Lapsi
As Lapsi (lat. "Apostates") were those Christians referred to, usually as a result of persecution of Christians , their faith have become unfaithful. The term is thus similar in use to the Greek apostate .
Distinctions
According to the way in which the apostasy from Christianity was expressed, the Lapsi were divided into three groups:
- sacrificati - those who made offerings to other deities
- thurificati - those who offered incense in front of the statues of these gods
- libellatici - those who, in a libellum demanded by the Roman state power, declared in writing that they had sacrificed to such gods without necessarily actually having done so
Dealing with lapsi in the early church
For the early church the problem arose of how to deal with the lapsis. The Shepherd of Hermas declared apostasy to be a grave sin , which must result in eternal repentance and excommunication . Forgiveness for this can only come from God, not from man. During the persecution of Christians by Decius , this hard line was also represented by the Roman counter-bishop Novatian , who had opposed Cornelius , as he seemed too moderate on this issue. Dealing with the Lapsi remained controversial in the years that followed and threatened to divide Christianity , especially in the Western Roman Empire . With the end of the persecution of Christians through the Constantinian turning point , this question lost its importance.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Manfred Jacobs: Christianity in the ancient world. From the early Catholic Church to Emperor Constantine . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1987, ISBN 978-3-525335109 , p. 148
- ↑ Article Lapsi . In: Erwin Fahlbusch: The Encyclopedia of Christianity . Volume 3 (J-O), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003, ISBN 9780802824158 , p. 166