During Augustine’s early years in ministry, he promoted the idea of using the pen rather than the sword when it comes to converting those who were not Christians. However, during the Donatist Controversy. Augustine advocated the use of violence to convince the Donatists to return to the Catholic fold. This dissertation argues that disgust played a crucial role in Augustine’s change of heart. Emotions play a huge part in an individual’s decision-making process. Studies on disgust discuss its role in interpersonal conflict and in religious violence. The dehumanizing language present in Augustine's letters when he describes the Donatists helps create an atmosphere where disgust's strong presence can be felt. The question of purity became an important question since both groups argued that they were the “true, pure Church.” Both groups traced their spiritual lineage to Cyprian as proof that they belonged to the true African Church. By examining Augustine's Letters, one can see the shift in tone and characterization of the Donatists by Augustine. Over the years, the disgust felt by Augustine led to a shift in his attitude, leading him to sanction the use of violence against the Donatists. Initially, the role of disgust was to prevent humans from coming into contact with harmful pathogens. As a result, humans developed a strong revulsion against harmful substances in order to protect themselves from harm. While disgust has this physical component, it also has a sociomoral component where it manifests itself against disgusting stimulus. Within this schema, anything that it deems as a moral transgression, especially as it involves question of purity, is considered as a stimulus to be avoided and rejected strongly and vehemently. While it poses no problem for a human to avoid what it deems as a disgusting stimulus such as a cockroach, it does pose a problem when another human being is seen and labelled as a cockroach. Disgust has the power to “other” human beings and creates a very strong us-vs-them mentality. Once this us-vs-them mentality is enforced, it is only natural to label another group as a "cockroach” and kill them as such. In examining Augustine's relationship with the Donatists, it is important to acknowledge disgust’s role in this particular theological and historical event. This dissertation will conclude with a contemporary application of disgust in modern theological controversies, especially as it relates to homosexuality and the role of women in leadership. Disgust’s ability to elicit such a strong and violent response in humans is a reminder of the strength of emotions to govern our actions. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Le christianisme peut-être étudié sous plusieurs angles. Dans cette thèse, il est abordé par le bias de ses responsables que furent les évêques dans les provinces de Maurétanies Césarienne et Sitifienne au Bas-Empire. La première parie consacrée à l'analyse prosopographique donne des informations d'ordre bibliographique sur chaque évêque(catholique ou donatiste). On en compte plus d'une centaine pour les deux provinces à cette époque.A travres la synthèse de l'analyse prosopographique qui constitue la deuxième partie de ce travail, il est retracé les origines du christianisme dans les Maurétanies grâce à des documents de nature diverse notamment épigraphique et littéraire. Enfi la troisième parie traite des grands problèmes auxquels les évêques africains de l'époque sont confrontés et tentent d'y apporter des solutions dans les conciles et synodes du Vè siècle.Alors qu'on assisteà une christianisation timide des Maurétanies au IIIè siècle, celle-ci gagne les régions de l'arrière pays par la multiplication anarchique des diocèses dits ruraux au Vè s. / The Bishops of Mauretania in Antiquity, from IIIrd to Vth Century.Chrstianism can be studied from many angles or point of view. In this thesis, christianism is tackled through its bishops who were the persons in charge of the Cesarian and Sitifian Mauretanies in the lower Empire.The first partof the thesis dedicated to the prosographic analysis gives informations of bibliographical order on each catholic or donatist bishop. At that period, there were more than a hundred bishops for th two provinces.The secons part of this work, based on a synthesis of prosopographic analysis of different epigrphic and litterary archives, deals with the origins of christianism in the Mauretanies.Finally, the third part treats with the big issues that confront the african bishops, issues to which they attempt to find some solutions councils or synods of that period.While a shy christianisation is noticeable in the Mauretanies of the third century, an anarchic multiplication in the so called rural dioceses spread to the hinterland regions.

During Augustine’s early years in ministry, he promoted the idea of using the pen rather than the sword when it comes to converting those who were not Christians. However, during the Donatist Controversy, Augustine advocated the use of violence to convince the Donatists to return to the Catholic fold. This dissertation argues that disgust played a crucial role in Augustine’s change of heart. Emotions play a huge part in an individual’s decision-making process. Studies on disgust discuss its role in interpersonal conflict and in religious violence. The dehumanizing language present in Augustine’s letters when he describes the Donatists helps create an atmosphere where disgust’s strong presence can be felt. The question of purity became an important question since both groups argued that they were the “true, pure Church.” Both groups traced their spiritual lineage to Cyprian as proof that they belonged to the true African Church. By examining Augustine’s Letters, one can see the shift in tone and characterization of the Donatists by Augustine. Over the years, the disgust felt by Augustine led to a shift in his attitude, leading him to sanction the use of violence against the Donatists. Initially, the role of disgust was to prevent humans from coming into contact with harmful pathogens. As a result, humans developed a strong revulsion against harmful substances in order to protect themselves from harm. While disgust has this physical component, it also has a sociomoral component where it manifests itself against disgusting stimulus. Within this schema, anything that it deems as a moral transgression, especially as it involves question of purity, is considered as a stimulus to be avoided and rejected strongly and vehemently. While it poses no problem for a human to avoid what it deems as a disgusting stimulus such as a cockroach, it does pose a problem when another human being is seen and labelled as a cockroach. Disgust has the power to “other” human beings and creates a very strong us-vs-them mentality. Once this us-vs-them mentality is enforced, it is only natural to label another group as a “cockroach” and kill them as such. In examining Augustine’s relationship with the Donatists, it is important to acknowledge disgust’s role in this particular theological and historical event. This dissertation will conclude with a contemporary application of disgust in modern theological controversies, especially as it relates to homosexuality and the role of women in leadership. Disgust’s ability to elicit such a strong and violent response in humans is a reminder of the strength of emotions to govern our actions. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)