Maximian (bishop of Carthage)

Maximian was a 4th-century Bishop of Carthage and founder of a splinter group that left Donatism.

Biography

Maximian was a relative of Donatus of Casae Nigrae and was one of several people excommunicated in 391 by Primian, Bishop of Carthage. Primian was a great orator and thinker, but tactless and within a year had alienated large parts of the church. In 393 AD a council of more than 100 Donatist bishops elected Maximian to replace Primian as Bishop of Carthages. Primian held a rival council in Bagai in April 394AD and excommunicated Maximian. Primian, a former lawyer, also used the civil courts to reclaim church buildings.
The schism that enveloped around Maximian was the largest splintering within the Donatist movement. He took a less confrontational approach, and sought to reform the movement. However, it attracted limited adherents.
The Donatists sought to depose Salvius, the Maximianist Bishop of Majaz [al Bab|Membresa], in favour of the Primianist Restitutus. Much respected by the residents of Membresa, his people built him a new church, and three bishops coexisted in this small town, a Maximianist, a Primianist, and a Catholic.
Maximian was often referenced by Augustine in his critique of the Donatists.