Rome and the African Church in the Time of Augustine

by J.E. Merdinger

In the fourth and fifth centuries, North Africa stood second only to Rome as a center of power for the Christian church in the western Roman Empire. Historical tradition holds that this vibrant ecclesiastical community, under the leadership of such forceful personalities as St. Augustine of Hippo and Aurelius of Carthage, maintained a spirited independence from papal control. Recently discovered letters of Augustine and a closer reading of the African canons show, however, that African fathers willingly sought advice from the pope and often approached Rome for a final verdict in cases of canon law. In this groundbreaking book, J.E. Merdinger contends that the African church of late antiquity gradually became dependent on the papacy for the enforcement of church discipline.

Merdinger begins by tracing the historic links between the African church and Rome through the writings of some of its most important thinkers―Tertullian, Cyprian, and Optatus. The author then provides a lively account of actual fourth- and fifth-century court cases that arose in Africa but were adjudicated by Rome, including the notorious Apiarius affair and one case that was completely unknown before the newly discovered letters of Augustine were first published in 1981. By examining cases chronologically, Merdinger uncovers evolving patterns of authority and shows that the Africans increasingly turned to Rome as the final court of appeal for disciplinary matters. In the midst of these legal maelstroms, Merdinger says, the Africans' true feelings toward papal jurisdiction emerged.

Genres: Religion, History

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 1997

Reviews

[Thomas Casey]

Merdinger provides an invaluable description of the North African Church’s relationship with Rome during the turbulent period covering the life of St. Augustine. No other writer I have encountered better narrates the circumstances surrounding the cases of Apiarius, Honorius, and Antony of Fussala, taking into consideration a number of original correspondences that only came to light in the mid-70s. Merdinger has a very balanced assessment of her subject matter and the picture that emerges is of an independent North African community that respects Rome and is happy to involve Rome when useful or expedient for its own ends but a community that nonetheless treats the canons of Nicaea as supreme and authoritative over all the churches, Rome included. My only criticism is that some of the backstory she provides is a little thin. There is more she could have drawn from both Cyprian and Augustine, for example, that would have shed additional light on the underlying ecclesiological assumptions of the North African Church that eventually came to a head during the Apiarius affair.