Novatianists

Novatian was a learned and spiritually-minded Christian who served as a presbyter in the church at Rome in the 3rd century. However, concerned with spiritual laxity in the church, he broke from the established church and helped to plant one of the first kingdom restoration movements in church history. The Novatianist church lasted 500 years, surviving both the Great Persecution under Diocletian and the church-state hybrid begun by Constantine.