Document Type

Honors Thesis

Major

History

Advisor(s)

James Brophy

Committee Members

Mark Brewer, Derek Michaud

Graduation Year

May 2024

Publication Date

Spring 5-2024

Abstract

The Donatist Schism was a split in the Early Christian Church, mostly contained to the North African provinces of the Western Roman Empire. This study looks at the religious politics of the schism, analyzing its relation to the imperial state and how that relation intersected with the theological developments at play. The study primarily examines the period between 300-420 CE, the most productive and active period in the schism’s history. It draws heavily on the work of Catholic writers and histories of the period, such as those of one of the central figures of the schism, St. Augustine of Hippo. Examining these works reveals that the schism regularly called upon, and was born within, the framework of the state’s legal apparatus. It provides a case study for the intertwining of Church and state in the late Roman Empire.

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