After the controversies in the mid-third century, in the aftermath of the persecution of the emperor Decius and the schism of Novatian, Pope St. Stephen was instrumental in clarifying the Church’s theology of the sacraments of Baptism and Penance and Reconciliation. What is required for a valid baptism? What is the solution for falling away into mortal sin? Who may offer the absolution of the Church and by what authority? Are confession and penance to be done publicly, or privately? Should we rebaptize Protestants coming into the Catholic Church? What if I “backslide”? Should I get baptized again? Is it OK to baptize in an alternate formula, like “Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer?” These questions, and more, were answered during the papacy of Stephen of Rome, which served to formalize and standardize the sacraments as we still know them today. 

Links

To listen to Mike Aquilina’s episode on Cyprian of Carthage, contemporary and sometimes opponent of Pope St. Stephen: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-18-short-happy-life-cyprian-carthage/

For more on the third century context in the history of the early Church, see the book: Reading the Church Fathers: A History of the Early Church and the Development of Doctrine: https://sophiainstitute.com/product/reading-the-church-fathers/

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Theme Music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed:  https://www.ccwatershed.org/