Editing Pope Cornelius (section)

==Christian persecution==
{{See also|Decian persecution}}
[[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.<ref>{{citation | contribution = Decius | title = Encyclopædia Britannica | edition = Online School | date = 7 December 2008 | url = http://school.eb.com/eb/article-9029704}}.</ref> 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.<ref name="Feast Days 1991">Saints and Feast Days. New York: Loyola P, 1991.</ref>

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. He held that idolatry was an unpardonable sin, and that the Church had no authority to forgive apostates, but that their forgiveness must be left to God; it could not be pronounced in this world.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11138a.htm Chapman, John. "Novatian and Novatianism." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 6 August 2018</ref> The opposing side, including Cornelius and [[Cyprian]] of Carthage, said the ''[[Lapsi (Christianity)|lapsi]]'' could be restored to communion through repentance, demonstrated by a period of penance.<ref name="McBrien">{{citation | last = McBrien | first = Richard P | quote = Pope Cornelius, a reconciler, had a hard road | title = National Catholic Reporter | number = 41 | date = September 24, 2004 | volume = 40 | page = 19(1) | publisher = General OneFile. Gale. Sacred Heart Preparatory (BAISL) | access-date = 5 December 2008 | url = http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS}}.</ref>

During the persecution it proved impossible to elect a successor, and the papal seat remained vacant for a year. During this period the church was governed by several priests, including Novatian. When Decius left Rome to fight the invading [[Goths]], the Roman clergy chose a new bishop.<ref name="Feast Days 1991"/> In the fourteen months without a pope, the leading candidate, Moses, had died under the persecution. The more moderate Cornelius was unwillingly elected over Novatian and others as the twenty-first [[pope]] in March 251.<ref name="McBrien"/>