Donatus Magnus, also known as Donatus of Casae Nigra, became leader of a schismatic Christian sect in North Africa. He is believed to have died in exile around 355.

Life

Little is known of his earlier life because of the complete loss of his correspondence and written works. He first appears in Church records as Donatus of Casae Nigra October 313 when Pope Miltiades 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 south of Theveste, an area settled by people predominantly of Berber descent. These events may have taken place before Donatus arrived in Carthage, probably before 311.

Donatus was consecrated in 313 AD as Bishop of Carthage and Primate of North Africa, the leader of the Christian sect which came to be known as the Donatist sect, even though Donatus was not the founding leader. The founding leader Majorinus who Donatus succeeded was consecrated as Bishop of Carthage to oppose the previously consecrated Bishop of Carthage and Primate of North Africa, Caecilian, who was suspected of being a ?traditor? or surrenderer (a Christian leader who publicly renounced his Christian faith through actions such as surrendering church books and property and worshipping idols in order to avoid becoming a martyr by torture or being put to death during the recent persecutions of Christians authorized by Roman Emperor Diocletian). Majorinus died shortly after being consecrated.

The Schism

The schism between the two Christian wings centered on the status of traditore clergy. The Donatists 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 traditores were invalid. Therefore persons who were baptized, ordained or consecrated should not be recognized by the Church. Donatist thinking was relatively consistent with that of Saint Cyprian who died a martyr during an earlier persecution over a half century earlier. Effectively the Roman church believed that lapsed clergy could perform rituals such as baptism as long as they followed church ritual.

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 Primate of North Africa. This effort failed because the Donatists were unable to prove to a series of the councils that considered the case that Caecilian was a traditor or that his consecration was invalid because he was consecrated as bishop by a traditore, Bishop Felix of Aptunga. The issue was complicated because there were not only Roman Catholic bishops who were suspected of being traditores; there were some Donatist bishops who were also suspect. 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 Phoenician descendants of the indigenous people who lived there before the Romans conquered North Africa. Most Donatist clergy in rural Numidia spoke the vernacular languages (Libyan or Punic) as well as Latin. whereas the Roman Catholic clergy usually spoke only Latin. During the Diocletian persecution in Carthage there were many who were imprisoned, some of whom were voluntary martyrs. These people claimed falsely to be in possession of Church property which they refused to give up to officials. The Bishop of Carthage Mensurius, who was very much against the fanaticism of the voluntary martyrs, sent his Archdeacon, Caecilian, to the prison to disperse by force the fanatical crowds gathered in support of volunteer martyrs. This action by Caecilian created many enemies in Carthage who were biased against him.

After Donatus

After a conference held in Arles in which Donatus?s appeal failed, he was exiled in 347 to Gaul until his death in 355. When Donatus tenure ended the Donatist church was the dominant Christian church in North Africa but suffered from internal dissension and actions by the Roman Catholic Church to unify the North African Christian church. The Circumcellions were bands of nomadic terrorists comprised of Punic speaking bandits from the lower strata of society, sometimes led by Donatist clergy, who supported Donatism. However, they became out of control terrorizing the countryside and while they supported the Donatist church they created a situation where officials had to act against the Donatist Church. Further, the Donatist church splintered into two main groups reducing its effectiveness as a church.

Later Theological Thought

Historians have noted the parallel between the Donatist debates and reformation debates that occurred over a millennium later in Europe leading to the formation of protestant churches.

Selected Bibliography:

? 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. Berkley: 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

Notes

External links

• Catholic Encyclopedia: Donatists
• History of the Donatists

fr:Donatus Magnus it:Donato di Case Nere fi:Donatus pt:Donato de Casa Nigra uk:?????