A Source Book for Ancient Church History - Mirrors

§ 61. The Donatist Schism under Constantine 315If any part of our palace or other public buildings should be struckby lightning let the custom be retained of the ancient observanceas to what it signifies, and let it be examined by the haruspicesand very carefully written down, collected, and brought to our attention;to others also the permission of practising this custom isconceded, provided they refrain from domestic sacrifices, whichare expressly forbidden.(c) Codex Theodosianus. XV, 1, 3; A. D. 326.Unfinished heathen temples need not be completed.We direct that the judges of the provinces be warned not to giveorders for any new work before they complete the buildings left [287]incomplete by their predecessors, the erection of temples onlybeing excepted.§ 61. The Donatist Schism under ConstantineThe Donatist schism arose in connection with the Diocletianpersecution, in part over the policy of Mensurius of Carthageregarding the fanatical desire for martyrdom and the delivery ofthe sacred books according to the edict of persecution. Combinedwith this were the personal ambitions of the Archdeacon Cæcilianus,the offended dignity of the Primas of Numidia, BishopSecundus of Tigisi, and the pique of a wealthy female devotee,Lucilla. It was mixed up with the customs of the North Africanchurch, whereby the Primas of Numidia exercised a leadingauthority in the conduct of the election of the bishop of Carthage,and also with the notion prevalent in the same church, for whichalso Cyprian contended in the controversy on the baptism ofheretics [see § 52], that the validity of a sacrament dependedin some way upon the personal character of the minister of thatsacrament. It was asserted by the partisans of Secundus, who