return again continually to former sins, proves the repentance not to have been real, but feigned and hypocritical. Yet some have thought, that the language both of Hermas and Clement prepared the way for the severity of Origen and the errors of the Novatians.

Origen appears to have thrown out the opinion, that persons, who had once embraced the Gospel, and been baptized, and then denied the faith, could not be readmitted to repentance nor obtain pardon of sin1.

The sect of the Novatians arose about the middle of the third century. Novatian, their founder, a presbyter of Rome, had on a former occasion been chosen by the Church of that city to write to Cyprian on the subject of restoring the lapsed to communion. In the year 251, Cornelius was elected Bishop of Rome, a post to which Novatian aspired. Novatian had himself secured three bishops, ignorant and inexperienced men, to consecrate him to the bishopric. But not succeeding in his hopes of holding possession of the see, he set up a schismatical communion. He does not appear to have held any heretical doctrine; but he denied to the Church the power of restoring to communion those who had lapsed in persecution. Eusebius indeed says, that he denied to them the hope of salvation3; but it seems more probable, from the language of Cyprian and others, that he exhorted them to repent, and to seek for pardon, but refused to offer them any consolation, or to admit them again to any church-privilege in this life1.

alone could.'-On Repentance, ch. ix. § 3. All that is said in this section about the fathers' doctrine of repentance is well worth reading.

1 Origen, Tract. 35 in Matthæum; see Abp. Potter's note on the before-cited passage of Clem. Alex.

2 The letter is in the collection of the letters of Cyprian, Epis. xxx. 3 Η. Ε. VI. 43: ὡς μηκέτ ̓ οὔσης αὐτοῖς σωτηρίας ἐλπίδος. So Epiphan. adv. Hær. Hær. XXXIX. λέγων μὴ εἶναι σωτηρίαν, ἀλλὰ μίαν μετάνοιαν.

▲ Epist. 55, juxta finem. There he describes the Novatians as urging repentance, but excluding from peace: 'hortari ad satisfactionis pœni

Whether he extended this severity to heinous sins in general is not apparent; but it seems that the sect of the Novatians, who owed their origin to him, refused communion to the penitent after other heavy offences besides lapsing in persecution'. The Novatians arrogated to themselves the title of Cathari, or Pure; and refused to acknowledge the baptism of those Churches which admitted the lapsed to penance and com

munion.

The Church Catholic, however, rejected at once the severity of Novatian's sentiments. Eusebius, on the authority of Cornelius, mentions a council of bishops who met at Rome and condemned the folly of Novatian. Still the sect of the Cathari continued, and appears to have flourished throughout the fourth and part of the fifth century. But the fathers of the Church uniformly esteemed them heretics, and expressed their belief in the remissibility of sin, on repentance, after baptism3.

St. Cyprian says, that to a lapsed Christian, who repents, prays, and exerts himself, God gives pardon, and restores his arms, so that he may fight again, strengthened for the conflict by the very sorrow for his sins. And he thus strengthened by the Lord, may make glad the Church, which he had saddened, and obtain not only pardon, but a crown. St. Gregory Na

tentiam, et subtrahere de satisfactione medicinam; dicere fratribus nostris, plange et lacrymas funde, et diebus ac noctibus ingemisce, et pro abluendo et purgando delicto tuo largiter et frequenter operare, sed extra ecclesiam post omnia ista morieris: quæcumque ad pacem pertinent, facies, sed nullam pacem, quam quæris, accipies.'

1 'Igitur, hoc nullum habet dubium, adultam ecclesiam Novatianam non modo perfidos Christianos, verum etiam omnium capitalium criminum reos alienos a se voluisse.'-Mosheim, De Rebus ante Constant. Magnum, sæc. tertium, § XVI.

2 H. E. vi. 43, juxta finem.

3 See Cyprian, Eusebius, and Epiphanius, as above; Mosheim, De Rebus ante Constant. Magnum, sæc. III. §§ xv. XVI.; Lardner, Vol. 1. Pt. II. ch. 47; Cave, Histor. Liter. Tom. I. p. 91.

