in many places and at various times to punish determined sinners with excommunication ending at the hour of death or even refusing them communion in the hour of death.
According to Cyprian, the gravity of this position was not in its cruelty or injustice but in the negation of the church's power in such cases to give absolution. Cyprian (Letter LXXV) conceded that Novatian affirmed the baptismal question: "Do you believe in the remission of sins and in the life eternal, through the Holy Church?" However, because Novatian refused to recognize Cornelius as the rightful successor to Peter's throne, Cyprian argued that Novatian was a schismatic; and to Cyprian, who had to contend with a comparably lenient faction in Carthage, schismatics who compromised the unity of the Church were worse than apostates.[8]
Papal candidacy and excommunication
In March 251, with the emperor Decius's death, the persecution began to subside and the Roman community seized the opportunity to nominate a successor to Fabian. Although Novatian was the pre-eminent theologian in Rome, and had a hand in running the Church after the death of Fabian, the moderate Roman aristocrat Cornelius was elected. Those who supported a more rigorist position had Novatian consecrated bishop and refused to recognize Cornelius as Bishop of Rome.[7]
Cornelius and Novatian each sent messengers out to the churches to announce their elections and seek support. Saint Cyprian's correspondence tells of an accurate investigation carried out at the end of the
Meanwhile, in October 251, Cornelius had called a council of 60 bishops (probably all those from Italy and the neighbouring territories) in which Novatian was
Novatian died in 258,[7] probably during Valerian's persecutions, in the same year as his opponent Cyprian.
Works
- The Trinity, The Spectacle, Jewish Foods, In Praise of Purity, Letters, (translated by Russell J. DeSimone) Catholic University of America Press (1974).
- The treatise on actors warns Christians not to go to the theatre or the circus.
- The treatise on Jewish foods tells Christians they are not bound by Jewish dietary laws but cautions them against eating meat from animals slaughtered during religious rituals and later sold in butcher shops.[11]
See also
References
- ^ "Novatian". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
- ISBN 9780802880871.
ante-nicene fathers novatian.
- ^ a b c d One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chapman, Henry Palmer (1911). "Novatian and Novatianism". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Strong, James; McClintock, John (1880). "Novatian". The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. New York: Harper and Brothers.
- ^ Euseb. H.E., VI 43; Eusebius erroneously refers to Novatian as Novatus: http://www.presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=1388
- ISBN 978-1-139-50488-1. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
- ^ ISBN 9781606087800
- ISBN 9781134556328, p. 5
- ISBN 978-1-59471-772-7. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
- ^ The Baptist Memorial and Monthly Record. John R. Bigelow. 1851. p. 254. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
- ISBN 9781134678372, p. 389
Further reading
- "Novatian" in Encyclopedia of Ancient History (Wiley-Blackwell, 2012) article written by James L. Papandrea.
- Papandrea, James L. (October 8, 2012). Rome: A Pilgrim's Guide to the Eternal City. Cascade Books. ISBN 978-1-61097-268-0.
- Papandrea, James L. (December 31, 2015). Novatian of Rome: On the Trinity, Letters to Cyprian of Carthage, Ethical Treatises. Brepols Publishers. ISBN 978-2503544915. (English Translations with Introduction)
- Papandrea, James L., "Between Two Thieves: Novatian of Rome and Kenosis Christology", If These Stones Could Speak… Studies on Patristic Texts and Archaeology: Essays in Honor of Dennis E. Groh (New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2009).
- Papandrea, James L.,Novatian of Rome and the Culmination of Pre-Nicene Orthodoxy (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications / Princeton Monograph Series, 2011)
- Novatian of Rome, On the Trinity, Letters to Cyprian of Carthage, Ethical Treatises, English Translations with Introduction, by James L. Papandrea, Tunhout: Brepols, 2015
External links
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 832. .
- Novatian, de Trinitate in Latin
- On the Trinity in English
- On Jewish meats in English
- Multilanguage Opera Omnia
- Works by Novatian at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)