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The Church's Unity and Authority: Augustine's Effort to Convert The Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects The hC urch's Unity and Authority: Augustine's Effort to Convert the Donatists Gavril Andreicut Marquette University Recommended Citation Andreicut, Gavril, "The hC urch's Unity and Authority: Augustine's Effort to Convert the Donatists" (2010). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 62. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/62 THE CHURCH’S UNITY AND AUTHORITY: AUGUSTINE’S EFFORT TO CONVERT THE DONATISTS by Gavril Andreicu Ń, Licentiate in history, M.A. A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin August 2010 ABSTRACT THE CHURCH’S UNITY AND AUTHORITY: AUGUSTINE’S EFFORT TO CONVERT THE DONATISTS Gavril Andreicu Ń, Licentiate in history, M.A. Marquette University, 2010 This dissertation is about Augustine’s views on Church unity and authority and is primarily based on the letters that he wrote against the Donatists. Although Augustine is one of the Fathers most enthusiastically and thoroughly researched, his letters are less studied than his other works. As a significant number of Augustine’s letters were written as part of his effort to unite the Donatists with the Church, they are especially relevant sources for his views on the unity and authority of the Church. While no single work of Augustine covers the entire period of his dealing with the Donatists, the letters witness to Augustine’s activity against the Donatists from the time he became a priest up to 418. Since through his letters Augustine appealed to imperial officials, Catholic landowners, and the Donatists in order to unite the latter with the Church, in the letters Augustine is presenting himself to readers in a uniquely practical and social context, which his other works do not do. Since there is no work based on Augustine’s letters that treats the subject that I propose to discuss, the present work will assess the views on Church unity and authority Augustine developed in the period in which he devoted his special attention to eliminating the schism in North Africa. While this dissertation will place Augustine in the circumstances of his daily activities, his letters will expose one to Augustine’s entire theological development regarding Church unity and authority during the time he wrote letters treating issues connected with the schism. This dissertation is a diachronic analysis of key themes present in the letters. The analysis will reveal in context the theological views on Church authority and unity that Augustine developed during his controversies with the Donatists. This endeavor will be supplemented by references to Augustine’s other works, as well as modern works pertaining to the text of the letters. In his letters that treat the Donatist schism, the unity of the Church was Augustine’s center of interest, indeed the supreme goal for which he fought with great determination. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Gavril Andreicu Ń, Licentiate in history, M.A. I could not have written this dissertation without being a student in the Department of Theology of Marquette University, a wonderful group of friendly and devoted scholars. Therefore, my first thoughts go to the Department as a whole, and I am thankful for the education received there and for the warm academic environment. I am thankful for the professors who contributed to my education during the time of my studies for the Ph.D. I have benefitted from stimulating academic conversations in the classes taught by Dr. Andrei Orlov, Dr. Michel Barnes, Dr. Markus Wriedt, and Fr. William Kurtz, S.J. I am especially thankful to Dr. Orlov for his academic suggestions and constant support. I am grateful for the kind and insightful advice of Dr. Michael Duffey, under whom I served as a teaching assistant, and for the assistance of Dr. Julian Hills, Dr. Christine Firer-Hinze, Dr. John Schmitt, Dr. Deirde Dempsey, Fr. John Laurance, S.J., Ms. Gale Prusinski, Ms. Patricia Psuik, and Ms. Cynthia Howard. I am very thankful for the professors and members on the board of my dissertation. Special thanks go to Dr. Wanda Zemler-Cizewski whose kind and wise teaching, suggestions, and support will always remain precious. The same warm thanks go to Fr. Alexander Golitzin to whom I am thankful for his kind attitude and wise advice. I am very thankful to Fr. Thomas Hughson, S.J. During the course I took with him on the Church-State relationship, he suggested to me that I write a dissertation on Augustine and the Donatists. His suggestion became a reality through this dissertation. In ii addition to the influence he exerted on me academically, Fr. Hughson was for me a spiritual mentor who supported me constantly during my education at Marquette. I am very thankful to Fr. Joseph Mueller, S.J., my