Petilianus was an eminent

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 t ...

of the 5th century

Roman North Africa Africa Proconsularis was a Roman province on the northern African coast that was established in 146 BC following the defeat of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisia, the northeast of Algeria, ...

, who is known to history through the letters he wrote to the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

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."

Early life

Petilianus was from

Cirta Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city w ...

, the main city of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunis ...

. His parents were

s, but early in life he was taken against his will by the Donatists,

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

and eventually made their bishop around 395 to 400. Before this he had been a lawyer, rising to the rank of

paraclete Paraclete ( grc, παράκλητος, la, paracletus) means 'advocate' or 'helper'. In Christianity, the term ''paraclete'' most commonly refers to the Holy Spirit. Etymology ''Paraclete'' comes from the Koine Greek word (). A combination o ...

Episcopal career

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 Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. 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. 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 Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (AD ...

. To these charges Augustine replied in his first book against Petilian. In Augustine's second book, he refutes Petilanus's position on # application of Scripture passages; # the inefficacy of baptism by ungodly persons; # the iniquity of persecution, wherein Augustine denies the charge, and retorts it upon his adversary, whose partisans, the Circumcellions and others, were guilty of persecution; # the objection to appeal to the civil power where Augustine shows that the Donatists themselves appealed to

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, and took advantage of the patronage of Julian; # denying that the language of Scripture and of the church had been perverted. A second letter from Petilian followed, which is known only from excerpts in Augustine's subsequent reply letter. and a treatise on the Unity of the Church. In "Contra litteras Petiliani" Augustine disputed some accusations made by Petiliani that

Pope Marcellinus 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 Diocletianic Persecutio ...

and some other Roman priests had been

traditor 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 br ...

s during the

Diocletianic Persecution The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. In 303, the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Constantius issued a series of edicts rescinding Christians' legal rights ...

. As Bishop of Cirta he had a leading role at the

Council of Carthage (411) 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. Synod of 251 In May 251 a synod, assembled under the presidency of Cyprian ...

, being one of the seven managers on the Donatist side. 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."Petilianus, a Donatist Bishop"
Wace, Henry, ''A Dictionary of Early Christian Biography''

References

{{Authority Control Donatists 5th-century Romans 5th-century Latin writers Ancient letter writers

Early life

Episcopal career

See also

References