Donatism

Last updated
Charles-Andre van Loo's 18th-century Augustine arguing with Donatists Augustine and donatists.jpg
Charles-André van Loo's 18th-century Augustine arguing with Donatists

Donatism was a Christian sect leading to a schism in the church in the region of the Church of Carthage, from the fourth to the sixth centuries. Donatists argued that Christian clergy must be faultless for their ministry to be effective and their prayers and sacraments to be valid. Donatism had its roots in the long-established Christian community of the Roman province Africa Proconsularis (present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, and the western coast of Libya) and Mauretania Tingitana (roughly with the northern part of present-day Morocco), [1] in the persecutions of Christians under Diocletian. Named after the Berber Christian bishop Donatus Magnus, Donatism flourished during the fourth and fifth centuries. [2] Donatism mainly spread among the indigenous Berber population, [3] and Donatists were able to blend Christianity with many of the Berber local customs. [4]

Contents

Origin and controversy

The Roman governor of North Africa, lenient to the large Christian minority under his rule throughout the Diocletianic Persecutions, was satisfied when Christians handed over their scriptures as a token repudiation of faith. When the persecution ended, Christians who did so were called traditores —"those who handed (the holy things) over"—by their critics (who were mainly from the poorer classes). [5]

Like third-century Novatianism, [6] the Donatists were rigorists; the church must be a church of "saints" (not "sinners"), and sacraments administered by traditores were invalid. In 311 Caecilian (a new bishop of Carthage) was consecrated by Felix of Aptungi, an alleged traditor. His opponents consecrated Majorinus, a short-lived rival who was succeeded by Donatus. [7]

Two years later, a commission appointed by Pope Miltiades condemned the Donatists. They persisted, seeing themselves as the true church with valid sacraments. Because of their association with the Circumcellions, the Donatists were repressed by Roman authorities. Although they had local support, their opponents were supported by Rome and by the rest of the Catholic Church. The Donatists were still a force during the lifetime of Augustine of Hippo, and disappeared only after the seventh- and eighth-century Muslim conquest. [8] The Donatists refused to accept the sacraments and spiritual authority of priests and bishops who were traditores during the persecution. The traditores had returned to positions of authority under Constantine I; according to the Donatists, sacraments administered by the traditores were invalid.[ citation needed ]

Whether the sacrament of Penance could reconcile a traditor to full communion was questioned, and the church's position was that the sacrament could. The church still imposed years- (sometimes decades-) long public penance for serious sins. A penitent would first beg for the prayers of those entering a church from outside its doors. They would next be permitted to kneel inside the church during the Liturgy. After being allowed to stand with the congregation, the penitent would finally be allowed to receive the Eucharist again. According to Donatists, apostasy would permanently disqualify a man from church leadership. [9]

The validity of sacraments administered by priests and bishops who had been traditores was denied by the Donatists. According to Augustine, a sacrament was from God and ex opere operato (Latin for "from the work carried out"). A priest or bishop in a state of mortal sin could continue to administer valid sacraments. [10] The Donatists believed that a repentant apostate priest could no longer consecrate the Eucharist. Some towns had both Donatist and Catholic congregations.[ citation needed ]

Impact

The sect developed and grew in North Africa, with unrest and threatened riots in Carthage connected to the bishop controversy. [11] [a] Constantine, hoping to defuse the unrest, gave money to the non-Donatist bishop Caecilian as payment for churches damaged or confiscated during the persecution. Nothing was given to the Donatists; Constantine was apparently not fully aware of the seriousness of the dispute, which his gift exacerbated. [11] The Donatists appealed to Rome for equal treatment; Constantine tasked Miltiades with resolving the issue, which led to the 313 commission. The Donatists refused to abide by the decision of the Roman council, demanding that a local council adjudicate the dispute and appealing directly to Constantine. In a surviving letter, a frustrated Constantine called for what became the first Council of Arles in 314. The council ruled against the Donatists, who again appealed to Constantine. The emperor ordered all parties to Rome for a hearing, ruled in favour of Caecilian and warned against unrest. [12] A delegation from Rome travelled to Carthage in a vain attempt to seek compromise. The Donatists fomented protests and street violence, [13] refusing to compromise in favor of the Catholic bishop.[ citation needed ]

After the Constantinian shift, when other Christians accepted the emperor's decision, the Donatists continued to demonize him. After several attempts at reconciliation, in 317 Constantine issued an edict threatening death to anyone who disturbed the imperial peace; another edict followed, calling for the confiscation of all Donatist church property. Donatus refused to surrender his buildings in Carthage, and the local Roman governor sent troops to deal with him and his followers. Although the historical record is unclear, some Donatists were apparently killed and their clergy exiled.[ citation needed ]

Outside Carthage, Donatist churches and clergy were undisturbed. [14] Constantine's efforts to unite the church and the Donatists failed, and by 321 he asked the bishops to show moderation and patience to the sect in an open letter. [15] During the brief reign of Julian, the Donatists were revitalized and, due to imperial protection, occupied churches and carried out atrocities. [16] Laws against the Donatists were decreed by Valentinian I after the defeat of the Donatist usurper Firmus in North Africa.[ citation needed ]

Opposition

Augustine of Hippo campaigned against Donatism as bishop; through his efforts, orthodoxy gained the upper hand. According to Augustine and the church, the validity of sacraments was a property of the priesthood independent of individual character. Influenced by the Old Testament, he believed in discipline as a means of education. [17]

In his letter to Vincentius, Augustine used the New Testament Parable of the Great Banquet to justify using force against the Donatists: "You are of opinion that no one should be compelled to follow righteousness; and yet you read that the householder said to his servants, 'Whomsoever ye shall find, compel them to come in.'" [18]

In 409, Emperor Honorius's secretary of state, Marcellinus of Carthage, issued a decree which condemned the Donatists as heretical and demanded that they surrender their churches. This was made possible by a collatio in which St. Augustine legally proved that Constantine had chosen the Nicene church over the Donatists as the imperial church. The Donatists were persecuted by the Roman authorities to such a degree that Augustine protested their treatment. [19]

The Council of Trent (1545-1563) taught that in the divine sacrifice of the Holy Mass " is contained and immolated, in an unbloody manner, the same Christ that offered Himself in a bloody manner upon the altar of the Cross. Hence, it is the same victim, the same sacrificing-priest who offers Himself now through the ministry of priests and who once offers Himself upon the Cross." The worth of the sacrifice does not depend on the celebrating priest (or bishop), but on the "worth of the victim and on the dignity of the chief priest - none other than Jesus Christ Himself". [20]

Decline

The effects of Augustine's theological success and the emperor's legal action were somewhat reversed when the Vandals conquered North Africa. Donatism may have also gradually declined because Donatists and orthodox Catholics were equally marginalised by the Arian Vandals, [21] but it survived the Vandal occupation and Justinian I's Byzantine reconquest. Although it is unknown how long Donatism persisted, some Christian historians believe that the schism and its ensuing unrest in the Christian community facilitated the seventh-century Muslim conquest of the region. [22]

Donatism is associated with a number of other groups, including:

In Mauretania and Numidia, the Catholic Encyclopedia claims that the splinter groups were so numerous that the Donatists could not name them all. [7]

Bishops

The Donatists followed a succession of bishops:

Later influence

Epithet

For several centuries during the High Middle Ages and the Reformation, accusations of Donatism were levelled against church-reform movements which criticized clerical immorality on theological grounds. The early reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus were accused of Donatism by their theological opponents. Wycliffe taught that the moral corruption of priests invalidated their offices and sacraments, a belief characterizing Donatism. [30] Hus similarly argued that a prelate's moral character determined his ecclesiastical authority, a position his contemporaries compared to Donatism and condemned as heresy at the Council of Constance.[ citation needed ]