advisor and the director of my dissertation for his kind and always wise suggestions, and for his constant support during the whole process of writing this dissertation. I am especially thankful to Fr. Mueller whose invaluable academic suggestions inside and outside of class influenced my thought about theology and the academy generally. I hope that I learned from his professional learning and guidance as well as from his special attention to details during the course of writing this dissertation. In addition to his professional influence on me, Fr. Mueller was also a precious spiritual advisor. Many thanks go to Mrs. Bobbie Schmitt who, by revising all the chapters of my dissertation, saved me from embarrassing grammatical errors. Many thanks go to my dear wife, Alina. I would not have been able to write this dissertation without her support during the whole process of the research and writing that went into it. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABBREVIATIONS vi INTRODUCTION 1 Present Status of the Problem 2 Contribution of This Study 9 Methodology and Outline 10 I. THE CHURCH IN NORTH AFRICA UNTIL AUGUSTINE: AUTHORITY AND UNITY 19 A. Introduction: The First Two Christian Centuries 19 1. Unity and Authority 19 2. Church and State 24 B. The Church in North Africa from the Scillitan Martyrs and Perpetua to Tertullian and Cyprian 28 1. Christian Origins and the Scillitan Martyrs 28 2. Perpetua 32 3. Tertullian 37 a. The Church as a Disciplined Society 38 b. The Church as a Disciplined Society: Debates 47 4. Cyprian 53 a. Cyprian and the Decian Persecution 54 b. Continuing to Debate 63 C. The Church and the Donatists from Diocletian to Augustine 72 1. Diocletian’s Persecution and the Origins of the Sect of Donatus 73 2. The Schism during Constantine’s Reign 79 3. The Schism from Constantius II to Augustine 84 iv a. Parmenian and Optatus 89 b. Tyconius 95 II. AUGUSTINE AND THE BEGINNINGS OF HIS VIEW ON AUTHORITY AND UNITY100 A. Augustine’s Early Years and Monica’s Influence 101 B. Augustine in Search of Religious Truth 110 1. From His Early Conversions to Milan 111 2. Decisive Years at Milan 115 3. Augustine’s Conversion to Christianity and Return to Thagaste 122 III. RECIPROCAL AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE AND THE CHURCH 128 IV. AUGUSTINE’S EFFORT TO UNITE THE DONATISTS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (391-418) 138 A. Augustine the Priest: From 391-395 138 B. Augustine the Bishop: From 395 to 404 146 C. Augustine the Bishop: From 405 to 418 157 V. THE CHURCH’S EXTENSION AND UNITY REVEAL ITS UNITY AND AUTHORITY AS THE TRUE CHURCH 166 A. Preliminary Considerations 166 1. Themes of Church Unity and Authority in Augustine’s Letters 166 2. A Clash of Two Traditions 171 B. From 391 to 400 178 C. From 400 to 410 191 D. From 410 to 418 201 VI. CONVERSION THROUGH COERCION TO ACHIEVE UNITY 208 A. Preliminary Considerations 209 B. From 391 to 405 223 C. From 405 to 408 234 D. From 408 to 418 248 v VII. THE CHURCH DOES NOT CONSIST ONLY OF SAINTS 262 A. Preliminary Considerations 263 B. From 391 to 400 273 C. From 400 to 409 284 D. Letter 93 293 E. From 410 to 423 301 VIII. THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM 314 A. Background to the Donatist Baptismal Controversy 314 B. Augustine’s View on Baptism 321 C. From 391 to 400 326 D. From 400 to 410 335 E. From 410 to 418 346 CONCLUSION 352 BIBLIOGRAPHY 360 vi ABBREVIATIONS ACC Actes de la Conference de Carthage en 411. Ed. Serge Lancel. SC 194, 195, 224, and 373. Paris: Cerf, 1972-91. ACM Acts of the Christian Martyrs , vol. 2. Edited and translated by Herbert Musurillo. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1972. ACW Ancient Christian Writers AE Augustine through the Ages: An Encyclopedia . Edited by D. A. Fitzgerald. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999. AF The Apostolic Fathers . Edited by Michael W. Holmes. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. 1999. ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers App. Appendix BA Bibliothèque Augustinienne, Oeuvres de saint Augustin. Paris : Desclée, 1949-. CCC Creeds, Councils and Controversies: Documents Illustrating the History of the Church A. D. 337-461 . Edited by J. Stevenson. Revised by W. H. C. Frend. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1966. Reprint, London, UK: SPCK, 1989. CLD Roman State and Christian Church: A Collection of Legal Documents to A.D. 535. 3 vols . Edited by P. R. Norton. London: SPCK, 1966. CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum , Vienna, 1866-. CT Codex Theodosianus (Theodesiani libri XVI cum Constitutionibus Sirmondianis et Leges novallae ad Theodosianum pertinentes). Edited by T. Mommsen and P. M. Meyer et al. Berlin: Weidmann, 1954. DMS Donatist Martyr Stories: The Church in Conflict in Roman North Africa.
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