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The Donatists (named for the Berber Christian Donatus Magnus) were followers of a belief considered a schism by the broader churches of the Catholic tradition, and most particularly within the context of the religious milieu of the provinces of Roman North Africa in Late Antiquity. Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Donatus Magnus (311?-355? was the leader of the Donatists, a rigorist Early Christian sect in North Africa The Four Marks of the Church, sometimes referred to as the Marks of the Church or the Marks of the True Church, are a group of four characteristics describing the They lived in the Roman province of Africa and flourished in the fourth and fifth centuries. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini / Common era) was that Century The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in Anno Domini / Common Era.

Like the Novatianist schism of the previous century,[1] the Donatists were rigorists, holding that the church must be a church of saints, not sinners, and that sacraments, such as baptism, administered by traditores (Christians who surrendered the Scriptures to the authorities who outlawed possession of them) were invalid. [2] Probably in 311, a new bishop of Carthage was consecrated by someone who had allegedly been a traditor; his opponents consecrated a short-lived rival, who was succeeded by Donatus, after whom the schism was named. [2] In 313, a commission appointed by Pope Miltiades found against the Donatists, but they continued to exist, viewing themselves, and not what was known as the Catholic Church, as the true Church, the only one with valid sacraments. Pope Because of their association with the circumcellions, they brought upon themselves repression by the imperial authorities, but they drew upon African regional sentiment, while the Catholic party had the support of Rome. The circumcellions were fanatical bands of predatory peasants that flourished in North Africa in the 4th century The Roman province of Africa was established after the Romans defeated Carthage in the Third Punic War. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial They were still a force at the time of Saint Augustine of Hippo at the end of the fourth century, and disappeared only after the Arab conquest of the 7th-8th century. [2]

Contents

Churches

The primary disagreement between Donatists and the rest of the early Christian church was over the treatment of those who renounced their faith during the persecution of Roman emperor Diocletian (303–305), a disagreement that had implications both for the Church's understanding of the Sacrament of Penance and of the other sacraments in general. Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c The Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (starting at about 27 BC Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus ( ca. December 22 244 The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes December 22 as his birthdate Events By Place Roman Empire Persuaded by Galerius, Diocletian launches the last major persecution of Christians Events By Place Roman Empire May 1 — Diocletian and Maximian, Emperors of Rome retire from office The confession of one's Sins is a religious practice important to many faiths e A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a Rite in which God is uniquely active

The rest of the Church was far more forgiving of these people than the Donatists were. The Donatists refused to accept the sacraments and spiritual authority of the priests and bishops who had fallen away from the faith during the persecution. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight Many church leaders had gone so far as to turn Christians over to Roman authorities and had handed over sacred religious texts to authorities to be publicly burned. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin Book burning (a category of biblioclasm or book destruction is the practice of destroying often ceremoniously, one or more copies of a book or other written material These people were called traditors ("people who had handed over"). Traditor, pl traditores (lat, is a term meaning the one(s who had handed over. These traditors had returned to positions of authority under Constantine I, and the Donatists proclaimed that any sacraments celebrated by these priests and bishops were invalid. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus (27 February ca. 272 &ndash 22 May 337 commonly known as Constantine I, Constantine the Great, or Saint Constantine

The first question, therefore, was whether the Sacrament of Penance can effect a reconciliation whereby the apostate, or in some cases specifically the traditor, may be returned to full communion. The orthodox Catholic position was that the sacrament was for precisely such cases, though at the time the Church still followed the discipline of public penance whereby a penitent for such a grievous offense would spend years, even decades, first outside the doors of the church begging for the prayers of those entering, then kneeling inside the church building during services, then standing with the congregation, and finally receiving the Eucharist again in a long progress toward full reconciliation. Penance is repentance of Sins as well as the proper name of the Catholic and Orthodox Christian Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names is a Christian Sacrament by which in a common interpretation those The Donatists held that such a crime, after the forgiveness of Baptism, rendered one unfit for further membership in the Church, a position of extreme rigorism. In Christianity, baptism ( Greek, "immersing" "performing Ablutions " is the ritual act with the use of water by which one is admitted

The second question was the validity of sacraments confected by priests and bishops who had been apostates under the persecution. The Donatists held that all such sacraments were invalid: by their sinful act, such clerics had rendered themselves incapable of celebrating valid sacraments. This is known as: ex opere operantis — Latin for from the work of the one doing the working, that is, that the validity of the sacrament depends upon the worthiness and holiness of the minister confecting it. The Catholic position was (and is): ex opere operato — from the work having been worked, in other words, that the validity of the sacrament depends upon the holiness of God, the minister being a mere instrument of God's work, so that any priest or bishop, even one in a state of mortal sin, who speaks the formula of the sacrament with valid matter and the intent of causing the sacrament to occur acts validly. Ex opere operato is a Latin theological expression meaning literally "from the work having been worked" and with the specific meaning "by the very fact Mortal sin, according to the beliefs of Roman Catholicism, and some Protestant denominations is a Sin that unless confessed and absolved (or at least Hence, to the Donatists, a priest who had been an apostate but who repented could speak the words of consecration forever, but he could no longer confect the Eucharist. To the Catholics, a person who received the Eucharist from the hands of even an unrepentant sinning priest still received Christ's Body and Blood, their own sacramental life being undamaged by the priest's faults.

