Donatism
Donatism is an early Christian schism that emerged in North Africa, primarily associated with the figure of Donatus, who led a faction of Christians from approximately 313 to 355 CE. The movement arose in response to the perceived betrayal of certain church leaders during the Diocletian persecution, where some were accused of surrendering sacred texts, thus earning the label "traditores" or traitors. Donatists rejected the legitimacy of the sacraments administered by these leaders and contested the authority of Caecilian, whose election as bishop of Carthage was supported by the broader church but rejected by the Donatists. This division led to two distinct lines of succession, each asserting its own interpretation of what constituted the true Catholic Church, including differing views on the validity of baptism.
Saint Augustine of Hippo played a pivotal role in the theological debates surrounding Donatism, arguing against their views on rebaptism and advocating for the unity of the Church. The Donatist controversy continued until the Council of Carthage in 411 CE, which formally condemned the movement as heretical. However, following the Vandal invasion in 429 CE, a period of relative peaceful coexistence emerged between Donatists and Catholics. Donatism highlights the complexities and conflicts within early Christianity, reflecting the diverse interpretations of faith and authority during that era.
Donatism
Related civilizations: Imperial Rome, Vandals, Byzantine Empire.
Date: c. 309-c. 750 c.e.
Locale: Roman Africa (northwest Africa)
Donatism
“Donatism” (DOH-nuh-tin-zuhm), named by “Catholic” opponents, refers to an African schism in the Christian Church that stemmed from Donatus (d. c. 355 c.e.), who claimed the Carthaginian see from 313/314 to 355 c.e. Donatus succeeded Majorinus, whom a group of Numidian bishops had elected (c. 309 c.e.) after rejecting Caecilian’s earlier election by Carthaginian Christians. Because transmarine churches still recognized Caecilian, two lines of succession lasted into the Arab conquest. Each communion viewed itself as the catholic church and therefore contested the other’s catholicism, churches, and martyrs.
Primatial rivalry between Caecilian’s predecessor, Mensurius of Carthage, and Secundus of Tigisis contributed to the schism, but Diocletian’s persecution (303-305 c.e.) coined its terms. This persecution had demanded the surrender (traditio) of Scripture, and those surrendering seemed to be traditores, or traitors, to Christianity. The followers of Donatus rejected these traitors’ sacraments and argued that Caecilian’s consecrator was impure for having surrendered his copy of the Holy Scriptures to Romans during the prosecution. Though “Christian” by transmarine standards, Constantine the Great and later emperors who enforced transmarine canon seemed to be persecutors and Antichrists to the Donatists.
Saint Augustine regarded Donatist rebaptism as schismatic rejection of the one baptism, which existed even outside the catholic church. In 411 c.e., the Council of Carthage ruled against the Donatists, officially condemning the heresy. After a Vandal invasion in 429 c.e., Donatists and Catholics began a peaceful coexistence.
Bibliography
Brown, Peter. Augustine of Hippo: A Biography. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.
Field, Lester L., Jr. Liberty, Dominion, and the Two Swords: On the Origins of Western Political Theology (180-398). Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1998.
Frend, W. H. C. The Donatist Church: A Movement of Protest in Roman North Africa. New York: Clarendon Press, 1985.