the founder of the sect of the Novatians, was, according to Philostorgius, a native of Phrygia, and was born about the beginning of the third century. The religious intolerance of his opponents has falsified his life, and has represented him as little else than a hypocritical time-server. But the account which is most consistent with the growth of his peculiar opinions is the following:— His conversion took place after an intense mental struggle, and he was baptized when he was lying on a sick-bed, in hourly expectation of death. On his recovery, his religious sentiments retained a tinge of that gloom under which they had sprung into life. Admitted into the priesthood, he devoted himself to the severe theological studies and the ascetic penances of the cloister. It is not surprising, then, that his spirit was shocked at the easy terms on which those who had relapsed into idolatry during the Decian persecutions were re-admitted into ecclesiastical communion. He began to maintain boldly that the church had no warrant from Scripture to pardon the sins of those who, after their baptism, had sacrificed to idols; that her sole duty in this case was to exhort them to repentance, and to commend them to the mercy of God. The learning, eloquence, and virtuous life of the new reformer soon drew a party around him. Among others, Novatus, a Carthaginian priest, joined the dissentients, and by his hot-headed zeal speedily hurried the controversy into an open schism. Advantage was taken of the martyrdom of Fabianus, Bishop of Rome, in 250, to disown the authority of Cornelius, the successor to the vacant see, and to set up Novatianus as his rival. The result was, that at a council convened at Rome in 251, the Novatians and their leader were excommunicated. Thus compelled to organize a new sect, the heresiarch set himself to develop his peculiar opinions. The following became the distinguishing tenets of his creed:—(1.) That not only sacrificing to idols, but all mortal sins, such as adultery and temporizing in any way with idolaters, ought to debar backsliders from re-admission into the church. (2.) That if this regulation were not maintained, the church would become defiled, and would no longer be (as it ought to be) a community of believers who had never fallen since their baptism into any other than venial offences. This testimony Novatianus is said to have sealed with his blood. After his death, his followers, in spite of much persecution, rapidly increased and spread themselves over Christendom. They continued to vindicate their right to be considered the true church, by calling themselves καθολικοί (Puritans), and by re-baptizing all proselytes from other Christian sects. However, they did not maintain their existence as a separate sect for much longer than two centuries.

Of the several works in which Novatianus displayed his methodical reasoning, his pure and elegant diction, and his animated style, three authenticated writings alone remain. These are a letter written in the name of the Roman clergy to Cyprian in 250, and two treatises entitled respectively De Trinitate, and De Cibis Judaicis. They have been published collectively by Welchman, 8vo, Oxford, 1724, and by Jackson, 8vo, London, 1723. The two treatises are also generally found in the editions of Tertullian.

NOVA ZEMBLA, or Novaya Zemlya, a name which signifies in Russian “New Land,” is applied to an island, or rather chain of islands, in the Arctic Ocean. It extends from N.N.E. to S.S.W., curving slightly towards the W., and lies between N. Lat. 70° 30' and 76° 30', E. Long. 51° 30' and 77°. It is washed on the W. by the Spitzbergen Sea, and on the E. by the Kara Sea; which, along with Burrough's Strait, separates Nova Zembla from the continent and from the island of Vaigats. Its whole length is about 500 miles, with an average breadth of about 50. The most southerly island of the chain is separated from the rest by a strait called Matochkin Shar, or Matthew's Strait; and farther to the N. there is another strait called Cross Bay, which divides itself into several arms, and forms other small islands. The southern island alone is properly called Nova Zembla; the middle one, which is much smaller, is known by the name of Matthew's Land; while to the N. lie Lütke's Land and Barent's Land, believed to form one continuous island. The eastern shores of all the islands are low; but on the W. the land is mountainous, rising in general 2000 feet above the sea, and the highest summit, near Matthew's Strait, is 3475 feet in height. The formation of the mountain is for the most part black clay-slate; and in the southern islands grey limestone, like that of the northern part of the Ural chain. The climate of these islands is indicated by the following table:

| Place | N. Lat. | E. Long. | Mean Annual Temp. | Mean Summer Temp. | Mean Winter Temp. | |---------------------|---------|----------|-------------------|------------------|------------------| | South extremity | 79° 37' | 47° | 16° 29' | 35° 59' | 3° 21' | | Matthew's Strait | 73° | 20° | 16° 93' | 38° 49' | 2° 29' | | Cross Bay | 74° | 0° | 20° 74' | 36° 60' | 9° 78' |

The vegetation is very scanty, consisting only of mosses and lichens; in many parts the ground is quite barren; and notwithstanding the long continuance of the sun above the horizon, the soil is never thawed more than a foot or two deep. Animal life is as scarce here as vegetation. Nova Zembla is often visited by fishermen from Archangel in pursuit of the walrus. It was visited at an early period by the Russians, but was first brought into notice by Steven Burrough, who made a voyage thither in 1556. The west and part of the east coast were visited in 1596 by the Dutch navigator Barents; and several Russian expeditions have been sent out from Russia within the present century to explore the islands.