Church History 14 – ‘The underclass lashes out’

Hummingbird Moth

A recent headline in the news read ‘The underclass lashes out,’ in relation to the riots in London.  We might say the same thing about a new schism in the church during around 340AD.  In our previous reading, we learned that some protested against the new power structure of the church by fleeing to the desert.  Others, so called Donatists, sought to make their own church.

I heard a funny story yesterday.  A guy was found all alone on a deserted island.  When the helicopter picked him up, it hovered over the island and the men inside noticed three houses.  The rescue party asked the stranded man about three houses.  The man said, I lived in the first one.  The second one is where I went to church.  They asked him well, what about the third?  He said, that’s where I used to go to church!

The primary reason at the outset for the schism was what to do about people who had lapsed in their faith during previous times of persecution.  This time it was the North African church who felt betrayed by the power brokers in Rome and Constantinople.

In North Africa, the bishop of Carthage position came open.  Two guys wanted the job, Caecilian and his rival Majorinus.  Each called the other names and stated irregularities in the election process.  While the battle for legitimacy was still going on, Majorinus died.  Donatus filled his spot.  Donatus and his followers were called Donatists.

Since there could be only one legitimate bishop, the bishops of other cities got involved.

Gonzalez:  ‘Naturally the rest of the church was profoundly disturbed by this schism in North Africa, for it was possible to acknowledge only one bishop of Carthage.  The bishops of Rome and of several other important cities declared that Caecilian was the true bishop of Carthage, and that Majorinus and Donatus were usurpers.  Constantine, who was greatly interested in keeping together the church so that is could help unify his Empire, followed the lead of these bishops, and sent instructions to his officers in North Africa, that they should acknowledge Caecilian and those in communion with him.’

While the schism may have had its roots concerning what to do with the lapsed, there was much more to this situation.

The Donatists claimed that one of the bishops who ordained Caecilian was himself lapsed.  Therefore, they claimed that all the sacrament and ordinations performed by Caecilian were invalid.

In addition to theology, there were splits among these groups according to class.  The prominent cities like Carthage and Constantinople had power and wealth.  The followers of Donatus were from rural areas.  The battle thus was joined between the haves and the have-nots.  Among the have-nots, a rebel militia was formed.  A group called ‘circumcellions’ became an armed militia in support of the splintered church group.  This group of rebels created terror in and around the North African region for centuries.

Gonzalez:  ‘The circumcellions became in important factor in the schism.  Sometimes the Donatists leaders in the towns tried to disassociate themselves from this radical party.  But at other times, when they needed activist troops, they appealed to the circumcellions.  The time came when many villas and land holdings in secluded places had to be abandoned.  The rich and those who represented the Empire did not dare travel through the countryside without heavy escorts.  More than once, the circumcellions appeared at the very gates of fortified towns.  Credit suffered, and trade came to a standstill.’

Eventually, Roman authorities responded to force with force but the bandits did not easily break.  The bandits would hang around for a long time.  In naming the circumcellions, we have the first Christian example of religious fanaticism. 

This is so interesting to me.  Our bible tells about life in the flesh and compares with the life of the Spirit.

‘Now the works of the flesh are obvious:…strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions…and things like these. Gal 5:19-20

‘By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.  Gal 5:22

Why has the Christian message so often been diluted by both the haves and the have-nots?  Perhaps it is head versus heart knowledge…living with one foot in the church and the other on main street.  

John Wesley said about us: ‘Come to particulars.  Do you fast now as often as you did then?  Do you rise as early in the morning?  Do you endure cold or heat, wind or rain, as cheerfully as ever?  See one reason among many why so few increase in goods without decreasing in grace-because they no longer deny themselves and take up their daily cross!

Sources:

Justo L. Gonzalez from ‘The Story of Christianity, Volume 1, the Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation’

Joel Green from ‘Reading Scripture as Wesleyans’