4 'Poenitenti operanti, roganti, potest (Deus) clementer ignoscere .. dat Ille et arma rursus quibus victus armetur, reparat et corro

zianzen calls penitence another baptism, but rougher and more troublesome and says that, owning the infirmity and fickleness of man, he gratefully accepts for himself, and willingly imparts to others, this grace of repentance; aware that he himself is compassed by infirmities, and that with that measure he metes it shall be measured to him again. The Novatian he calls the modern Pharisee, and asks if he would not have allowed the repentance of David, or the return of Peter after he had denied his Lord, or the contrition of the incestuous Corinthian, to whom St. Paul confirmed his lovel

St. Ambrose says, that, as our blessed Lord calls all that are weary and heavy laden to come unto Him, those cannot be reckoned as His disciples, who whilst they have need of mercy themselves, yet deny it to others 2. The Novatians granted

borat vires, quibus fides instaurata vegetetur. Repetet certamen suum miles, iterabit aciem, provocabit hostem, et quidem factus ad prælium fortior per dolorem. Qui sic Deo satisfecerit, qui pœnitentia facti sui, qui pudore delicti, plus et virtutis et fidei de ipso lapsus sui dolore conceperit, exauditus et adjutus a Domino, quam contristaverat nuper, lætam faciet Ecclesiam : nec jam solam Dei veniam merebitur, sed coronam.Cypr. De Lapsis, fin. p. 138.

....

1 Οἶδα καὶ πέμπτον (βάπτισμα) ἔτι τῶν δακρύων, ἀλλ ̓ ἐπιπονώτερον. ὡς ὁ λούων καθ ̓ ἑκάστην νύκτα τὴν κλίνην αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὴν στρωμενὴν τοῖς δάκρυσιν ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἄνθρωπος εἶναι γὰρ ὁμολογῶ ζῶον τρεπτὸν καὶ ῥευστης φύσεως) καὶ δέχομαι τοῦτο προθύμως, καὶ προσκυνῶ τὸν δεδωκότα, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις μεταδίδωμι καὶ προεισφέρω τοῦ ἐλέου τὸν ἔλεον. Οἶδα γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀσθένειαν περικείμενος, καὶ ὡς ἂν μετρήσω, μετρηθησόμενος. Σὺ δὲ τί λέγεις ; τι νομοθετεῖς, ὦ νέε Φαρισαῖε, καὶ καθαρὲ τὴν προσηγορίαν, οὐ τὴν προαίρεσιν, καὶ φυσῶν ἡμῖν Ναυατοῦ τὰ μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς ἀσθενείας; οὐ δέχῃ μετάνοιαν; οὐ δίδως ὀδυρμοῖς χώραν; οὐ δακρύεις δάκρυον; Μὴ σύ γε τοιούτου κριτοῦ τύχοις .... οὐδὲ τὸν Δαβὶδ δέχῃ μετανοοῦντα, ᾧ καὶ τὸ προφητικὸν χάρισμα ἡ μετάνοια συνετήρησεν; οὐδὲ Πέτρον τόν μέγαν παθόντά τι ἀνθρώπινον περὶ τὸ σωτήριον πάθος; . . .. οὐδὲ τὸν ἐν Κορίνθῳ παρανομήσαντα; Παῦλος δὲ καὶ ἀγάπην ἐκύρωσεν, ἐπειδὴ τὴν διόρθωσιν εἶδε, καὶ τὸ αἴτιον, ἵνα μὴ τῇ περισσοτέρα λύπῃ καταποθῇ ὁ τοιοῦτος.—Greg. Naz. Orat. 39, Tom. I. p. 634, col. 1690.

