- Libellus
A "libellus" (plural "libelli") was a document given to a
Christian to certify performance of apagan sacrifice , hence demonstratingloyalty to the authorities of theRoman Empire . They could also mean certificates of indulgence, in which the confessors or martyrs interceded for apostatate Christians. [CathEncy|wstitle=Libellatici, Libelli]"Forty-six such certificates have been published, all dating from this same year [250 AD] ." [ [http://www.csad.ox.ac.uk/POxy/VExhibition/d6.htm 'Certificate of pagan sacrifice: June - July, AD 250',] "Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project",
Oxford University .] This particular year falls into the period of persecution under the emperor Decius. Four "libelli" were found among the thousands of papyri at the archaeological site nearOxyrhynchus inEgypt (POxy 658 ,POxy 1464 ,POxy 2990 andPOxy 3929 ).Participating in pagan sacrifices was a
sin for Christians and punished byexcommunication , because theNew Testament forbade Christians to either participate in "idol feasts" or to eat "meat sacrificed to idols". However, "not" participating made one liable to arrest by the Roman authorities. A warrant to arrest a Christian (POxy 3035 ) 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 emperorValerian I by about a year.At various times under Roman rule, failure to sacrifice was punishable by death. Christian theologians (for example
Cyprian ) 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. The unresolved debate became redundant when the emperorConstantine I became a Christian (early4th century ), and Christianity became a "religio licita " (legal religion) underRoman law .The word "libellus" is a
Latin diminutive form of the ordinary word "liber" (meaning "book "), from which we get the English word "library ". Sometimes the word was used to describe what we would call:essay s, tracts orpetition s.Libellus is also the name of a Greek and Latin library project, Project Libellus, provided by the
University of Washington , Seattle.ee also
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Lapsi (Christian)
*Oxyrhynchus papyri References
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