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DonatistsA powerful sect in the Christian church of Northern Africa |
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Denomination History, Practices and Beliefs IntroductionDonatists were a powerful sect that occurred in the Christian church of northern Africa after they broke away from the Roman Catholic Church following the election of Caecillian as Bishop of Carthage in 312. The Donatists were orthodox Trinitarian Christians and disagreed profoundly about some issues of the history and theology of the Christian church. The Donatists refused to accept the sacraments and any spiritual authority from the Roman Catholic Church. Because of the betrayal of the Roman Catholic priest and bishops who publicly burned or gave up sacred religious texts and icons during the persecution of Diocletian, the Donatists would not accept any sacraments done by these priests. This resulted in many towns being divided between Donatist and the non-Donatist congregations. The Donatist had a distinct worship style and emphasized a mystical union of the righteous who were inspired by the Holy Spirit and believed this was instructed by the Bible. The church traditions of the Mennonite and the Anabaptists came out of the Donatists because of their opposition of the union of church and state, the emphasis on discipleship and their commitment to nonviolence and social justice. The Donatists believed the Catholics to be impure and corrupted. They used the writings of Tetullian and Cyprian. The Donatist Bishop Petilian of Citra named distributed a letter to all his priests warning them against the moral impurity and doctrinal error of the Catholic Church. Augustine of Hippo, who lived from 354 to 430, and the Roman Catholic Church exhausted their energy fighting Donatism. The African church and the schism they produced remained well into the seventh century. It was at that time that Roman Catholicism and Donatism were both defeated by the Islamic religion. History The Donatosts name came from their leader Donatus. Donatus was a monk who left Roman Africa during one of the periods of persecution, sufferings, and even death for the sake of faith at the hands of Diocletian. Diocletian was the Roman Emperor who persecuted the early Church and demanded the surrender of all the sacred books and church to be destroyed. Mensurius was elected the bishop of Carthage after the death of Diocletian. Mensurius held a restrained view of the treatment of the traditores, who were the early Christians who betrayed other Christians during the Roman persecutions. Anyone who gave up Sacred Books, or sacred objects, or betrayed other Christians to the government authorities were called a traditor. Because of his moderate view, two fanatical parties formed in Carthage. Caecilian was elected bishop of Carthage. He opposed the cult of martyrs. The Donatists argued the ordination of Caecilian was invalid because the man who ordained him was a traditor. The emperor Constantine the Great disagreed with the Donatists and Caecilian remained the bishop of Carthage. Caecilian was eventually excommunicated and in his place Majorinus was elected bishop of Carthage. He was the favorite of the wealthy and influential. Majorinus died around 315 and was replaced by Donatus. Donatus was passionate and energetic and was admired and revered. It was because of the passion of Donatus that Donatism developed as a party. Donatus was considered to be intelligent possessing integrity and was a great orator. Donatus led the Donatist movement for forty years and remained unchallenged as the leader of the Donatist church. His influence remained in his writings and they influenced many other churches. Augustine of Hippo acknowledged that Donatus was the reason for the reformed the Church in Africa. He was exiled in 347 and died in 355 and was regarded as a martyr. The period between 391 and 398 Donatism was at it peak. The Donatist joined the imperial governor in Africa in 396 to revolt against Rome inorder to establish a nationalist government in Africa. The attempt failed and the Roman rule was restored and the Roman Catholic Church once again came into power under Augustine of Hippo. Augustine of Hippo spent most of his time and energy writing books against the teachings of Donatus. This act did claim some of the Donatist bishops to transfer their allegiance back to the Roman Catholic Church. Augustine of Hippo did establish laws against heretics in 399. Augustine of Hippo tried to lead a campaign to reunite the churches throughout North Africa from 412 to 429; however was stopped by those loyal to Donatism. Belief Donatists were orthodox Trinitarian Christians. But they disagreed profoundly about some issues of the history and theology of the Christian church. The Donatists belonged to the tradition of the early Christians in Asia Minor and in Egypt. The Donatists opposed state interference in any church affairs. They believed in Martyrdom following a life of penance. This view was promoted by Saint Cyprian, an early Christian writer, who became a bishop and died a martyr at Carthage. The Donatists believed ordination had to be performed by proper church Bishops and any ordination not done by the Bishop was considered invalid. The Donatism believed in personal holiness of the individuals who administered the sacraments. They believe the sacraments should be given in holiness to cleanse the conscience of the one who received them. They believed those who receive faith from the faithless do not receive faith, but rather guilt. The Donatist declared that only the righteous can administer and receive the sacraments. The Donatists believed the sacraments must be maintained with purity in order to insure their authenticity. The believed the true church was the church whose sacraments were pure and untainted. They believed anyone who had been baptized by those belonging to the Roman Catholic Church had to be re-baptized when they joined the Donatist churches. The Donatists believed their church was the legitimate church in Africa and the real church of Peter. They believed the Roman Catholic Church had allowed their church to become corrupted and had lost their claim as being the real church of Peter. The Donatists believed their church was a mystical union of the righteous who are inspired by the Holy Spirit and are instructed by the Bible. They believe their discipleship was to be taken seriously by all their church members. Monasticism, the way of life for most monks or nuns with their withdrawal from society and devotion to prayer, was rejected by the Donatists. They believed repentance and the eagerness to suffer so suffer, meditating on the Bible, and worship was to be full of joyful praise. The ministry of the Holy Spirit was emphasized, the agape meal celebrated, with both acts of feasting and fasting encouraged. The Donatists believed their church leaders should be of high standards and expected to live exemplary lives willing to suffer for their faith. They believed any compromise of their faith, any moral misconduct, or running in the face of persecution would make the person unworthy to be a church leader. |
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MLA Style Citation: About the Author
Joanne B. Holstein is a Becker Bible Studies Teacher and author of Guided Bible Studies for Hungry Christians. She is a Religious Philosophy student of Liberty University, and a Homeschool parent and child advocate. She is well-known as a counsleor to Christian faithful who are struggling with tremendous burden in these difficult times. She is a leading authority on the history of development of the Christian churches and the practices and beliefs of world religions and cults. |
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