Traditor, plural: ''traditores'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

), is a term meaning "the one(s) who had handed over" and defined by

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...

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 persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire occurred, sporadically and usually locally, throughout the Roman Empire, beginning in the 1st century CE and ending in the 4th century CE. Originally a Polytheism, polytheistic empire in the trad ...

". It refers to

bishops 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 ...

and other Christians who turned over sacred scriptures or betrayed their fellow Christians to the Roman authorities under threat of persecution. 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 rig ...

between AD 303 and 305, many church leaders had gone as far as turning in Christians to the authorities and "handed over" sacred religious texts to authorities to be

burned Burned or burnt may refer to: * Anything which has undergone combustion * Burned (image), quality of an image transformed with loss of detail in all portions lighter than some limit, and/or those darker than some limit * ''Burnt'' (film), a 2015 ...

. Philip Schaff says about them: "In this, as in former persecutions, the number of apostates who preferred the earthly life to the heavenly, was very great. To these was now added also the new class of the ''traditores'', who delivered the holy Scriptures to the heathen authorities, to be burned". While many church members would eventually come to forgive the traditors, 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 ...

s were less forgiving. They proclaimed that any

sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the rea ...

s celebrated by these priests and bishops were invalid. The

sect developed particularly in North Africa, where they accused Bishop

Felix of Aptungi Felix, Bishop of Aptunga, in proconsular Africa was a 4th-century churchman, at the center of the Donatist controversy. Felix was one of those who laid hands on Caecilian as Bishop of Carthage in 311AD. This act led to a major schism in Early N ...

of having been a traditor. As the bishop had consecrated Caecilian Bishop of Carthage, they held that the consecration was invalid and ordained an alternate bishop, Majorinus. This caused a schism as some cities had two bishops; one in communion with Caecilian and the other loyal to Majorinus. The matter was taken up in 313 at a synod in Rome, where the Donatists failed to prove that Bishop Felix was a traditor. The synod ruled in favor of Caecilian.Chapman, John. "Donatists." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 15 March 2021 The Donatists appealed to Emperor Constantine who in 314 convened the

Council of Arles Arles (ancient Arelate) in the south of Roman Gaul (modern France) hosted several councils or synods referred to as ''Concilium Arelatense'' in the history of the early Christian church. Council of Arles in 314 The first council of Arles"Arles, S ...

. 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 empire. Held out as a counterexample to the traditors was the venerated

Saint Vincent of Saragossa Vincent of Saragossa (also known as Vincent Martyr, Vincent of Huesca or Vincent the Deacon), the Protomartyr of Spain, was a deacon of the Church of Saragossa. He is the patron saint of Lisbon and Valencia. His feast day is 22 January in the C ...

who preferred to suffer martyrdom rather than agree to consign Scripture to the fire. He is depicted in religious paintings holding the book whose preservation he preferred to his own life. The word ''traditor'' comes from the Latin ''transditio'' from ''trans'' (''across'') + ''dare'' (''to hand'', ''to give''), and it is the source of the modern words ''

traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

'' and ''

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

''. (The same derivation, with a different context of what is handed to whom, gives the word ''

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

'' as well.)

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* {{Citation , last =Park , first =Jae-Eun , url =https://www.academia.edu/4811679/_Lacking_Love_or_Conveying_Love_The_Fundamental_Roots_of_the_Donatists_and_Augustines_Nuanced_Treatment_of_Them_The_Reformed_Theological_Review_72_2_Aug_2013_103-121/ , title = Lacking Love or Conveying Love? The Fundamental Roots of the Donatists and Augustine’s Nuanced Treatment of Them , journal = The Reformed Theological Review , volume = 72 , issue = 2 , date=Aug 2013 , pages = 103–21. Ancient Christian controversies 4th-century Christianity Christian terminology Donatism

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