The Narrow Gate Blog

This article first appeared at: stpaulcentre.com So what is the difference between a heretic and a schismatic? St. Optatus, another of the great African Christian writers, wrote a surprisingly polite argument against a Donatist named Parmenian, in which he makes the important distinction clear. The Donatists are schismatics, but not heretics. They believe the same fundamental truths that Catholic Christians believe. They have the same sacraments. But because their predecessors broke away from th …