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Western North African Christianity
Circumcellions
Western North Africa
Perpetua & Felicitas
Tertullian
Cyprian
Donatists
Circumcellions
Augustine of Hippo
The Circumcellions were radical Donatists, who, though they rejected the Donatist leadership , who in turn feared them, nevertheless had their roots in the Donatist protest against the Roman Catholic Church in Western Roman North Africa. The Circumcellions flourished during the middle of the fourth century.
Circumcellions combined social and religous protests to form bands of outlaws who roamed the Roman North African countryside, carrying clubs (originally meant to dislodge olives from trees during harvest) which they called "Israels." They called their leaders "Captains of the Saints" and were fully prepared to rectify any perceived injustices with their own brand of terror tactics. They viewed the government, the landowners, creditors and the possessing classes as agents of the Devil out to persecute GodŐs saints and the poor in general. For the Circuncellions, GodŐs work included harrying landlords who oppressed poor peasants. They were the first Christian group who openly aimed at overthrowing and overturning the existing social order. Contemporary accounts include stories of Circumcellion bands stopping chariots on the highways, forcing the masters out of their carriages and making them run alongside, while their slaves were seated in the carriage in the masterŐs place.
The other side of the Circumcellions was their veneration of the martyrs and active seeking after martyrdom. They danced all night at the graves of the martyrs. Every Circumcellion hoped and prayed to be able to die the death of the martyr. When Circumcellions attacked wealthy citizens and magistrates they would sometimes give them the choice between dying or killing the Circumcellions. The Circumcellions hoped to be killed since they were doing the LordŐs work, and could therefore claim the martyrs crown. Some went so far as to charge fully armed Roman Legionaries, or as a last resort, leaping off city walls or a cliff. A set of cliffs in central Numidia has at their base a number of rocks each marked with a name, a date and the word nat[alis] (anniversary), or r[=reddittio] (rendering of the soul) marking the place where Circumcellions had hurled themselves off the edge in search of martyrdom.
This page was based on
WHC Frend, The Rise of Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984, pp. 572-4 which you can consult for more detailed information: