Cyprian-Novatian schism: What do we do with the lapsed?

The Cyprian-Novatian schism led to three views: the laxist, rigorist, and moderate views. The laxists took the stance of letting the lapsed back into the church based on the recommendation of the martyrs which upset power dynamics, but allowed unity within the church and also challenged its purity. The rigorists, the Novatians, were the polar opposite. The moderates, led by Cyprian, allowed for both unity and purity by admitting the lapsed Christians back into the church after repentance, but at a lower level within the church. Both the rigorists and laxists hated Cyprian and thus attacked his argument.

 

Alyssa, Bailey, and Hannah S.