Psalm against the Party of Donatus

Augustine. Sancti Aureli Augustini Opera, Sectio VII, Pars I (Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Volume 51). Petschenig, Michael, editor. Prague; Vienna; Leipzig: F. Tempsky; G. Freytag, 1908.

Open Greek and Latin · CC BY-SA 4.0

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This religious poem was composed by Augustine of Hippo to expose the errors of the Donatist schismatics to the general congregation in an accessible manner. Utilizing biblical metaphors such as the "net" and the "threshing floor," the author argues that the good and the bad must coexist within the Church until the end of time. He traces historical events to reveal the contradictions of the Donatist leaders, who were themselves actual betrayers (traditores) who surrendered the scriptures, and who initiated the practice of rebaptism only after losing their appeals before the emperor. Condemning the violence of the radical Circumcellions, the work asserts the legitimacy of the Catholic Church through the unbroken succession from the Chair of Peter. It concludes with a poignant lament by the personified "Mother Church," who denounces Donatist hypocrisy and makes an impassioned plea for peace and unity.