On Thursday and Friday, 17-18 May 2012, the Research Unit - History of Church and Theology of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Faculty of Theology will organise, in collaboration with the Augustinian Historical Institute (Heverlee/Leuven), the first international expert seminar dedicated exclusively to research on Donatist Christianity and related themes. This conference will bring together scholars from all over the world who have made important contributions to the study of ancient North African Christianity in recent years as well as provide a platform for newly-arriving scholars.
The contributions to the symposium can be dedicated to various topics. The following survey presents some possible themes, but does not intend to exclude alternative issues or approaches: the effect of Imperial intervention/political aspects of the Donatist leadership, the development of Augustine’s theology through the controversy, theological content in the African councils (sacramentology, ecclesiology, martyrology, Christology), the role of authority and tradition in controversy, the role of leading personalities in the controversy, the bible in Africa, rhetorical analysis of polemical literature, textual-critical studies of the sources, archaeological findings and African liturgy, and the later history of Donatism and its reception in early-modern controversies. Each contribution is supposed to include a general, methodological conclusion which would enable perspectives for further research.