As a result, many towns were divided between Donatist and non-Donatist congregations. The sect had particularly developed and grown in northern Africa. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Constantine, as emperor, began to get involved in the dispute, and in 314 he called a Council at Arles; the issue was debated and the decision went against the Donatists. Arles in the south of Roman Gaul, modern France hosted several councils (Concilium Arelatense or Synods in the early Christian church The Donatists refused to accept the decision of the council, their distaste for bishops who had collaborated with Rome came out of their broader view of the Roman Empire.

After the Constantinian shift, when other Christians accepted the emperor as a leader in the church, the Donatists continued to see the emperor as the devil. Constantinian shift is a term used by Anabaptist and Post-Christendom theologians to describe the political and theological aspects of the 4th century The Devil is the In particular, the birth of the Donatist movement came out of opposition to the appointment of Caecilianus as bishop of Carthage in 312, because of his pro-government stance. Caecilianus, or Caecilian was Archdeacon and then Bishop of Carthage in 311 A Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers In 317 Constantine sent troops to deal with the Donatists in Carthage, for the first time Christian persecuting Christian. Events By Place Europe March 1 — Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I It resulted in banishments. It failed completely and Constantine had to withdraw and cancel the persecutions in 321.

More laws against the Donatists were issued by Valentinian I, after the defeat of the Donatist usurper Firmus in Northern Africa. Flavius Valentinianus, known in English as Valentinian I, ( 321 - November 17, 375) was Roman Emperor from 364 until his death Usurpers are individuals or groups of individuals who obtain and maintain the power or rights of another by force and without legal authority Firmus (died 375 was a Roman usurper under Valentinian I. Firmus was the son of the Moorish ( Berber) prince Nubel a powerful Roman military

The Donatists also drew their beliefs from the writings of Tertullian and Cyprian. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, Anglicised as Tertullian, (ca This page is about Cyprian bishop of Carthage For other Cyprians see Cyprian (disambiguation.

St. Augustine arguing with donatists.
St. Augustine arguing with donatists.

St. Augustine of Hippo campaigned against this heterodox belief throughout his tenure as bishop of Hippo, and through his efforts the Orthodox Catholic Church gained the upper hand. Heterodoxy includes "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position" His view, which was also the majority view within the Church, was that it was the office of priest, not the personal character of the incumbent, that gave validity to the celebration of the sacraments.

In 409, Marcellinus of Carthage, Emperor Honorius's secretary of state, decreed the group heretical and demanded that they give up their churches. Events By Place Western Roman Empire Constantine III 's general Gerontius revolts in Hispania, and elevates Marcellinus of Carthage was a Christian Martyr and Saint who died in 413 Flavius Honorius ( September 9, 384 &ndash August 15, 423) was Roman Emperor (393- 395 and then Western Roman Emperor They were harshly persecuted by the Roman authorities, and even Augustine protested at their treatment.

Nevertheless, his successes were reversed when the Vandals conquered North Africa. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Donatism survived the Vandal occupation and the Byzantine reconquest under Justinian I. Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ( Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ιουστινιανός; known in English as Justinian I or It is unknown how long this belief persisted into the Muslim period, but some Christian historians believe the Donatist schism and the discord it caused in the Christian community made the military takeover of the region by Islam easier. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion [3]

Carthaginian bishops

Donatists followed a succession of bishops.

Epithet

During and after the Reformation, the word "Donatist" (sometimes "neo-Donatist") was commonly used by the magisterial reformers as an incriminating label to refer to the more radical reformers such as the Anabaptists. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time A magistrate is a judicial officer In Common law systems a magistrate usually has limited authority to administer and enforce the Law. The Radical Reformation was a 16th century response to what was believed to be both the corruption in the Roman Catholic Church and the expanding Magisterial Anabaptists ( Greek ανα (again twice + βαπτιζω (baptize thus "re-baptizers" are Christians of the Radical Reformation [4] Confessional Lutherans are sometimes labeled Donatist by liberal Lutherans, as a reference to their doctrine of church-fellowship[5] and position that churches that deny that Jesus' true body and true blood are eaten do not celebrate a valid Lord's Supper. Confessional Lutheran is a name used by certain Lutheran Christians to designate themselves as those who accept the doctrines taught in the Book of Concord [6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Novatianism. This is a list of the Roman Catholic Bishops and Archbishops of Carthage, often referred to as Primate of Proconsular Africa Numidia Tripolitania and Mauretania This page is about Cyprian bishop of Carthage For other Cyprians see Cyprian (disambiguation. " Cross, F. L. , ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
  2. ^ a b c "Donatism. " Cross, F. L. , ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005
  3. ^ See Concordia Cyclopedia: Donatism
  4. ^ Verduin, Leonard. The Reformers and Their Stepchildren', Chapter 1. ISBN 0-8028-3791-3.  
  5. ^ See this classic exposition of the doctrine of church-fellowship
  6. ^ See What Constitutes A Valid Celebration Of The Lord’s Supper? by Paul W. Metzger

Bibliography

External links

Dictionary

donatist

-noun

  1. (Christianity) A follower of Donatus Magnus or one who supports the heresy donatism.
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