04 — The Controversies
Two of the three great controversies of Augustine’s episcopate (the third, the Pelagian, has its own section): the long struggle against the Donatist schism, in which Augustine forged the Western doctrine of the Church and of sacramental validity — and, more controversially, defended the use of imperial coercion against schismatics; and the lifelong refutation of the Manichaeism of his own youth, in which he worked out the understanding of evil as the privation of the good and the goodness of all creation.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (pre-Schism West; “Blessed Augustine”)
These two controversies bracket Augustine’s episcopate and reach back into the African world of Section 01: the Donatist schism he inherited as bishop, and the Manichaeism he had himself professed. The first produced his enduring contribution to the theology of the Church and the sacraments, and also the most ethically troubling episode of his career, his eventual endorsement of the coercion of schismatics — a position this file presents from both sides per METHODOLOGY.md §4. The second produced his theology of evil and of creation, the metaphysical foundation on which much of his later thought rests.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Against the Donatists | The Donatist schism and Augustine’s answer; the Church as a mixed body (corpus permixtum); the validity of sacraments apart from the worthiness of the minister (ex opere operato); and the disputed turn to imperial coercion — “compel them to come in” — presented from both sides. |
| Against the Manichees | The anti-Manichaean works; evil as the privation of good (privatio boni) rather than a substance; the goodness of all creation against dualism; free will and the origin of evil in the will, not in matter. |
See Also
- The Late-Roman African Church — the Donatist and Manichaean background
- Against Pelagius — the third great controversy
- The City of God — the Church as a mixed body, the two cities
- Orthodox vs Catholic — sacramental theology East and West
References
- Augustine of Hippo. Anti-Donatist Writings and Anti-Manichaean Writings. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 4. 1887.
- Brown, Peter. Augustine of Hippo: A Biography. New ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
- Frend, W. H. C. The Donatist Church. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1952.