268 NOV 
NOVA'RA, a town of Italy, and capital of a country 
called NovareJ'e, in the'duchy of Milan, the fee of a bifhop, 
fuffragan of the archbifhop of Milan. Befides the cathe¬ 
dral, it contains 17 parilh-churches, and 18 convents. 
The bifhop exercifes temporal jurifdiflion over a great 
part of the country, and wears a fword wlien he mounts 
Iiis horfe. It is eight miles north-eaft of Vercelli, and 
twenty-three well-louth-weft of Milan. 
NOVARI'NI (Louis), a learned Italian Theatin monk, 
born at Verona in the year 1594. He entered among the 
Theatins in the year 1612, and was fent to pafs his novi¬ 
ciate at Venice, where he took the vows in 1614. After¬ 
wards heftudied philofophy and divinity, and was ordained 
prieftin 1621. The departments in which he was chiefly 
occupied, were thofe of the pulpit and the confeflional 
chair; while he frequently filled the port of fuperior of 
liis order, and officiated as counfellor of the inquifition. 
We are informed that he was well {killed in the Greek, 
Hebrew, and Syriac, languages, and enjoyed the efteem 
of the princes and learned men of his time. He died at 
Verona in 1656, when about fifty-fix years of age. He 
was the author of a vaft number of works, of which a 
long lilt is given in the fortieth volume of father Niceron’s 
Memoires. Among them are, 1. Comment, in IV. Evangel, 
et Afita Apoftoi. 4 vols. folio. 2. Adagia Sandtorum Pa- 
trum, &c. 2 vols. folio. 3. Eledtra Sacra, in quibus qua 
ex Latino, Grteco, Hebraico, et Chaldaico, fonte, qua ex 
antiquis Hebraeorurn, Perfarum, Graecorum, Romanorum, 
aliarumque Gentium ritibus, quredam divinae Scripturse 
loca noviter explicantur et illuftrantur, 1627, 1633, 6 vols. 
folio. Moreri. Nouv. Did. HiJ't. 
NOU'ART, a town of France, in the department of 
the Ardennes : nine miles north-north-eaft of Grandpre. 
NOVA'TIAN, f. One of a fe6t, which arofe in the 
third century ; fo called from Novatus, or Novatianus, 
contemporaries, wdio united in aflerting, that the lapfed 
upon no condition whatever might be received again into 
the peace and communion of the church; and that fecond 
marriages were unlawful. They were great pretenders to 
fandfity; a fort of puritans.—Novatus, having raifed a fac¬ 
tion at Carthage, fails to Rome; and there joins with 
Novatianus, a man after his own heart as well as alrnoft 
after his own name, (for they are frequently confounded 
by the Greek writers ;) when having jointly fpread the 
infedlion, their followers were commonly ftyled Novations. 
Chriftian Avtiq. hid. Hard. 
The editors of the General Biography inform us, that 
the founder of the feci of the Novatians was not Novatus 
the African bifhop, but Novatus the firft anti-pope, who is 
called Novatian by many Latin writers; and thefe have 
been followed by the greater number of learned moderns; 
but the Greek writers of the church, particularly Eufe- 
bius, Socrates, Sozomen, and Athanafius, give him the 
name of Novatus. Hence has arifen much confufion in 
the accounts; particularly as it does appear probable that 
Novatus of Carthage did afterwards join the founder of 
this feft. Of this fedl, by whomfoever founded, Mr. 
Jones, in his Hiftory of the Waldenfes, fpeaks in very 
favourable terms. “ It may,” he fays, “ be proper to re¬ 
mark, that long before the times of which we now treat, 
fome Chriftians had feen it their duty to withdraw from 
the communion of the church of Rome. The firft in- 
ftance of this we find on record is the cafe of Novatian, 
who, in the year 251, was ordained the pallor of a church 
in the city of Rome, which maintained no fellowfhip with 
the catholic church. It is unqueftionably a very difficult 
matter, at this very remote period, to afcertain the real 
grounds of difference between Novatian and his oppo¬ 
nents. Thofe who are in any tolerable degree converfant 
with theological controverfy, will fcarcely need to be ap- 
prifed how much caution is nccefiary to guard againft 
being milled by the falfe reprefentations which different 
parties give of each other’s principles and condudt. No¬ 
vatian is faid to have refufed to receive into the commu¬ 
nion of the church any of thofe perfons who, in the time 
NOV 
of per/ecu tion, had been induced, through fear of fuller- 
ings or death, to apoftatize from their profieffion, and offer 
facrifices to the heathen deities; a principle which he 
founded upon a miltaken view of Keb. vi. 4-6.” 
