The native African Christian tradition had fallen …

Years: 411 - 411
June

The native African Christian tradition had fallen afoul of the Christian emperors who succeeded Constantine (reigned 305-337) and is reviled as schismatic, branded with the name of Donatism after Donatus, one of its early leaders.

Having broken with the Roman Catholics in 312 over the election of Caecilian as bishop of Carthage, the Donatist oppose state interference in church affairs, and, through the peasant warriors called Circumcellions, promote a program of social revolution combined with eschatological hopes.

Martyrdom following a life of penance is the goal of the religiously minded Donatist.

Though they had formed the majority Christian party in North Africa throughout the last decades of the fourth century, their opponents, now led by Augustine, have gained strength.

Augustine and his chief colleague in the official church, Bishop Aurelius of Carthage, have waged a canny and relentless campaign against Donatism with their books, with their recruitment of support among church leaders, and with careful appeal to Roman officialdom.

In 411, a conference presided over by Augustine's friend the imperial tribune Marcellinus is held in Carthage.

A public debate held in three sessions during June 1-8 and attended by hundreds of bishops on each side ends with a ruling in favor of the official church.

The ensuing legal restrictions on Donatism decide the struggle in favor of Augustine's party.

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