Abstract

One of the rather disregarded elements in Augustine’s anti-Donatist campaign was his utilisation of a theme of the ‘Holy Spirit’ to drive his critiques and full-on theological attacks against the Donatist leadership. This article re-examines the historical background of the Holy Spirit theme in North African theology, starting with Cyprian of Carthage where the Holy Spirit was closely associated with being an invigorator of martyrs and Church integrity, then moving onto the evidence contained in the Donatist martyr stories where the Holy Spirit was described as the source of courage for persecuted Africans and as crowner of martyrs glory, and then to the tradition’s reception by Augustine of Hippo in 390s/400s when he had to re-adapt African pneumatology to aid his anti-Donatist campaign.