Presbyters Uniwersytet Warszawski
ID
ER 967
Cattus, a Donatist presbyter, lives in Turuzi (North Africa) in 411 AD, although the Catholics claim that there are no Donatists there. Account of the Acts of the Conference of Carthage, 411 AD.
Session 1
 
133. [...] Et recitauit: "Serotinus episcopus plebis Turuzitanae, coram uiro clarissimo tribuno et notario Marcellino, et suprascripta mandaui et subscripsi Carthagini". Quo recitato, idem dixit: "Numquam habuit, nec habet". Habetdeum diaconus dixit: "Presbyter est illic Cattus". Serotinus episcopus ecclesiae catholicae dixit: "Illic est, sed superfluo"  [...]
 
(ed. Lancel 1972: 754)
Session 1
 
133. [...] [Marcellinus] read: "I, Serotinus, the bishop of the people of Turuzi, signed the aforementioned mandate before Marcellinus, vir clarissimus, tribune and notary, in Carthage". When it was read, he said: "There has never been, and there is nobody [Donatist] there". The deacon Habetdeum said: "There is our presbyter Cattus". Serotinus, the bishop of the Catholic Church said: "He is there, but there is no need''. [...]
 
(trans. S. Adamiak)

Discussion:

On the first day of the Conference, the Donatists challenged the list of the signatures of the Catholic bishops on the document in which they had assigned their representatives. The roll call followed, in which the tribune Marcellinus, who presided, called the Catholic bishops one by one, and their Donatist counterparts were to identify them. Then the roll call proceeded in the opposite way, with the Donatist bishops identified by the Catholics.
The presence of Cattus may have been considered unnecessary if there really were no other Donatists in that place.

Place of event:

Region
  • Latin North Africa
City
  • Turuzi

About the source:

Title: Acts of the Conference of Carthage, Gesta Collationis Carthaginiensis
Origin: Carthage (Latin North Africa)
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian, Donatist
The conference between the Catholics and the Donatists was held in Carthage on 1-8 June 411. Its goal was to arrive at unity between the rival Churches. The proceedings were minutely recorded, and the majority of the acts have been preserved to our days.
Edition:
S. Lancel ed., Actes de la Conférence de Carthage en 411, tome II, Sources Chrétiennes 195, Paris 1972.

Categories:

Religious grouping (other than Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian) - Donatist
Functions within the Church - Parish presbyter
Functions within the Church - Rural presbyter
Described by a title - Presbyter/πρεσβύτερος
Reasons for ordination - Pastoral needs of the Christian community
    Specific number of presbyters from the same church
      Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: S. Adamiak, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER967, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=967