During the Reformation, Catholic Counter-Reformers such as Johann Eck accused the magisterial Reformers of Donatism (although the latter had partially distanced themselves from Wycliffe's theology to avoid such a charge). [31] Magisterial Reformers like Ulrich Zwingli labeled radical Reformers, such as the Anabaptists, as Donatists; [32] Catholics were portrayed in Reformation rhetoric as Pelagian, another early Christian heresy. In Eastern Orthodoxy, the Bezpopovtsy (priestless) strain of Old Believers believed that because the Russian bishops acquiesced to Patriarch Nikon's reforms they (and the other patriarchs) forfeited any claim to apostolic succession.[ citation needed ]

Accusations of Donatism remain common in contemporary intra-Christian polemics. Conservative Lutherans are sometimes called Donatists by their liberal brethren, referring to their doctrine of church fellowship [33] and their position that churches which deny that Jesus’ body and blood are eaten during the Eucharist do not celebrate a valid Lord's Supper. [34]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The remainder of this paragraph comes from Frend 1952, who derived his chronology primarily from Optatus' Against the Donatists (one of the only surviving primary sources).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Miltiades</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 311 to 314

Pope Miltiades, also known as Melchiades the African, was the bishop of Rome from 311 to his death on 10 or 11 January 314. It was during his pontificate that Emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan (313), giving Christianity legal status within the Roman Empire. The pope also received the palace of Empress Fausta where the Lateran Palace, the papal seat and residence of the papal administration, would be built. At the Lateran Council, during the schism with the Church of Carthage, Miltiades condemned the rebaptism of apostatised bishops and priests, a teaching of Donatus Magnus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hippo Regius</span> Ancient name for the modern city of Annaba, Algeria

Hippo Regius is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, Algeria. It served as an important city for the Phoenicians, Berbers, Romans, and Vandals. Hippo was the capital city of the Vandal Kingdom from AD 435 to 439. when it was shifted to Carthage following the Vandal capture of Carthage in 439.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Africa during classical antiquity</span> Historic phases of North Africa (c. 8th cent. BCE - 5th cent.CE)

The history of North Africa during the period of classical antiquity can be divided roughly into the history of Egypt in the east, the history of ancient Libya in the middle and the history of Numidia and Mauretania in the west.

Ex opere operato is a Latin phrase meaning "from the work worked" that, in reference to sacraments, signifies that they derive their efficacy not from the minister or from the recipient, but from the sacrament considered independently of the merits of the minister or the recipient. According to the ex opere operato interpretation of the sacraments, any positive effect comes not from any human worthiness or faith, but from the sacrament as an instrument of God.

Marcellinus of Carthage was a Christian martyr and saint who died in 413. He was secretary of state of the Western Roman Empire under Roman emperor Honorius and a close friend of Augustine of Hippo, as well as a correspondent of Saint Jerome. Saint Augustine dedicated the first books of his landmark The City of God to Marcellinus in 413.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donatus Magnus</span>

Donatus Magnus, also known as Donatus of Casae Nigrae, was the leader of a schismatic Christian sect known as the Donatists in North Africa, Algeria. He is believed to have died in exile around 355.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in the Roman Africa province</span> Historical region of Christianity

The name early African church is given to the Christian communities inhabiting the region known politically as Roman Africa, and comprised geographically somewhat around the area of the Roman Diocese of Africa, namely: the Mediterranean littoral between Cyrenaica on the east and the river Ampsaga on the west; that part of it that faces the Atlantic Ocean being called Mauretania, in addition to Byzacena. Thus corresponding somewhat to contemporary Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. The evangelization of Africa followed much the same lines as those traced by Roman civilization. From the late fifth and early sixth century, the region included several Christian Berber kingdoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditors</span>

