This man, being an elder of the Church in Rome, was separated [from it] when the bishop Cornelius received into communion the faithful who had sacrificed[1] in the persecution which the emperor Decius had stirred up against the church.[2] So having been separated for this reason and having been appointed to the bishopric by the bishops who agreed with him,[3] he wrote to the churches everywhere that they should not accept those who had sacrificed into their sacraments, but they should urge them towards repentance but leave their forgiveness to God, who was able and had the authority to forgive sins. [Those] throughout the provinces who received such letters made their decisions on the things set forth in accordance with their personal leanings. For as he indicated that it was not right to regard those who had committed mortal sin after baptism as worthy of the sacraments, to some his exposition of the canon seemed to be stringent and harsh, but others accepted it as just and ensuring properly governed life. With this [issue] stirred up to such an extent, letters followed from Cornelius the bishop which announced forgiveness for those who had sinned after baptism. So with both of them sending contradictory [orders] and each corroborating what he said from the scriptures, each man reverted to his own personal leaning and to that which he had previously been inclined. For as many as delighted in sin, latching on to the forgiveness that was granted then and also for the future, made use of it for every sort of sin.[4]
But Novatus was a martyr in the time when the emperor Valens was stirring up persecution against the Christians.[5]