n.
A member of a rigoristic, schismatic Christian sect, strongly opposed by Saint Augustine, that arose in North Africa in the fourth century A.D. and believed in sanctity as requisite for church membership and administration of all sacraments.
[Medieval Latin Donatista, after Donatus, fourth-century A.D. ecclesiastic and rival claimant of the bishopric of Carthage.]
Donatism Don'a·tism n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
