Berbers and Christianity

File:Sainte Monique.jpg

The Christian Berbers Saint Augustine and his mother Saint Monica

There was a huge diffusion of Christianity between the Berbers, during the Roman rule of the actual Maghreb in Antiquity.

Notable ancient Christian Berbers

Theodore Mommsen wrote in his famous "The Provinces of the Roman empire" that, at the beginning of the century when happened the fall of the Western Roman Empire, practically all the Berbers living inside the borders of Roman Africa were Christians.

Accomplished Christian Berbers included writers such as Martianus Capella. There were also Christian saints such as Cyprian, Roman popes such as Pope Victor I and even the Roman emperor Septimius Severus. Most of these figures appeared in a socio-cultural period of development in Roman Africa following the introduction of Christianity. However most of these figures are historical, and the Christians in North Africa do not have as much of a dominant community as they used to have in Roman times.

Christian Berbers were Roman writers such as Terentius, Lactantius, Martianus Capella, Marcus Cornelius Fronto, Apuleius and Tertullianus. Christian saints included Scillitan Martyrs, Cyprian, Victor Maurus, Saint Monica and Saint Augustine (and even Roman popes like Pope Victor I, Pope Miltiades, Pope Gelasius I). Roman emperors such as Septimius Severus, Macrinus and Aemilianus were also famous Christian Berbers.

Christian Berber kings of exclusive Christian Berber realms known as the "Romano-Berber states" includes Masuna and Garmul of the Kingdom of Altava. They are known for making Christian "jedars" and mausoleums such as the "Tomb of the Christians" near Caesarea (also known as the "Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania").

Actually, even after the Arab domination of the Maghreb since the eight century (interrupted only by the century of French colonialism), estimates show that there are nearly half a million Christian Berbers, many living in a situation of diaspora in Western Europe and the Americas and nearly 300,000 living in the Maghreb region of North Africa (ranging from Morocco to Libya)

History during the Roman Empire

Christian Berbers are Berbers who worship or worshipped the Christian faith. Usually the term is referred to the centuries when North Africa was ruled by the Roman Empire. These initial Christian Berbers started to greatly diminish after the eight century and probably disappeared around the fifteenth century, because of the conquest of north Africa by the Arabs who promoted in all ways their muslim religion in the region.

Tertullian

The first record of Christians in Africa is a document known as the "Acts of the Martyrs scillitans" dating from 180 AD. This documents was about the massacre of a dozen Christian (known as Scillitan Martyrs) in a village of Africa Proconsularis, which is yet to be named, in front of the proconsul of Africa.

The major figures in early Christian North Africa was Tertullian, (born of pagan parents; a Roman centurion father and possibly a Romanised Berber mother) who joined the Christian community in Carthage in 195 AD and became close to the local administrative elite, who protected him from pagan repression against his religion. After becoming a priest, he argued in his early writings that Christianity should be recognized as a legitimate religion by the Roman Empire.

The Fossatum Africae, that marked the border between the Roman controlled Africa and the barbarian tribes in Saint Augustine times, was the limit between fully Christian Berbers and those still pagan. East of the Fossatum there was a partial Latinisation of the society

"African Christianity" grew in followers after Tertullian found a way to merge Christianity with popular Berber life through religious doctrine. This would conflict with the Roman institutions promoting pagan worship at the time. The most major cause of anger between the two sides was the refusal of Christians to serve in the Roman army. For Tertullian Christians joining the army and killing opponents, hence violating the sixth commandment, was a great dilemma.

The Romans began to persecute early Christians as they were hence endangering the Roman Empire by refusing military service (this period was a time of dire need for more soldiers). Tertullian provoked the authorities until they lead to killing Christians, making them martyrs.

It is a known fact the African Church began with martyrdom. Tertullian later wrote about the rapid growth of Christianity among Africans, it had spread across North Africa to eventually reach peoples south and southeast of the Aurès Mountains. Around the year 200 AD there was a violent attack at Carthage and in provinces held by the Romans against Christians. This was the persecution in which St. Perpetua died, which we know of form the writings of Tertullian. Despite persecution, Christianity did not cease to expand. Christian epitaphs were found at Sour el Ghozlane in 227 AD and Tipasa at 238 AD.

By the third century there was a substantial Christian population in Africa. It consisted not only of the poor but also those of the highest rank. A council held in Carthage around the year 220 AD attracted 18 bishops from Numidia. By the middle of the third century, another was held which was attended by 87 bishops. At the end of this century Christianity was already the faith of the majority in Berber lands ruled by the Romans.