2Unde liquet eos inter Christi discipulos non esse habendos, qui dura pro mitibus, superba pro humilibus sequenda opinantur; et cum ipsi quærant Domini misericordiam, aliis eam denegant; ut sunt doctores Novatianorum, qui mundos se appellant.'-De Poenitentia, Lib. I. c. i.

pardon to smaller, not to greater crimes; but God, says St. Ambrose, makes no such distinction, who has promised His mercy to all, and gives to all the clergy the power of loosing without any exception. Only, if the crime be great, so must be the repentance'.

Other early heretics are mentioned, as agreeing with the Novatians in their severity against the lapsed. The Apostolici are reckoned by Epiphanius as an offset from the Encratites or Cathari. Their opinions concerning marriage and all worldly indulgences were highly ascetic, and they refused to receive those who once fell2. The Meletians were an Egyptian sect. They arose about the time of Diocletian's persecution. Meletius, their founder, was Bishop of Lycopolis in the Thebaid. He was deposed by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, and set up a schismatical communion under Alexander, the successor of Peter. They ultimately joined the Arians, as being the great enemies of Alexander. Epiphanius and Augustine ascribe to them the same severity to the lapsed, which characterized the Novatians3. The Luciferians, who followed Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, avoided communion with those who had lapsed to Arianism, and with those bishops who restored the lapsed. It should seem from Jerome, that the Luciferians did not altogether exclude laymen, who had lapsed, from returning to communion, but would on no account receive repentant bishops and presbyters; arguing from our Lord's words, ‘Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted1.'

At the period of the Reformation, it appears that some of

1 'Sed Deus distinctionem non facit, qui misericordiam suam promisit omnibus, et relaxandi licentiam omnibus sacerdotibus suis sine ulla exceptione concessit. Sed qui culpam exaggeravit, exaggeret etiam pœnitentiam.'-Ibid. c. 2.

2 Epiphan. Hæres. 61.

3 Epiphan. Hæres. 63; August. Hæres. 48.

4 Hieron. adv. Luciferianos.

1

the sects which then arose, most probably the Anabaptists in particular, revived in some degree the Novatian errors. The XIth Article of the Confession of Augsburgh, which is the source of the XVIth Article of the Church of England, condemns the Novatians by name, for refusing repentance to the lapsed, and afterwards condemns the Anabaptists, though for another error, viz. the denial that persons once justified ever lose the grace of God'. Dr. Hey thinks that both the German and English reformers had chiefly in view the Anabaptists, in their condemnation of this extreme rigour against the lapsed".

In the fourteenth session of the Council of Trent, several decrees and canons were drawn up upon penance, whereby it was defined that, for sins after baptism, the sacrament of penance was essential and sufficient; the form of the sacrament being contrition, confession, and satisfaction. It was determined, that it was necessary to pardon, that every mortal sin should be confessed, but not every venial sin3.

The continental reformers were very express in asserting the efficacy of repentance for remission of sin after baptism. Thus, the Confession of Augsburgh says, that Remission of sins may be granted to those who lapse after baptism, at any time when they turn to God. And the Church ought to grant absolution to such1.' The Helvetic Confession declares, that 'there is access to God and pardon for all who believe, with the exception of those guilty of the sin against the Holy Ghost; therefore the old and new Novatians are to be condemned 5.'

1 Confess. Augs. Art. XI.; Sylloge, p. 172.

2 Lectures, Vol. I. p. 436.

3 Conc. Trid. Sess. xiv., Can. I. IV. &c.; Sarpi, p. 326.

4 'De pœnitentia docent, quod lapsis post baptismum contingere possit remissio peccatorum, quocunque tempore cum convertuntur. Et quod ecclesia talibus redeuntibus ad pœnitentiam impertire absolutionem debeat.'-Conf. August. Art. XI.; Syll. p. 172.

5 Docemus interim semper et omnibus peccatoribus aditum patere ad Deum, et hunc omnino omnibus fidelibus condonare peccata, excepto uno illo peccato in Spiritum Sanctum. Ideoque damnamus et veteres et