Faithfulness and apostasy in times of persecution

In the times of the early Church, when persecutions against Christians were rampant, there was an ideal model of the martyr: the Christian who was capable of upholding and defending the faith, even at the cost of his own life. There were many martyrs who fulfilled this ideal. However, there were also Christians who did not have this fortitude and, under pressure and persecution, fell into apostasy: these were called lapsi (fallen). The treatment of this problem gave rise to different positions that even led to schisms. Although at first glance the subject may seem far removed from the present time, the topicality of these positions requires careful study of the historical case.