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Donatus identification and spelling
With the death of Diocletian in 305 and [[Constantine the Great]]’s declaration of the [[Edict of Milan]] in 313, the persecutions ended. As peace came to the Church, the Church had to face reconciliation of those who had lapsed and wished to return to the Church, particularly among the clergy. While the Church, in general, followed the course of penance and forgiveness, in Africa a strong sense of ascetic purity arose. The members of this “purity” sect expressed strong feelings against those who had lapsed, referring to them as ''traditors'', Christians who had betrayed other Christians. The sect members would not accept any repentance by those whom they considered too be traditors and were not fit for further membership in the Church.
The issue came to a head in 311, Caecilian was consecrated bishop of Carthage. His consecration was disputed by many Carthaginians because one of the three consecrating [[bishop]]s, Felix, bishop of Aptunga, had surrendered copies of the Scriptures to Roman persecutors and was considered a traditor. A subsequent council of some seventy “purist” bishops formalized the dispute and declared Caecilian’s consecration invalid. They then elected as bishop Majorinus, who had denounced “Roman collaborators” and refused to reconcile clergy who had lapsed. After he died in 315, the schematics elected Aelius Donatusof Casae Nigrae, a Berber Christian, as bishop of Carthage. In his long tenure (315 to 355) he became the spokesman for the sect and lent his name as the identity for the schematicsschismatics, the Donatists.
In addition to their practice of aesthetic and extreme purity, the sect’s practice of re-baptizing lapsed Christians was offensive to the Orthodox. While the established church would accept lapsed clergy back to serve after a period of penance, the Donastists declared that they were ineligible to perform the sacraments. The sect’s practices were condemned at the Orthodox [[Synod]] of Arles in 314 and by the emperor, [[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]]. In 316, the Donatists formed their own [[hierarchy]] and split from the Church.
