The Donatists (founded by the Berber Christian Donatus Magnus) were followers of a belief considered a heresy by the broader Catholic community. They lived in Roman Africa, and flourished in the fourth and fifth centuries. The Berbers (also called Imazighen, free men, singular Amazigh) are an ethnic group indigenous to Northwest Africa, speaking the Berber languages of the Afroasiatic family. ... Donatus Magnus (?-355?) was a bishop of the city of Carthage in north Africa. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the catholic or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... // Overview Events Romulus Augustus, Last Western Roman Emperor 410: Rome sacked by Visigoths 452: Pope Leo I allegedly meets personally with Attila the Hun and convinces him not to sack Rome 439: Vandals conquer Carthage At some point after 440, the Anglo-Saxons settle in Britain. ...

The Donatist churches

Their primary disagreement with the rest of the Church was over the treatment of those who forsook their faith during the Persecution (303–305 AD) of Diocletian. The rest of the Church was far more forgiving of these people than the Donatists were. They refused to accept the sacraments and spiritual authority of the priests and bishops who had fallen away from the faith during the persecution. 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. These people were called traditors ("people who had handed over"). These traditors had returned to positions of authority under Constantine, and the Donatists proclaimed that any sacraments celebrated by these priests and bishops were invalid. As a result, many towns were divided between Donatist and non-Donatist congregations. The sect had particularly developed and grown in North Africa. Constantine, as emperor, began to get involved in the dispute, and in 314 he called a council at Arles in France; the issue was debated and the decision went against the Donatists. 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. In particular, the birth of the Donatist movement came out of opposition to the appointment of Caecilian as bishop of Carthage in 312 AD because of his pro-government stance. In 317 Constantine sent troops to deal with the Donatists in Carthage, for the first time Christian persecuting Christian. It resulted in banishments and even executions. It failed completely and Constantine had to withdraw and cancel the persecutions in 321. Events Diocletian launched the last major persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire; Hierocles was said to have been the instigator of the fierce persecution of the Christians under February 24 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Empire. ... Events May 1 - Diocletian and Maximian, emperors of Rome, retire from office. ... Emperor Diocletian Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus (245?–312?), born Diocles, was Roman Emperor as Diocletian from November 20, 284 to May 1, 305. ... Sculpture of Constantine I in York, England. ... Map of western Mediterranean, showing location of Arles Arles (Arle in Provençal) is a city in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône département, of which it is a sous-préfecture, in the former province of Provence. ... Sculpture of Constantine I in York, England. ...

Donatists were more than just an opposition movement. They also had a distinctive worship style, emphasizing ‘mystical union of the righteous inspired by the Holy Spirit and instructed by the Bible.¹ Anabaptists and other radical church traditions have looked to Donatists as historical predecessors because of their opposition to the union of state and church, their emphasis on discipleship and, in some cases, their commitment to nonviolence and social justice. Like those in the Radical Reformation in the 16th century, the Donatists saw the Catholics as impure and corrupted. Anabaptists (re-baptizers, from Greek ana and baptizo; in German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the so-called radical wing of the Protestant Reformation. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which emerged in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

The Donatists also drew their beliefs from the writings of Tertullian and Cyprian. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ... Saint Cyprian (Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus) (died September 14, 258) bishop of Carthage and an important early Christian writer, was born probably at the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received an excellent pagan education; having converted to Christianity, he became a Bishop (249...

Augustine campaigned against this heterodox belief throughout his tenure as bishop of Hippo, and through his efforts the Church gained the upper hand. 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. This is the view that prevailed and has persisted to the present day. In 409, Marcellinus of Carthage, Emperor Honorius's secretary of state, decreed the group heretical and demanded that they give up their churches. 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. Donatism survived the Vandal occupation and the Byzantine reconquest under Justinian I. 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 takeover of the region by Islam easier.² St. ... For the cleaning product 409®, see butoxyethanol. ... Marcellinus of Carthage was a Christian martyr and saint who died in 413. ... Bronze coin bearing the profile of Honorius Flavius Augustus Honorius (September 9, 384–August 15, 423) was Emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 395 until his death. ... The Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century and created a state in North Africa, centered on the city of Carthage. ... North Africa is a region generally considered to include: Algeria Egypt Libya Mauritania Morocco Sudan Tunisia Western Sahara The Azores, Canary Islands, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Madeira are sometimes considered to be a part of North Africa. ... Byzantine Empire (Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Justinian I depicted on one of the famous mosaics of the St. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) (sometimes also spelled Moslem) is an adherent of Islam. ...

Donatist Bishops

Donatist Bishops of Carthage

• Majorinus (311-315)
• Donatus II Magnus (315-355; exiled 347)
• Parmenianus (355-391)
• Primian (391-393), 1st time
• Maximianus (393-394)
• Primian (394-c. 400's), 2nd time

A map of the central Mediterranean Sea, showing the location of Carthage (near modern Tunis). ... Aelius Donatus (flourished late 4th century CE) was a Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric. ...

Donatist Bishops of Rome

• Victor (or Felix I)
• Bonifatius
• Encolpius
• Macrobius (c. 370's)
• Lucianus
• Claudianus (c. 378)
• Felix II (c. 411)

City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2. ...

"Donatist" used as an 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. This usage is described at length in the first chapter of Leonard Verduin's book, The Reformers and Their Stepchildren, ISBN 0802837913. The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ... A magistrate is a judicial officer with limited authority to administer and enforce the law. ... The Radical Reformation was a 16th century response to both the perceived corruption in the Roman Catholic Church and the expanding Protestant movement led by Martin Luther. ... Anabaptists (re-baptizers, from Greek ana and baptizo; in German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the so-called radical wing of the Protestant Reformation. ...

See also

• Agonistici, Donatists sent out to disseminate their doctrine
• Patriarchate of Carthage
• St. Cyprian

Agonistici were Donatists, followers of Donatus Magnus, who were specifically sent into neighboring places, fairs, markets, etc, to preach his doctrine. ... This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Carthage, often referred to as Patriarch, Primate and Metropolitan of Proconsular (North) Africa, Numidia, Tripolitania and Mauretania. ... Saint Cyprian (Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus) (died September 14, 258) bishop of Carthage and an important early Christian writer, was born probably at the beginning of the 3rd century in North Africa, perhaps at Carthage, where he received an excellent pagan education; having converted to Christianity, he became a Bishop (249...

References

• Note 1: Murray, Stuart, The Donatists — A fairly in-depth article on the origins of the Donatists, their fluctuating fortunes between 317 and 535 AD, and their beliefs.
• Note 2: Donatus and Christian North Africa, from the Christian History Institute.

Bibliography

• The Donatist Church: A Movement of Protest in Roman North Africa, W. H. C. Frend (Oxford University Press, 1952) ISBN 0198264089.
• The Bible in Christian North Africa: The Donatist World, Maureen A. Tilley (Fortress Press, 1997) ISBN 0800628802.
• Donatist martyr stories: the Church in conflict in Roman North Africa. Translated with notes and introduction by Maureen A. Tilley (Liverpool University Press, 1996) ISBN 0853239312.
• This Holy Seed: Faith, Hope and Love in the Early Churches of North Africa, Robin Daniel (Harpenden: Tamarisk Publications, 1993) ISBN 0952043505.

External links

• Donatus & the Donatist Schism - List of primary and secondary sources on the Donatists.
• Donatists in the Catholic Encyclopedia - goes into some detail about the politics in the early church that was the background for the rise and fall of Donatism.
• Letter of Petilian the Donatist - Actual letter written by a Donatist leader. One of the few primary sources available from the Donastist affair.