Petilianus was an eminent Donatist of the 5th century Roman North Africa, who is known to history through the letters he wrote to the Catholic Bishop Augustine of Hippo and discourses in Augustine's replies. Although most of what we know of him comes from Augustine, his main theology seems to have been "that the true church was only composed of those who were repentant." [1]
Petilianus was from Cirta, the main city of the Roman province of Numidia. His parents were Catholics, but early in life he was taken against his will by the Donatists, baptised and eventually made their bishop around 395 to 400. [2] [3] Before this he had been a lawyer, rising to the rank of paraclete. [4]
About 398 to 400, Augustine invited leaders of the Donatist sect in Cirta to discuss the questions at issue between them and the Catholic Church. The invitation was rejected.
Petilianus later sent a letter to Augustine, proposing a separation from the Catholic Church, due to what he perceived as "pollution of the souls" through the repetition of baptism. [5] The validity of baptism in his view depended on the character of the baptiser. He also charged the Catholics with persecution and "tradition," and an insinuation about Manicheism. To these charges Augustine replied in his first book against Petilian.
In Augustine's second book, he refutes Petilanus's position on
A second letter from Petilian followed, which is known only from excerpts in Augustine's subsequent reply letter. [6] and a treatise on the Unity of the Church.
In "Contra litteras Petiliani" [7] Augustine disputed some accusations made by Petiliani that Pope Marcellinus and some other Roman priests had been traditors during the Diocletianic Persecution.
As Bishop of Cirta he had a leading role at the Council of Carthage (411), being one of the seven managers on the Donatist side. [8] [9] [10]
At the Council of Carthage 411, Petilian was recorded by Augustine for ingenious quibbling and minute subtlety on technical details of procedure — using, in short, as Augustine said afterwards, every artifice in order to prevent real discussion. He was furthermore accused on the third day of the Council of losing his temper and insulting Augustine personally. [11] [12]
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.
Pope Marcellinus was the bishop of Rome from 30 June 296 to his death in 304. A historical accusation was levelled at him by some sources to the effect that he might have renounced Christianity during Emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians before repenting afterwards, which would explain why he is omitted from lists of martyrs. The accusation is rejected, among others, by Augustine of Hippo. He is today venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and in the Serbian Orthodox Church.
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 and Mauretania Tingitana, in the persecutions of Christians under Diocletian. Named after the Berber Christian bishop Donatus Magnus, Donatism flourished during the fourth and fifth centuries. Donatism mainly spread among the indigenous Berber population, and Donatists were able to blend Christianity with many of the Berber local customs.
Novatianism or Novationism was an early Christian sect devoted to the theologian Novatian that held a strict view that refused readmission to communion of lapsi. The Church of Rome declared the Novatianists heretical following the letters of Saint Cyprian of Carthage and Ambrose wrote against them. Novatianism survived until the 8th century.
Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria.
The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below.
Donatus Magnus, also known as Donatus of Casae Nigrae, was the leader of a schismatic sect known as the Donatists in North Africa, Algeria. He is believed to have died in exile around 355.
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.
Assuras, sometimes given as Assura or Assur, was a town in the Roman province of Proconsular Africa.
Mensurius was a bishop of Carthage in the early 4th century during the early Christian Church.
Téboursouk is a town and commune in the Béja Governorate, Tunisia. It is located at 36° 27′ 26″N, 009° 14′ 54″E.
Secundus of Tigisis was an early church leader and primate of Numidia. He was a leading organiser of the early Donatist movement in Carthage.
Majorinus was the leader of a schismatic Christian sect in Roman North Africa known as the Donatists.
Felix, Bishop of Aptunga, in proconsular Africa was a 4th-century churchman, at the center of the Donatist controversy.
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.
Primian (Primianus) was an early Christian Bishop of Carthage, and leader of the Donatist movement in Roman North Africa. Seen as a moderate by some in his faction, he was a controversial figure in a time of fragmentation of the Donatists, a reactionary branch of Christianity.
Migirpa was an ancient Roman-Berber civitas in the province of Africa Proconsularis. It flourished from 30 BCE to 640 CE. The town is identified as stone ruins near Carthage, Tunisia.
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.
Macomades was a Carthaginian and Roman city in North Africa. It was located near present-day Oum-El-Bouaghi, Algeria
The Second Council of Cirta was a conference of Bishops, held in June 412, at Cirta in Roman North Africa, and was debated between the Catholics led by Augustine and the Donatists led by Silvanus of Numidia. It is notable as the origin of the Catholic dogma that "There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church".