Donatus Magnus, also known as Donatus of Casae Nigrae, became leader of a schismatic sect known as the

Donatists 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 ...

in North Africa, Algeria. He is believed to have died in exile around 355.

Life

Little is known of his early life because of the complete loss of his correspondence and written works. He first appears in Church records as Donatus of Casae Nigrae in October 313 when

Pope Miltiades Pope Miltiades ( grc-gre, Μιλτιάδης, ''Miltiádēs''), also known as Melchiades the African ( ''Melkhiádēs ho Aphrikanós''), was the bishop of Rome from 311 to his death on 10 or 11 January 314. It was during his pontificate that Emp ...

found him guilty of re-baptizing clergy who had lapsed and of forming a schism within the Church. Casae was a settlement located on the extreme southern edge of the plains of

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 ...

, south of

Theveste Theveste was a Roman colony situated in the present Tébessa, Algeria. History In 146 BC, the Romans conquered the region, where existed an old city called " Tbessa". Theveste was founded by the Romans in 75 AD near an old Berber village located ...

, an area settled by people predominantly of

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–19 ...

descent.

The Schism

During the wave of persecutions of Christians by the Roman Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

, in order to avoid torture, exile, or death, some Church leaders turned over their scriptures, liturgical books, and other church goods to the imperial authorities. Such people became known as ''

traditors 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 ...

'' ("surrenderers"). The schism between the two Christian wings centered on the status of ''traditor'' clergy. The

contended that ''traditores'' could not be reinstated without being re-baptized and re-ordained to take office. They also contended that church rituals performed by ''traditors'' were invalid. Therefore, persons who were baptized, ordained or consecrated should not be recognized by the Church.

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 ...

thinking was relatively consistent with that of Saint

Cyprian Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christ ...

, who died a martyr during an earlier wave of persecutions, over half a century earlier. 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 ...

in Carthage there had been many who were imprisoned, some of whom were voluntary

martyr 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 externa ...

s. These people claimed falsely to be in possession of Church property which they refused to give up to officials. The

Bishop of Carthage The Archdiocese of Carthage, also known as the Church of Carthage, was a Latin Catholic diocese established in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippin was the first named bishop, around 230 AD. The temporal importance of the city of ...

, Mensurius, who was very much opposed to what he considered the fanaticism of the voluntary martyrs, sent his

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of mo ...

Caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform or serpentine amphibians. They mostly live hidden in the ground and in stream substrates, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. Caecilians are mostly distributed in the tropics o ...

, to the prison to disperse by force the militant crowds gathered in support of volunteer martyrs. This action by Caecilian created many enemies in Carthage who were staunchly opposed to him. Upon the death of Bishop Mensurius of Carthage in 311, Caecilian was chosen as his successor. Caecilian was consecrated Bishop of Carthage and

Primate of North Africa The Primate of Africa is an honorific title in the Roman Catholic church, but in early Christianity was the leading bishop (''primas'') in Africa except for Mauretania which was under the bishop of Rome and Egypt which was suffragan to Alexandria ...

by 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 ...

. There were those who believed that Felix was a ''traditor''.

Secundus of Tigisis Secundus of Tigisis () was an early church leader and primate of Numidia. He was a leading organiser of the early Donatist movement in Carthage. Biography Personal life Little is known about Secundus' personal life. He lived in Numidia during t ...

, primate of Numidia, held a council of 70 bishops at

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 ...

which declared the ordination of Caecilian to be invalid, since it was done by a ''traditor''. Caecilian, who by then held the

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

, did not attend the council, but sent word that if his consecration as bishop was not valid, then let it be done again. At Carthage it was well known that Caecilian was the choice of the people, and it was not believed that Felix of Aptonga had given up the Sacred Books.Chapman, John. "Donatists." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 15 March 2021 The council then determined that

Majorinus Majorinus was the leader of a schismatic Christian sect in Roman North Africa known as the Donatists. Life Very little is known of his early life, as Donatist writings were mostly destroyed in the following years. What we can garner of his life ...

should be consecrated as bishop. Soon there were many cities with two bishops, one in communion with Caecilian, the other with Majorinus. Majorinus died shortly after, and Donatus was chosen to take his place. Donatus was consecrated in 313 AD as

and

, the leader of the Christian sect which came to be known as the

sect. The supporters of Donatus appealed to the Emperor, requesting the issue be judged by the bishops of Gaul, since under Constantine's father there had been no persecution in Gaul and therefore no ''traditors''. Instead he referred the matter to

, himself of Berber descent.

Lateran council

Miltiades summoned Caecilian to the

Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their properties to Emperor Constantin ...

with ten bishops of his accusers and ten of his own communion. He then called a synod and appointed an additional 15 Italian bishops, as well as three of the chief bishops of Gaul,

Reticius Saint Reticius (or ''Rheticus, Rheticius'') (french: Saint Rhétice, link=no) (early 4th century) was a bishop of Autun, the first one known to history, according to the '' Catholic Encyclopedia''. He was a Gallo-Roman, and an ecclesiastical writ ...

of Autun,

Maternus of Cologne :''Saint Maternus of Milan was bishop of Milan''. Maternus (c. 285–September 14, 315 AD), also known as Maternus II, was the first known bishop of Cologne, reportedly also the third bishop of Trier, and founder of the diocese of Tongeren. He i ...

