The questions studied in this book are whether, in the period between AD 250 and 391, there was pardon for sins committed after water baptism, whether all sins were considered remissible after baptism or if there were exceptions, the conditions for obtaining such forgiveness, which actions constituted an appropriate manifestation of sorrow and remorse for sins, and which officers of the church held authority to hear and adjudicate confessions of sins and declare them forgiven on earth and in heaven. The book questions whether the decisions reached in this time period are applicable today. It is a sequel to the author's "The Forgiveness of Post-Baptismal Sin in Ancient Christianity" in Churchman: A Journal of Anglican Theology 105.4, later expanded into the book Can Sins Be Forgiven After Baptism? (2019).