Traditor, plural: traditores (Latin), is a term meaning "the one(s) who had handed over" and defined by Merriam-Webster as "one of the Christians giving up to the officers of the law the Scriptures, the sacred vessels, or the names of their brethren during the Roman persecutions". The word traditor comes from the Latin transditio from trans (across) + dare, and is the source of the modern English words traitor and treason. The same root word, with a different context of what is handed to whom, gives the word tradition as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Optatus</span> 4th-century Christian theologian and priest

Optatus, sometimes anglicized as Optate, was Bishop of Milevis, in Numidia, in the fourth century, remembered for his writings against Donatism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Roman-era Tunisia</span>

Roman Tunisia initially included the early ancient Roman province of Africa, later renamed Africa Vetus. As the Roman empire expanded, the present Tunisia also included part of the province of Africa Nova.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archdiocese of Carthage</span> Former Latin Catholic diocese established in Roman Carthage, now a titular see

The Archdiocese of Carthage, also known as the Church of Carthage, was a Latin Catholic diocese established in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippin was the first named bishop, around 230 AD. The temporal importance of the city of Carthage in the Roman Empire had previously been restored by Julius Caesar and Augustus. When Christianity became firmly established around the Roman province of Africa Proconsulare, Carthage became its natural ecclesiastical seat. Carthage subsequently exercised informal primacy as an archdiocese, being the most important center of Christianity in the whole of Roman Africa, corresponding to most of today's Mediterranean coast and inland of Northern Africa. As such, it enjoyed honorary title of patriarch as well as primate of Africa: Pope Leo I confirmed the primacy of the bishop of Carthage in 446: "Indeed, after the Roman Bishop, the leading Bishop and metropolitan for all Africa is the Bishop of Carthage."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutugenna</span> Ancient town in the Maghreb

Mutugenna or Muttegena was a colonia (town) of the Roman, Berber and Vandal empires, located in the Maghreb. The city is generally identified with the ruins at Ain-Tebla in modern Algeria. Mutugenna was also the locus of a bishopric and was an important site in the development of the Donatist schism.

Secundus of Tigisis was an early church leader and primate of Numidia. He was a leading organiser of the early Donatist movement in Carthage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Majorinus</span>

Majorinus was the leader of a schismatic Christian sect in Roman North Africa known as the Donatists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berber Christians</span> Ethnic group

Berber Christians, or Amazigh Christians are ethnic Berberss, who follow Christianity. The term is typically used to refer to the centuries when North Africa was under Roman rule, a period during which many of the local population, particularly the Berbers, adopted Christianity, and churches were built across the region. The Church of Carthage, in particular, became significant in the history of Christianity, playing a key role in the development of Christian philosophy and theology, and producing many prominent religious scholars and theologians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaguari</span>

Gaguari is a former diocese of North Africa and since 1933 a titular bishopric. The location of the former diocese is for the moment unknown. Under Roman hegemony, the bishop belonged to the province of Byzacène. This province was located in North Africa. The exact location of Gaguari can not be determined for the current state of research. However, everything leads us to believe that the bishopric site localizes to the current Sahel of Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bagai</span>

Bagai was a Roman–Berber city in the province of Africa Proconsularis. It must have been of some reasonable size, as it was also the seat of an ancient Catholic bishopric. The ancient city has been identified with ruins at Ksar-Bagaï outside of Baghai, in the Aurès Mountains of the El Hamma District in Khenchela Province, Algeria.

Parmenian was a North African Donatist bishop, the successor of Donatus in the Donatist bishopric of Carthage. He wrote several works defending the rigorist views of the Donatists and is recognized as "the most famous Donatist writer of his day", but none of his writings have survived.

Donatus of Bagaï, also known as Donatus of Aurasium, was an ancient Donatist bishop and martyr whose life and actions played a significant role in the complex religious landscape of 4th century Numidia. Despite being primarily known through hostile reports, notably found in Optatus' "Contra Parmenianum Donatistam" Donatus of Bagai left a lasting impact on the Donatist movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marculus of Thamugadi</span>

Marculus of Thamugadi or simply Marculus was a prominent bishop and Christian martyr venerated by the 4th-century North African Donatist Church.

