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Glite Dictionary
🧑‍🦳 Sect member ✝️ Relating to Donatism
Donatist

Donatist

1 9.9
Relating to a North African Christian group that wanted a pure church
  • adjective
  • /ˈdɒnəˌtɪst/
  • Specialized
: donatista
  • The Donatist movement emphasized the importance of church purity.

Examples

  • Scholars have long debated the impact of Donatist beliefs on early Christianity.

  • The Donatist doctrine holds that only those in a state of grace can administer sacraments.

  • Only members of the Donatist sect were admitted to this particular ceremony.

  • The council addressed disputes between the mainstream church and the Donatist community.

  • Many early Christians debated the Donatist views on sacraments.

  • During the 4th century, the Donatist controversy significantly influenced the church's views on apostasy.

  • Many theologians studied Donatist teachings to understand their effects on church discipline.

Surface Forms

Donatist positive

Morphology

Donatist = Donatism (semi-transparent) = Donat + ist

The formation 'Donatism' + '-ist' is a regular derivation meaning 'follower/related to Donatism', but understanding the referent requires specific historical/theological knowledge.

Etymology

Donatist comes from the name of a North African bishop, Donatus, and his Latin name donare means 'to give', the same root as English donate. So Donatist as an adjective means 'connected to the church group that followed Donatus'.