Separation Inevitable

With such a departure as this from the high standards of the apostolic church, it is not surprising that true spiritual leaders and their followers separated from the dominant church. Indeed, it was inevitable. Regarding Donatus and his followers Jones says:AGP 205.2

“He [Donatus] was a man of learning and eloquence, very exemplary in his morals, and, as would appear from several circumstances, studiously set himself to oppose the growing corruptions of the Catholic Church. The Donatists were consequently a separate body of Christians for nearly three centuries, and in almost every city in Africa, there was one bishop of this sect and another of the Catholics. The Donatists were very numerous, for we learn that in the year 411, there was a famous conference held at Carthage between the Catholics and Donatists, at which were present 286 Catholic bishops, and of the Donatists, 279.” “The History of the Christian Church,” William Jones, chap. 3, sec. 5, p. 222.

The Donatists, like the Novatians, remained separate from the main body, and worked untiringly for the maintenance of theAGP 205.3

true teaching and spiritual living of the people of God. Thousands of the devout in all parts of northern Africa joined them. Of course, they were not without imperfections and marked limitations. They must be studied and judged in the light of comparison with the apostasies and degeneracies of the time. As was always the case with dissenters, the Catholic Church endeavored to exterminate them. They continued, however, until the middle of the sixth century. Says George Waddington:AGP 206.1

“The Donatists have never been charged, with the slightest show of truth, with any error of doctrine, or any defect in church government or discipline, or any depravity of moral practice.” “A History of the Church From the Earliest Ages to the Reformation,” p. 153. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1834.