Acesius
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Acesius was a
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
, in the reign of
Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...
. He was a disciple of
Novatian Novatian ( Greek: , , ) was a scholar, priest, and theologian. He is considered by the Catholic Church to have been an antipope between 251 and 258. Some Greek authors give his name as Novatus, who was an African presbyter. He was a noted theo ...
, the founder of
Novatianism Novatianism or Novationism was an early Christian sect devoted to the theologian Novatian () that held a strict view that refused readmission to communion of '' lapsi'' (those baptized Christians who had denied their faith or performed the formal ...
, whose distinguishing doctrine was, that those who had fallen from the faith in time of persecution, or who after
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
had committed any
mortal sin A mortal sin (), in Christian theology, is a gravely sinful act which can lead to damnation if a person does not repent of the sin before death. It is alternatively called deadly, grave, and serious; the concept of mortal sin is found in both ...
, were not to be admitted to the communion of the church, even if they gave evidence of sincere repentance. At the
First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea ( ; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. The Council of Nicaea met from May until the end of July 325. This ec ...
, in 325, Constantine inquired of Acesius, whom, though separated from the communion of the church, he had invited to the council, about the ground of his separation. Acesius, in reply, admitted that the creed which had been subscribed by the synod was orthodox, and assented to their determination concerning the festival of
Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...
, but pleaded, as a sufficient reason for separation, the Novatian doctrine, which would not permit them to hold communion with those, who, in persecution under
Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Trajanus Decius ( 201June 251), known as Trajan Decius or simply Decius (), was Roman emperor from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was proclaimed emperor by his troops a ...
, had forsaken the church. It was then that Constantine said, "Acesius, take a ladder, and climb up to heaven alone."Excursus on the Rise of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem
. ''The Early Church Fathers: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II, Vol. XIV''. URL accessed on 2006-03-21.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acesius 4th-century Byzantine bishops