, and Marinus of Arles. The Lateran Council was held for three days from 2–4 October 313.Levillain, Philippe, ed. (2002). The Papacy: an Encyclopedia. 2. New York City: Routledge, p.993 The process was modeled on Roman civil proceedings, with Miltiades insisting on strict rules of evidence and argument. The written accusations against Caecilian were disregarded, as being anonymous and unproved. This frustrated the Donatists who left the council without presenting their case, which led Miltiades to rule in favour of Caecilian by default.Burris, Ronald D. (2012). ''Where Is the Church?: Martyrdom, Persecution, and Baptism in North Africa from the Second to the Fifth Century''. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers. p.78 The council ended after only three sessions. The pope retained Caecilian as bishop of Carthage and condemned Donatus' teachings of rebaptism of bishops and priests. The Donatists again appealed to the Emperor, who responded by convening 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 ...

in 314 but it too ruled against the Donatists. The adverse rulings failed to stop the continuing spread of Donatism across North Africa. Around 400 Donatist Bishop

Petilianus 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 co ...

of Constantine claimed that Miltiades, his successor

Sylvester I Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester, 285 – 31 December 335) was the bishop of Rome from 31 January 314 until his death. He filled the see of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, yet very little is known of him. The acco ...

and others surrendered sacred texts and offered incense to Roman deities.

Aftermath

During his tenure of some 40 years Donatus oversaw the expansion of the Donatist Christian sect but struggled unsuccessfully against the Roman Christian wing to obtain Church recognition as the legitimate

. This effort failed because the Donatists were unable to prove to a series of the councils that considered the case that

had been a

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 ...

or that his

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

was invalid because he was consecrated as bishop by a ''traditor''. The issue was complicated because there it was not only Catholic bishops who were suspected of being traditores; some Donatist bishops were also suspected of the same, in contradiction to their sect's basic teaching. Further, bishops suspected of being traditores refused to be challenged. Donatus succeeded in expanding the Donatist sect in spite of lack of success in removing Caecilian from office, in large part due to the unpopularity of Caecilian and the Roman administration - particularly amongst the rural population. Donatist priests and bishops were much closer to the rural agricultural population which consisted of Roman farmers and the Berber and

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

n descendants of the indigenous people who lived there before the Romans conquered North Africa. Most Donatist clergy in rural Numidia spoke the vernacular languages ( Old Libyan and

Eastern Berber languages The Eastern Berber languages are a group of Berber languages spoken in Libya and Egypt. They include Awjila, Sokna and Fezzan (El-Fogaha), Siwi and Ghadamès, though it is not clear that they form a valid genealogical group. Eastern Berber is ...

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of t ...

) as well as

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 ...

, whereas the Catholic clergy usually spoke only Latin.

Donatism after Donatus

In 347 Donatus was exiled to

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

until his death c. 355. At the time when Donatus' tenure ended, the

Church was the dominant Christian Church in North Africa – but suffered from internal dissensions as well as the actions of the Catholic Church aimed at reincorporating the sect and thus unifying North African Christianity. The

Circumcellions The Circumcellions or Agonistici (as called by Donatists) were bands of Roman Christian radicals in North Africa in the early to mid-4th century.. They were considered heretical by the Catholic Church. They were initially concerned with remedying ...

were bands of nomadic anti-Roman rebels, Punic-speaking bandits from the lower strata of society, who supported Donatism and were sometimes led by Donatist clergy. However, they broke out of control, attacking Roman landlords and colonists and redistributing goods. Their support for the Donatists caused the Donatists to be identified with them, leading officials to take punitive action against the Donatist Church. Further, the Donatist church splintered into two main groups, reducing its effectiveness as a church.

Later theological thought

Protestant historians have noted the parallel between the Donatist debates and

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

debates that broke out in Europe over a millennium later, leading to the formation of

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

churches.

References

Sources

*Beaver, R. Pierce, “The Donatist Circumcellions”. (''Church History'', Vol. 4, No.2 June 1935) pp. 123–133. *Edwards, Mark ed. trans. ''Optatus: Against the Donatists''. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1997. * Frend, W. H. C., ''The Donatist Church''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971. * McGrath, Alister E. ''Reformation Thought, an Introduction''. Blackwell Publishing, Third edition: January 1999. *Gaddis, Michael. ''There Is No Crime for Those Who Have Christ''. Berkeley: University of California Press: 2005. pp. 103 – 130. *Tilley, Maureen A. trans., ''Donatist Martyr Stories – The Church in Conflict in Roman North Africa''. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press: 1996. *Tilley, Maureen A., "Dilatory Donatists or Procrastinating Catholics: The Trial at the Conference of Carthage" (''Church History'', Vol. 60, No.1 Mar. 1991) pp. 11 – 19. *Donatus & the Donatist Schism. http://www.earlychurch.org.uk/donatism.php

External links

History of the Donatists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donatus Magnus 355 deaths 4th-century Romans 4th-century bishops of Carthage Ancient Christians involved in controversies 4th-century Berber people Berber Christians Donatists Year of birth unknown