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who had remained faithful in the face of torture and imprisonment to send letters of recommendation in the name of the dead martyrs (libella pacis/"letters of peace") to the bishop endorsing the position that those who had lapsed be restored to communion with the Church. Bishop
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and unify the Empire, the
Emperor Decian decreed that everyone, (excepting the Jews), must sacrifice and burn incense to the gods in the presence of a magistrate, and obtain a signed document witnessed by the officials attesting to this. The
506:) was also found at Oxyrhynchus, this too has been dated precisely—to the year 256. The grounds for this arrest are not documented, however, and it predates the persecution under the emperor
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was the statement of the individual of his/her loyalty to the Empire, the fact that they had rendered the required sacrifice, plus a request for the officials to countersign as witnesses.
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debated whether the threat of the death penalty mitigated the sin of having communion with idols, leaving room for forgiveness and restoration to the
Christian community.
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was any brief document written on individual pages (as opposed to scrolls or tablets), particularly official documents issued by governmental authorities.
78:. During later periods libelli were issued as certificates of indulgence, in which the confessors or martyrs interceded for apostate Christians.
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has particular historical significance for the libelli that were issued during the reign of
Emperor
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participating made one liable to arrest by the Roman authorities. A
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I think are worthy to be recorded by me. During the first year of
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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Vol. 9. New York: Robert
Appleton Company, 1910. 13 March 2021
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In the year 250, in an attempt to promote traditional Roman
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Knipfing, John R. "The
Libelli of the Decian Persecution."
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and having tasted the holy meat portions at the same time
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and now in front of you all making sacrifice and libation
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Kirsch, Johann Peter. "Lapsi." The
Catholic Encyclopedia
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mother of
Taeutus. Indeed always making sacrifice and
625:'Certificate of pagan sacrifice: June - July, AD 250'
16:For the taxonomic synonym of a genus of fungi, see
267:libation and worship to the gods being accustomed
207:For those who partook of the sacrifices from the
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432:he and Chairemon, I wrote above him, my letters
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417:Gaionus I have vouched for. Aurelius Sarapion,
337:∍α̣ν̣ῷ̣ υἱοῖς καὶ Θ̣έκ̣λ̣ᾳ θυγατρὶ δι' ἐμοῦ κ̣ὶ
63:to citizens to certify performance of required
282:according to those justly urged by the aunt
327:for a woman and for Ammonius and Ammoeanus
604:, vol. 16, no. 4, 1923, pp. 345–390. JSTOR
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548:Libellus de Medicinalibus Indorum Herbis
478:Participating in pagan sacrifices was a
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402:Eutychus Sebastian, Epeiph 3. Aurelius
102:"), from which we get the English word
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490:forbade Christians to participate in "
277:ὰ τὰ κελευσθέντα ὑπὸ τῆς θείας κρίσεως
94:diminutive form of the ordinary word
589:. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
237:These are Aurelius Gaionus Ammonius
262:νδειν καὶ σέ̣β̣ειν θεοῖς εἰθισμένος
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342:son and Thekla daughter by me and
322:ῶτ̣ι̣ γυναικὶ αὶ Ἀμμωνίῳ καὶ Ἀμμω-
159:were found among the thousands of
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577:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913).
412:ὼν ἐπιδέδωκα. Αὐρήλ(ιος) Σαραπίων
387:Quintus Traianus Decius Eusebius
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372:Autokrator Caesar Gaius Messius
352:ῶ ὑποσημειώσασθαί μοι. (ἔτους) 1
34:, found in Oxyrhynchus in Egypt.
482:for Christians and punished by
307:ν καὶ γευάμενος τῶν ἱερείων ἅμα
292:νῦν ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν θύων καὶ σπέν-
247:τρὸς Ταεῦτος. ἀεὶ μὲν θύειν καὶ
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602:The Harvard Theological Review
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427:Χαιρήμων ἔγρ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ μ̣ὴ̣ -
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397:τυχοῦς Σεβαστοῦ Ἐπεὶφ 3. Αὐρή
367:τοκράτορος Κί̣ς Γαίου Μεσσίου
133:During the Decian persecution
580:"Libellatici, Libelli"
382:ντου Ταιανοῦ Δεκίου Εὐσεβοῦς
232:∥ὰ Αὐρηλίου Γαιῶνος Ἀμμωνίου
202:ἐπὶ τῶν θυσιῶν αἱρεθεῖσι τῆς
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526:Confessors of the Faith
502:to arrest a Christian (
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222:city of Oxyrhynchus
472:Besas, Psenamounis
217:ξυρυγχε̣ιτῶν πόλεως
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494:feasts". However,
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710:Christian martyrs
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543:Lapsi (Christian)
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169:Oxyrhynchus
18:Hymenogloea
694:Categories
564:References
167:site near
98:(meaning "
68:sacrifices
457:10 lines
442:γράμματα.
122:petitions
118:pamphlets
86:The word
82:Etymology
55:The term
48:) in the
629:Archived
537:See also
508:Valerian
146:libellus
88:libellus
57:libellus
44:(plural
41:libellus
656:12.1464
531:Cyprian
500:warrant
163:at the
157:libelli
155:. Four
128:History
105:library
72:loyalty
46:libelli
652:P.Oxy.
161:papyri
140:pietas
114:tracts
110:essays
61:Decius
522:lapsi
173:Egypt
120:, or
96:liber
92:Latin
90:is a
65:pagan
520:The
492:idol
187:and
100:book
496:not
480:sin
462:??
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