As from this early epoch in the hiftory of Chriftianity, 
the author conliders that the nominal church altogether 
departed from the fpirit and manners of its founder, and 
that ever fince the true church was to be found among 
the feparatifts, at the head of whom he places the Nova¬ 
tians, we are induced to tranferibe the following paflage 
from the Ecclefiaftical Refearches of the late Mr. Robert 
Robinfon, which Mr. Jones quotes, becaufe it contains 
an epitome of Mr. J’s fentiments on the prefent fubjecl. 
Mr. Robinfon fays of Novatian : “ He was an elder in 
the church of Rome, a man of extenfive learning, hold¬ 
ing the fame doftrine as the church did, and publilhed fe- 
veral treatifes in defence of what he believed. His ad- 
drefs was elegant and inftnuating, and his morals irre¬ 
proachable. He faw with extreme pain the intolerable de¬ 
pravity of the church. Chriftians, within the fpace of a 
very few years, were carefied by one emperor, and perfe- 
cuted by another. In feafons of profperity, many perfons 
rulhed into the church for bafe purpofes. In feafons of 
adverfity, they denied the faith, and reverted again to 
idolatry. When the fquall was over, away they came 
again to the church, with all their vices, to deprave others 
by their example. The bifhops, fond of profelytes, en¬ 
couraged all this; and transferred the attention of Chris¬ 
tians from the old confederacy for virtue, to vain fhows 
at Eafter, and other Jewifli ceremonies, adulterated too 
with paganifm. On the death of bilhop Fabian, Corne¬ 
lius, a brother elder, and a violent partizan for taking 
in the multitude, was put in nomination. Novatian op- 
pofed him ; but, as Cornelius carried his ele&ion, and 
lie few no profpeiSl of reformation, but on the contrary a 
tide of immorality pouring into the church, he withdrew, 
and a great many with him. Cornelius, irritated by Cy¬ 
prian, who was juft in the fame condition, through the 
remonftrance of virtuous men at Carthage, and who was 
exafperated beyond meafure with one of his own elders, 
named Novatus, who had quitted Carthage, and gone to 
Rome to efpoufe the caufe of Novatian, called a council, 
and got a fentence of excommunication palled againft No¬ 
vatian. In the .end, Novatian formed a church, and was 
eledled bifhop. Great numbers followed his example,, 
and all over the empire Puritan churches were conftituted, 
and flouriflied through the fucceeding two hundred years. 
Afterwards, when penal laws obliged them to lurk in. 
corners, and worfliip God in private, they were diftin- 
guifhed by a variety of names, and ajuccejfion of them con¬ 
tinued till the Reformation." , 
To this Mr. Jones adds 1 “ The doftrinal fentiments 
of the Novatians appear.to have been very fcriptural, and 
the difeipline of their churches rigid. They were the. 
firft clals of Chriftians who obtained the name of Cathari, 
or Puritans, from pure; an appellation which 
doth not appear to have been chofen by themfelves, but 
applied to them by their adverfaries; from which we may 
reafonably conclude that their manners were fimpie and 
irreproachable. They are faid to have dilapproved of is- 
cond marriages, regarding them as fin fill; but in this 
they erred in common with Tertullian, and many other 
eminent perfons. A third charge againft them was, that, 
they did not pay due reverence to the martyrs, nor allow 
that there was any virtue in their reliques !. A plain proof 
of their good fenfie.” 
We are informed by Molheim, that the fchifm which 
thus originated at Rome, loon extended to other places. 
“ It was followed by many,” fays he ; “and their fbcieties 
flouriflied, until the fifth century, in the greatell part of 
thofe provinces which had received the gofpel.” One 
cannot but lament the Icantinefs of information con¬ 
cerning this clafs of Chriftians, who appear to have had 
the truth among them, and to have walked in obedience, 
to the commands of God. It appears evident that they 
maintained* 
