Early schisms: the Donatists and the churches after Chalcedon

Program / Course 11: Church, Sacraments, and Authority / Lesson 8.1

What you will learn

• Describe the origins and teaching of the Donatist schism and Augustine’s response.
• Explain the christological disputes that led to the separation of the Church of the East and the Oriental Orthodox churches.
• State what the Council of Chalcedon defined and why some churches did not accept it.
• Describe modern agreements that suggest the old divisions were partly about words.

The big idea

Not all divisions in Christianity began with the East-West split or the Reformation. In the fourth century the Donatists in North Africa separated over the purity of the church and the validity of sacraments. In the fifth century, disputes about how Christ is divine and human divided the churches that accepted the Council of Chalcedon in 451 from those that did not. The ancient Church of the East and the Oriental Orthodox churches still exist today. Modern agreements suggest that these divisions involved real concerns and also misunderstandings of language.

Key terms

Schism

A break in communion between Christians, which may or may not involve a difference in doctrine.

Heresy

A teaching judged by a church to contradict its central faith. The term is used differently by different traditions and is today handled with care.

Traditor

A Latin word for one who hands over. The Donatists applied it to clergy who gave up the Scriptures during persecution.

Chalcedonian

Describing churches that accept the Council of Chalcedon of 451, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and most Protestant churches.

Oriental Orthodox

The churches that did not accept Chalcedon: the Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Syriac, Armenian and Malankara Indian churches.

Miaphysite

The teaching of the Oriental Orthodox churches that Christ has one united nature, divine and human, without mixture. They reject the label Monophysite for their own belief.

Church of the East

The ancient church in Persia and further east, sometimes called Nestorian by others, a label its members reject. Its modern descendants include the Assyrian Church of the East.

Background

Christians before the eleventh century experienced several divisions, some brief and some lasting. This lesson looks at two that shaped the map of the church: the Donatist controversy over the church’s holiness, and the christological controversies after the Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). They show features that appear in later splits, such as the mixing of doctrine, language, politics and loyalty to local leaders.

A modern student should also be careful about the labels. Terms such as Nestorian and Monophysite were used by opponents, and the churches so named often reject them. Wherever possible, this lesson uses the names the churches use for themselves.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: The Donatist schism

After the Great Persecution under Diocletian (303 to 305), some in North Africa held that bishops who had surrendered the Scriptures to the authorities, the traditores, had forfeited their office. When Caecilian was consecrated bishop of Carthage in 311 by a bishop accused of being such a traditor, a rival party elected Majorinus, and after him Donatus. The Donatists held that the church must be holy, that sacraments from unworthy ministers were invalid, and that those baptized by Catholics must be rebaptized.

The Council of Arles (314) and the emperor Constantine ruled against the Donatists, but they remained strong in Africa and in some regions were the majority. Augustine, after becoming bishop of Hippo, wrote against them for years. The Conference of Carthage in 411 ruled against them again, and the state imposed penalties. Donatism faded after the Vandal and later Muslim conquests. Augustine’s arguments on the mixed church and sacramental validity, discussed earlier in this course, came from this dispute.

Step 2: Augustine and coercion

Augustine’s role included a controversial element. He at first opposed the use of force against heretics but came to support state penalties, arguing that they could lead people to reconsider. He appealed to the parable in Luke 14:23, where the master tells the servants to compel people to come in. Later writers, including Protestants and Catholics, have used his arguments for coercion in religion, and others have criticized them. Historians describe the Donatist conflict as involving social and regional tensions as well as doctrine, and also violence on both sides.

A fair account notes that Augustine’s primary concern was the unity of the church and the validity of sacraments. Modern Catholics and Protestants generally do not accept coercion in matters of faith, and Vatican II’s declaration on religious freedom (1965) teaches that no one should be forced to act against conscience in religious matters.

Step 3: Ephesus, Chalcedon and the separation of churches

In the fifth century, the churches debated how the divine and human natures of Christ are related. At Ephesus in 431, the council condemned Nestorius, bishop of Constantinople, whose teaching was understood to divide Christ into two persons, and declared that Mary may be called Theotokos, God-bearer. Many in the Church of the East in Persia, outside the Roman Empire, did not accept the condemnation, and they remained a separate church that spread across Asia.

At Chalcedon in 451, the council defined that Christ is one person in two natures, divine and human, without confusion, change, division or separation, adopting the Tome of Leo. Many churches in Egypt, Syria and Armenia could not accept the two natures language, which sounded to them like Nestorianism, and followed the teaching of Cyril of Alexandria on one incarnate nature of the divine Word. They did not accept Chalcedon and formed the Oriental Orthodox churches. Emperors tried compromises, such as the Henotikon of 482, which divided the churches further.