References

  1. ↑ D. Nelson, Harold (1985). Morocco, a Country Study. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Press. p. 8. ISBN   9780313332890.
  2. ↑ Cantor 1995, pp. 51f.
  3. ↑ Falola, Toyin (2017). Ancient African Christianity: An Introduction to a Unique Context and Tradition. Taylor & Francis. p. 344-345. ISBN   9781135121426.
  4. ↑ E. Wilhit, David (2002). Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 68. ISBN   9780313313233.
  5. ↑ Cantor 1995, p. 51.
  6. ↑ Cross, FL, ed. (2005), "Novatianism", The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church, New York: Oxford University Press .
  7. 1 2 Chapman, John. "Donatists." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 15 March 2021PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  8. ↑ Cross, FL, ed. (2005), "Donatism", The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church, New York: Oxford University Press.
  9. ↑ "Forgive Us, as We Forgive: The Donatist Controversy" (PDF). Vanderbilt.edu. Osher Institute, Vanderbilt University. April 12, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 31 Aug 2021.
  10. ↑ Catholic Answers
  11. 1 2 Frend 1952, pp. 144–45.
  12. ↑ Frend 1952, p. 156.
  13. ↑ Frend 1952, p. 157.
  14. ↑ Frend 1952, pp. 159 60.
  15. ↑ Frend 1952, pp. 161 62; from the letters of Constantine preserved by Optatus.
  16. ↑ Lohr 2007, p. 40, 43.
  17. ↑ Brown, P. 1967. Augustine of Hippo. London: Faber & Faber.
  18. ↑ Augustine. "How it is legitimate to 'coerce' Donatist Christians to join the Catholic Church". Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  19. ↑ Augustine, "2", Letter.
  20. ↑ Adolphe D. Tanquerey (1930). The Spiritual life. A treatise on spiritual and mystical theology (2nd ed.). Tournai (BG): Society of St John the Evangelist, Desclée & Co (printers for the Holy See and the Sacred Congr. of Rites). p.  139. Archived from the original on December 16, 2018 – via archive.org., with the imprimatur of Michael J. Curley, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Baltimore
  21. ↑ Mitchell, Stephen (2007). A History of the Later Roman Empire. Blackwell. p. 282.
  22. ↑ "Donatism", Concordia Cyclopedia, CMU, archived from the original on 2011-07-16.
  23. ↑ Jesse Hoover, The Contours of Donatism (ProQuest, 2008 ) pp. 264-274
  24. ↑ Michael Gaddis (2005), There Is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ, Berkeley: University of California Press, p. 122.
  25. ↑ Jesse Hoover, The Contours of Donatism (ProQuest, 2008 ) pp. 274-285
  26. ↑ Jesse Hoover, The Contours of Donatism (ProQuest, 2008 ) p. 245
  27. ↑ Jesse Hoover, The Contours of Donatism (ProQuest, 2008 ) p. 236
  28. ↑ "Apostolici"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 02 (11th ed.). 1911.
  29. ↑ Elizabeth Savage (1997). A Gateway to Hell, a Gateway to Paradise. Darwin Press. p. 98. ISBN   9780878501120.
  30. ↑ Herring, George (2006), Introduction To The History of Christianity, New York: New York University Press, p. 230.
  31. ↑ Pelikan, Jaroslav (2003), Credo: Historical and Theological Guide to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition, Yale University Press, p. 474.
  32. ↑ Verduin, Leonard (March 1995). "1". The Reformers and Their Stepchildren. Paternoster Press. ISBN   0-8028-3791-3.
  33. ↑ The doctrine of church fellowship, Reclaiming Walther.
  34. ↑ Metzger, Paul W (1986), What Constitutes A Valid Celebration of The Lord's Supper? (PDF), WLS essays.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Donatists". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Sources

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.