Saint Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

Pope Cornelius (Greek: Κορνήλιος) was the bishop of Rome from the 6th, or the 13th of March, 251 A.D., until his martyrdom in June, 253 A.D. He was pope during and following a period of persecution of the church, while a schism occurred over how repentant church members who had practiced pagan sacrifices to protect themselves could be readmitted to the church. He agreed with Cyprian of Carthage that those who had lapsed could be restored to communion after varying forms of Reinitiation and Penance. This position was in contrast to the Novatianists, who held that those who failed to maintain their confession of faith under persecution would not be received again into communion with the church. This resulted in a short-lived schism in the Church of Rome that spread as each side sought to gather support. Cornelius held a synod that confirmed his election and excommunicated Novatian, but the controversy regarding lapsed members continued for years. The persecutions resumed in 251 under Emperor Trebonianus Gallus. Cornelius was sent into exile and may have died from the rigours of his banishment; possibly he was beheaded. Emperor Decius, who ruled from 249 to 251, persecuted Christians in the Roman Empire rather sporadically and locally, but starting in January of the year 250, he ordered all citizens to perform a religious sacrifice in the presence of commissioners, or else face death. Many Christians refused and were martyred, (including Pope Fabian on 20 January 250), while others partook in the sacrifices in order to save their own lives. Two schools of thought arose after the persecution. One side, led by Novatian, a priest in the diocese of Rome, said those who had stopped practising Christianity during the persecution could not be accepted back into the church, even if they repented.