Step 4: The role of politics and language

The divisions were not only about doctrine. Rivalries between Alexandria, Antioch and Constantinople, imperial policy and the tensions between Greek-speaking and Coptic or Syriac-speaking populations all contributed. After the Arab conquests of the seventh century, the Oriental Orthodox lived under Muslim rule, outside the reach of Byzantine authority, which made reunion harder. The churches developed separate identities and traditions, each of which saw itself as faithful to the apostolic teaching.

Greek terms such as physis (nature) and hypostasis (person) were used in different ways by different writers, and this contributed to misunderstanding. Translators and bishops often spoke past one another. Historians and theologians still debate the extent to which the divisions were verbal.

Step 5: Modern agreements

In the twentieth century, official dialogues produced statements that bring the churches closer. In 1973 Pope Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church signed a common declaration on the faith in Christ. In 1989 and 1990 the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches issued agreed statements at Chambésy in Switzerland, saying that both traditions have preserved the same faith in Christ and have used different terms. In 1994 Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Mar Dinkha IV of the Assyrian Church of the East signed a joint Christological declaration. Full communion has not yet been restored between most of these churches. Some questions remain, including the status of later councils and the lifting of old anathemas.

1. What was the central issue in the Donatist dispute, and how did Augustine answer?
2. What did the Council of Chalcedon define, and why did some reject it?
3. Which names have been used for these churches by opponents, and what do the churches call themselves?
4. How did politics and language contribute to the divisions?
5. What do modern dialogues say about the old disputes?
6. What is difficult about reuniting churches separated for 1,500 years?

Examples

Different perspectives

Catholic

The Catholic Church holds that Chalcedon is an ecumenical council and its definition binding. It recognizes the Oriental Orthodox and the Assyrian Church as true churches with valid sacraments, and it has signed joint christological declarations that say the old differences largely concern vocabulary. Catholics see the Donatist case as supporting their teaching on sacraments and unity.

Orthodox

The Eastern Orthodox accept Chalcedon and the seven councils. They have agreed with the Oriental Orthodox in statements that the faith is the same, and discussions about reunion continue. Some Orthodox are cautious about full communion without resolving the status of councils and saints. They hold with Augustine that sacraments do not depend on the minister’s worth.

Protestant

Most Protestants accept the Chalcedonian definition as a faithful statement of Scripture, and the Reformation confessions affirm the creeds of the first four councils, including Chalcedon. They typically regard Donatist rebaptism as an error. Protestants often point to Augustine’s argument for coercion as a mistake. Few Protestants have close contact with the Oriental churches, though dialogues have grown.

Scholarly view

Historians stress that the christological disputes were intertwined with politics, language and rivalry. Many scholars believe that the doctrinal gap between Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian positions was smaller than the hostility suggested. Others warn that this view underestimates real differences in how the councils and Cyril were read.

Why it matters

These early divisions show that Christian disunity is older than the better-known splits, that it often grew from a mix of causes, and that careful dialogue can sometimes clarify old misunderstandings. They also remind a student that Christianity has ancient communities beyond Europe, in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, whose history is often overlooked.

Common misunderstandings

Knowledge check

Think it through

1. How can the same words mean different things to different churches?
2. What role should the state play in resolving disputes within the church?
3. Why might separation last even after theological agreement?
4. How should Christians speak of churches whose names for themselves differ from the names others gave?

Independent assignment

Two schisms compared

In your notebook, write a 300 to 400 word account of the Donatist schism and a 300 to 400 word account of the Chalcedonian split, stating causes, dates, parties and results. Use at least two primary sources, such as Augustine and the Chalcedonian definition in the Seven Councils or the Tome of Leo. Add 150 words on what these cases show about the causes of division. Keep the work in your notebook.

Further study

• Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, eds., The Seven Ecumenical Councils (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, vol. 14) Read the definition of Chalcedon and the canons of Ephesus.
• Leo I (Pope Leo the Great), Letter 28, the Tome of Leo The letter that Chalcedon accepted.
• Augustine of Hippo, The City of God Notice Augustine’s treatment of the mixed church.
• Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word Background for the earlier christological debates.
• J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines A scholarly account of the christological controversies.
• Luke 14:23 Compel them to come in, a text Augustine used.
• Ephesians 4:3 Keep the unity of the Spirit.
• Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest.