date_of_death meletius of lycopolis
Donatism (" Donatismós ") was a religious movement that separated from the proto - catholics in the 4th century The 4th century ( per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini / Common era ) was that century which lasted from ___MASK67___ to ___MASK79___ . In the West , the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Great , who became the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity . Gaining sole reign of the empire , he is also noted for re - establishing a single imperial capital , choosing the site of ancient Byzantium in 330 ( over the current capitals , which had effectively been changed by Diocletian ' s reforms to Milan in the West , and Nicomedeia in the East ) to build the city soon called Nova Roma ( New Rome ); it was later renamed Constantinople in his honor . Meletius ( died after 325 ) was bishop of Lycopolis in Egypt . He is known mainly as the founder and namesake of the Meletians ( c . 305 ) , one of several schismatic sects in early church history which were concerned about the ease with which lapsed Christians reentered the Church . ( See also Donatism . ) The details of his life are not clear as there are conflicting accounts of it . According to one version he was imprisoned for his Christianity during the persecution under Diocletian along with Peter of Alexandria ( another source has Peter fleeing the scene ; a third has Meletius himself avoiding prison ) . Apparently , as early as during the persecution itself , Meletius began to refuse to receive in communion those Christians who had renounced their faith during the persecution and later repented of that choice . Meletius ' rigorous stance on this point stood in contrast to the earlier willingness of bishops to accept back into communion those who seemed to have truly repented ( a pattern which was addressed during previous similar controversies , including those who had lapsed during the Decian persecution about 50 years earlier ) . As Bishop of Alexandria , Peter would have been recognized as the leader of the Egyptian church and thus Meletius ' s superior in church hierarchy . Historian Philip Schaff tells us that prior to Peter ' s death in 311 he spoke out against Meletius ' s actions and `` deposed him as a disturber of the peace of the church '' . The supporters that Meletius drew around him included twenty - eight other bishops , at least some of whom he personally ordained , and the objections against him included that he ordained people in regions where he lacked authority . His group went by the name Church of the Martyrs , inherently objecting to the reacceptance by other bishops of people who chose to avoid the risk of martyrdom . Meletius ' s influence extended even so far away as Palestine . It is believed by some that Meletius ordained Arius ( known for the Arian controversy ) as a priest ; but scholarship is divided on whether this is the case . The Council of Nicaea in 325 attempted to create peace with the Meletians . Meletius was allowed to remain bishop of Lycopolis , but was no longer to ordain bishops outside his region . The bishops he had already ordained were accepted under certain restrictions , and had to be reordained . Meletius ' s death followed soon after the council met , and the effort to bring unity proved unsuccessful . His followers sided with the Arians in their controversy and existed as a separate sect until the fifth century .