Though at this time the African Church suffered a crisis. Emperor Decius published an edict to persecute Christians further. Bishops followed by their whole communities were planned to be executed. Many people had already bought certificates of apostasy for money, so much that they believed they could command the church by the law, and demand their restoration to communion. A lot of controversy was seen at this period.

Conflict between Catholics and Donatists

When Constantine arose to power the African Church had become torn apart by heresies and controversies, like the Donatism. Catholics and Donatists conflicted for power in a violent way. In 318 AD Constantine deprived Donatists of churches, most of which had been taken from Catholics. The Donatists were so numerous that this could not stop them and a Donatist council held at Carthage in 327 AD was attended by 270 bishops.

Attempts by Constantius II at reconciliation only lead to armed repression. Gratus, the Primate of Carthage, declared in 349 AD that "God has restored Africa to religious unity." However, with Emperor Julian's accession in 361 and his permission to allow all religious exiles back to their homes, the African Church saw more troubles. Donatist bishops were centered around a seceded "See" in Carthage opposed to orthodox bishops. One act of violence followed another and bred new conflicts. Optatus, Bishop of Milevi, wrote works combating the sect.

Meanwhile St. Augustine, converted at Milan, returned to his home land. Since then, Paganism was no longer a menace to the church. In 399 AD temples were closed in Carthage. From 390 to 430 AD, the Councils of Carthage discussed with Donatists, gave sermons, homilies and scriptural commentaries persisted almost without stop. Augustine had managed to train clergy and instruct the faithful that Christianity was now strong in Africa.

Of all the fathers of the church, St. Augustine was the most admired and the most influential during the Middle Ages ... Augustine was an outsider—a native North African whose family was not Roman but Berber ... He was a genius—an intellectual giant.

In 412 AD the Council of Carthage condemned Pelagianism. Donatism and Semi-Pelagianism were done away with, at a time which changed the history and destiny of the African Church. There was Conflict between Carthage and Rome on how the African Church would be run when Apiarius of Sicca appealed his excommunication to Rome and thus challenged Carthage.

History in late Antiquity

The spread of Christianity in Europe by 600 AD, after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. In dark blue the areas fully Christian, like former Africa Proconsularis

With the fifth century started the barbarian invasions in western Europe. When Saint Augustine worshipped, Berbers in Roman Africa were practically fully romanized and were nearly all Christians. The region was a quiet "granary" of the Roman empire, that enjoyed a peaceful and rich period of a plentiful economy. This fact attracted the Vandals, a German tribe living in north-central Europe.

Outside the borders of the Roman empire, the berber tribes were mostly not Christian and worshipped their own paganism.

Vandal Invasion

Main article: Vandal Kingdom

Count Boniface summoned the Vandals to Africa in 426 AD, and by 429 AD their invasion was complete. The Vandals conquered many cities and provinces. Indeed 9 years after Augustine died in 430 AD, during the siege of Hippo, king Geiseric of the Vandals took Carthage.

The Vandals were Arians. They established their Arianism and set about destroying Catholicism. Churches surviving the invasion were to be transferred to the Arians or closed to public worship. This was only stopped briefly when Emperor Zeno intervened and made an agreement with Geiseric that the Catholics be allowed to choose a bishop. This was in 476 AD. But Hunneric, the new king following the death of Geiseric, by 484 AD passed an edict which made matters much worse. The Christians of Africa did not display much resistance to this persecution, even in this terror, as writer Victor of Vita has told us.

Later in the Vandal rule in Africa, St. Fulgentius, Bishop of Ruspe, managed to influence the princes of the Vandal dynasty, who had become more Roman and Byzantine in culture. The Vandal monarchy, which had lasted for nearly a century, was also dwindling in power. The Vandals permitted the creation of some "Romano-Berber states" at their borders, but were later conquered by the Roman eastern empire, which established and African prefecture, later the Exarchate of Carthage. At this point some paganism was still worshipped in the Atlas mountains despite the strong Christian influence in Africa. Pope Gelasius I was able to convert the pagans of the Aures who became the most loyal Christians who ended up defending Romanised north-western Africa to the death with their queen Kahina during the Muslim invasion centuries later.

Romano-Berber States & the Bizantines

The "Neo-Latin" states in North Africa are called so as they are post-Roman. They were no longer under Roman Empire authority, and Byzantine rule in Africa was collapsing. Their culture was a special form of Latin mixed with the local Berber language and the Christian religion.

The Christians living there initially followed a Christian sect previously mentioned known as Donatism. By the 6th century they only existed within communities of Berber Christians. The Christian kings of the Romano-Berber states left "Djeddars".

