Donatist

American  

[don-uh-tist, doh-nuh-] / ˈdɒn ə tɪst, ˈdoʊ nə- /

noun

1. a member of a Christian sect that developed in northern Africa in a.d. 311 and maintained that it alone constituted the whole and only true church and that baptisms and ordinations of the orthodox clergy were invalid.

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Donatist British  

/ ˈdəʊnətɪst /

noun

1. a member of a schismatic heretical Christian sect originating in N Africa in 311 _ad , that maintained that it alone constituted the true church

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Other Word Forms

• Donatism noun
• Donatistic adjective
• Donatistical adjective

Etymology

Origin of Donatist

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin Dōnātista; see Donatus, -ist

Example Sentences

By this time, the Donatist controversy had been roiling North Africa for approximately a century.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

A fierce critic of the Donatist view, Augustine was determined to wipe it out.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

This caused a huge rift in the North African Christian community that became known as the Donatist controversy, named after a Carthaginian bishop named Donatus who led the movement.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

The man who ultimately brought an end to the Donatist rift was one of Christianity’s most influential thinkers, Augustine of Hippo.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

On the contrary, Augustine says against the Donatist Petilian: "Remember that the evil lives of wicked men are not prejudicial to God's sacraments, by rendering them either invalid or less holy."

From Summa Theologica, Part III (Tertia Pars) From the Complete American Edition by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint