Religious Intolerance in the Later Roman Empire - Bad request ...

Chapter 2: Constantine and the Donatists
The Donatist controversy during the reign of Constantine has possibly the
greatest amount of extant Imperial documentary evidence of any episode in Late
Antiquity and indeed was the first inter-Christian dispute in which the emperor was
substantially involved. There are twelve surviving letters written by, or on the orders
of Constantine, to officials and bishops of both parties which enable us, with
reasonable confidence, to gauge the level of his intolerance, and how that intolerance
developed, or did not, as the dispute developed over the years. Moreover, ten of the
letters were produced over a relatively short period of four years, the final two were
produced in 321 and 330. Except for one passion narrative written during the first
persecution, all the other texts, that is the vast majority, are Catholic, although
Donatists too regarded themselves as Catholic. 1 Unlike the texts of the Theodosian
Code, the texts of the letters preserved by the principal sources Optatus and Eusebius
do not appear to have been substantially edited. 2 In Eusebius both the opening
sentences and the final valedictory sentences are preserved, in Optatus the valedictory
sentence appears to have been omitted only from Constantine's letter to Aelafius of
313 and also in Constantine's letter to Celsus of autumn 315. 3 In the two texts that
1
Optatus is the principal source of the beginnings and development of the schism (CSEL 26 ed Ziwsa
1893) and includes five letters of Constantine sent to Bishops and his officials as appendices. Eusebius
includes the texts of five letters (text and translation by Kirsopp Lake 1949) and Augustine also has some
material, including two letters (to Probianus and another to Eumalius), in Ep 43 (PL 33.159-173), 88 (PL
33.302-309), 105 (PL 33.396-404) and in his Contra Crescon ium (PL 43.540-541). All the substantive texts
are conveniently assembled with parallel French translation by Maier in two volumes, 1987 and 1989)
Edwards (1997) has produced English translations of Optatus and the ten appendices which he included
in his account. All translations of Optatus and his appendices are from Edwards; in quoting from the
texts, I have not indicated Ziwsa’s nor Edwards’ year of publication for each translation quoted.
Stevenson, J. (1960, rev Frend 1987) has translations of the Augustinian material. Tilley (1997) provides
an introduction, translation and notes of the Donatist passion narrative examined below. Shaw’s (1992)
attempt to have the Donatists reclassified as ‘African Christians’ has not been widely adopted; although
as a definition for the Donatist movement it does have merit.
2
Corcoran (2000) 22 on the general acceptance of the authenticity and accuracy of both Optatus’
appendices and the letters preserved by Eusebius.
3
Opt. App. 3; Ziwsa 204-206; Edwards 181-184; Corcoran (2000) 304; Aelafius PLRE 1.16; Opt. App. 7;
Ziwsa 211-212; Edwards 193-194; Domitius Celsus 8 PLRE 1 195
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