Cyprian

(A.D. 210–14 Sep 258) Bishop of Carthage between 248 and 258 who sparked a controversy when he fled during the Emperor Decian persecution and then later returned to assume his post. Several persons opposed him retaining his position because they felt he had not been faithful. The controversy grew to involve the standing of Christians who had fallen away during the persecution. Rome and other regions got involved in the controvery and Cyrprian’s middle ground eventually prevailed. This dispute is known as the Lapsi Controversy and the Novatianist heresyComes from a Greek term meaning “sect,” and was used by the early Church theologians to identify doctrines that they rejected as not orthodox. The... more and contributed to advent of the Donatist Controversyinvolves a controversy arising in Carthage at the beginning of the 4th century and lasted until the 6th century. The dispute centered on the legitimac... more a half century later.