Pope St. Stephen I—He defined the Sacrament of Baptism and it Stands to this Day

If we could travel back in time to the middle of the third century we would quickly discover the Catholic Church, although quite different from today, had many similarities to our modern-day Church. There was plenty of hierarchical infighting going on and the politics of leading the Church was in flux.

In 250 AD, the Roman emperor Decius, unhappy as to how Christianity was spreading, embarked on a persecution of the Christians that, until that time, was the most brutal they had ever faced. Among the first to die was Pope Fabian, the sixteenth pope, who had held the papacy for fourteen years.

When Fabian died, he was followed by Pope Cornelius, who died within a year. He was followed by Pope Lucius I, who also died within a year. Both of these men died of natural causes. The Church was then without a pope and was run by a collective, under the direction of a priest named Novatian.

Emperor Decius demanded that all Christians offer sacrifice to the Roman gods to show their loyalty to Rome. Any who refused were executed. Others fled into the countryside or tried to bribe officials. The last recourse was to reject the Faith. Many took this route. It was an easier path than giving up one’s life.

After Fabian’s murder, a huge pastoral problem arose. Emperor Decius’ persecution had seen many Christians purchase certificates attesting to the fact that they had made the required sacrifices to the Roman Gods. Other had denied that they were Christians, while still others took part in pagan sacrifices.

These people were called “lapsi.” The question within the still-fledgling Church was whether, if they repented for their sins, they could be readmitted to full communion with the Church. If they could, what would be the conditions? Novatian was preaching the false doctrine that those people who were “lapsi” could not be forgiven while the Catholic position was to grant full communion to those who fully repented.

Novatian and his followers would only grant fellowship to the sinners, not full communion. Novatian went even further and said that those who had denied the Faith and worshipped idols could not be forgiven, as the Church did not have the power to do so. He said that being baptized does not administer forgiveness for certain heinous sins.

Pope Lucius had appointed his archdeacon, Stephen, as his successor (this was way before the College of Cardinals) and Pope Stephen I was faced with the task of reuniting the Church from the schism started by Novatian. He began his papacy in the year 254.

Stephen’s most important battle was his defense of the Sacrament of Baptism. The Novatianist priests were re-baptizing those who sought forgiveness. Stephen insisted that re-baptizing a previously baptized person was unnecessary. He argued that only absolution was required to regain full communion with the church. Cyprian of Carthage and other African and Asian bishops called what the Novationists were doing as heretical.

Stephen, who had the support of Cyprian and other bishops, was pressured from others within the Church to be flexible and allow re-baptism for the Novatianist priests. Stephen would not waver and stayed true to his conviction. Even Cyprian changed his mind and disagreed loudly, claiming that baptism administered by heretics was invalid. All those people who had received this sacrament would need to be re-baptized.

But Stephen was the Bishop of Rome. The unwavering defense of his position on Baptism more than likely established Rome as the seat of the Church. He claimed that he was occupying the seat of Peter as handed down by Christ. Stephen is recognized as the first pope to formally announce the primacy of Rome. He also decreed that baptism, if administered by anyone with the right intent, is valid. That practice stands today, 1800 years later.

Stephen died in 257 and his Feast Day is August 2. He is honored as a saint in both the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

St. Stephen I, pray for us.

Copyright 2018 Larry Peterson