The Byzantines had never managed to conquer land far from Carthage, leaving these states alone for much of their development. The African Church was in decline. The Byzantine invasions had not given it any more of a base it had during the Vandal rule. The church was ridden with those who had failed their duties and those involved in fruitless and petty theological debates. Pope Gregory the Great attempted to send priests to Africa to help deal with this issue. The priest Hilarus became a papal legate and had authority over African Bishops, he reminded them of their duty and instructed them. He had managed to help restore peace, unity and discipline among the African Church. Justinian also helped strengthen the Romano-Berber's Christian elements by establishing Christian centers such as the one in Septem (actual Ceuta).

Arab invasion

The Arabs, who had conquered Egypt, made their way into Byzantine Africa. In 647 AD the Caliph Othman gave orders for a direct attack on Berber Africa, and an army that had gained a victory at Sbeitla against Byzantine and Christian Berber armies, withdrew on payment of a large ransom. Some years of respite ensued.

The African Church showed its firm attachment to orthodoxy by remaining loyal to Pope Martin I (649-655 AD) in his conflict with the Emperor of Byzantium. The last forty years of the seventh century witnessed the gradual fall of the fragments of Byzantine Africa into the hands of the Arabs.

The Berber, or native tribes, which before this had seemed to accept full conversion to the Gospel, passed in a short time, and without resistance, to Islam. Carthage was taken by the Arabs in 695 AD after an historically decisive battle. Two years later it was re-entered by the Byzantine Patrician John, but only for a brief period; in 698 AD Hassan once more took possession of the capital of Northern Africa, destroying totally the city. He killed half the inhabitants and enslaved the other half, erasing forever in this way the main center of Greco-Roman presence and influence in the Maghreb.

Fate of indigenous Christianity after the Arab conquest

The conventional historical view is that the conquest of North Africa by the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate between AD 647–709 effectively ended Christianity in Africa for several centuries.

The prevailing view is that the Church at that time lacked the backbone of a monastic tradition and was still suffering from the aftermath of heresies including the so-called Donatist heresy, and that this contributed to the early obliteration of the Church in the present day Maghreb. Some historians contrast this with the strong monastic tradition in Coptic Egypt, which is credited as a factor that allowed the Coptic Church to remain the majority faith in that country until around after the 14th century despite numerous persecutions.

However, new scholarship has appeared that disputes this. There are reports that Christianity persisted in the region from Tripolitania (present-day western Libya) to present-day Morocco for several centuries after the completion of the Arab conquest by 700 AD. A Christian community is recorded in 1114 AD in Qal'a in central Algeria. There is also evidence of religious pilgrimages after 850 AD to tombs of Christian saints outside of the city of Carthage, and evidence of religious contacts with Christians of Arab Spain. In addition, calendrical reforms adopted in Europe at this time were disseminated amongst the indigenous Christians of Tunis, which would have not been possible had there been an absence of contact with Rome.

Local Catholicism came under pressure when the Muslim fundamentalist regimes of the Almohads and Almoravids came into power, and the record shows persecutions and demands made that the local Christians of Tunis to convert to Islam. We still have reports of Christian inhabitants and a bishop in the city of Kairouan around 1150 AD – a significant report, since this city was founded by Arab Muslims around 680 AD as their administrative center after their conquest. A letter from the 14th century shows that there were still four bishoprics left in North Africa, admittedly a sharp decline from the over four hundred bishoprics in existence at the time of the Arab conquest. Berber Christians continued to live in Tunis and Nefzaoua in the south of Tunisia until the early 15th century, and "[i]n the first quarter of the fifteenth century, we even read that the native Christians of Tunis, though much assimilated, extended their church, perhaps because the last of the persecuted Christians from all over the Maghreb had gathered there."

By 1830, when the French came as conquerors to Algeria and Tunis, local Christianity had been extinguished. The growth of Christianity in the region after the French conquest was initially built on European settlers, and these immigrants and their descendants mostly left when the countries of the region became independent. However actually (2012) there it is a revival of Christianity between Berbers (mainly in the Algerian Kabylie).

Bibliography

• Will Durant, The History of Civilization: Part IV—The Age of Faith. 1950. New York: Simon and Schuster.
• Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter 51.
• Yves Modéran: "Kusayla, l'Afrique et les Arabes." In Identités et Cultures dans l'Algérie Antique, University of Rouen, 2005 (ISBN 2-87775-391-3).
• Mommsen, Theodore. The Provinces of the Roman Empire. Barnes & Noble editors. New York, 2008