The Circumcellions or Agonistici (as called by Donatists) were bands of Roman Christian radicals in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

in the early to mid-4th century.. They were considered heretical by the Catholic Church. They were initially concerned with remedying social grievances, but they became linked with the

Donatist 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 the ...

sect. They condemned poverty and slavery, and advocated canceling debt and freeing slaves. The term "Circumcellions" may have been coined or mocked by critics who referred to them as "circum cellas euntes", ''they go around

larder A larder is a cool area for storing food prior to use. Originally, it was where raw meat was larded—covered in fat—to be preserved. By the 18th century, the term had expanded. Now a dry larder was where bread, pastry, milk, butter, or cooked m ...

s'', because "they roved about among the peasants, living on those they sought to indoctrinate."

Background

The Circumcellions first appeared about 317, and were active primarily in Numidia, and

Mauretania Sitifensis Mauretania Sitifensis was a Roman province in Northwest Africa. The capital was Setifis. History In the later division of the Roman Empire under the Emperor Diocletian, the eastern part of Mauretania Caesariensis, from Saldae to the river Ampsag ...

. They promoted ideas of social reform along with

eschatological Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

hopes.

Optatus Saint Optatus, sometimes anglicized as St. Optate, was Bishop of Milevis, in Numidia, in the fourth century, remembered for his writings against Donatism. Biography and context Optatus was a convert, as we gather from St. Augustine: "Do we not s ...

, Bishop of Milevis, says that around 340 they started an uprising directed at creditors and slave owners. They regarded as

martyrs A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

those among them killed when the disturbance was put down. Augustine of Hippo likened them to a rustic mob encouraging violence against landlords. They regarded martyrdom as the true Christian virtue, and thus disagreed with the Episcopal see of Carthage on the primacy of chastity, sobriety, humility, and charity. Instead, they focused on bringing about their own martyrdom. On occasion, members of this group assaulted Roman legionaries or armed travelers with simple wooden clubs to provoke them into attacking and martyring them. Others interrupted courts of law and verbally provoked the judge so that he would order their immediate execution (a normal punishment at the time for contempt of court).

Views

Because it is written in the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

that

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

had told

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

to put down his sword in the Garden of

Gethsemane Gethsemane () is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus underwent the agony in the garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. It is a place of great resona ...

(), the Circumcellions avoided bladed weapons and used clubs, which they called "Israelites". Using their "Israelites", the Circumcellions would attack random travelers on the road, while shouting ''"Laudate Deum!"'' ("Praise God!" in Latin). The motive behind these random beatings was to provoke the victims into killing them, so they would die a martyr's death. They preferred to be known as ''agonistici'' ("fighters" for Christ). "Agonistici" are not to be confused with agnostics: the first term is based on " agon", the second on "

gnosis Gnosis is the common Greek noun for knowledge ( γνῶσις, ''gnōsis'', f.). The term was used among various Hellenistic religions and philosophies in the Greco-Roman world. It is best known for its implication within Gnosticism, where it ...

In popular culture

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of th ...

's ''

Baudolino ''Baudolino'' is a 2000 novel by Umberto Eco about the adventures of a man named Baudolino in the known and mythical Christian world of the 12th century. ''Baudolino'' was translated into English in 2001 by William Weaver William is a male ...

'' (2000), the law of the Deacon of Pndapetzim is enforced by Circumcellion Nubian guards.

References

External links

* * . {{Authority control Christian denominations established in the 4th century Donatism