Donatism After Donatus
After a conference held at Arles in which Donatus' appeal failed, he was in 347 exiled to Gaul until his death in 355. At the time when Donatus' tenure ended, the Donatist Church was the dominant Christian Church in North Africa - but suffered from internal dissensions as well as the actions of the Roman Catholic Church aimed at reincorporating the sect and thus unifying North African Christianity.
The Circumcellions were bands of nomadic anti-Roman rebels, Punic-speaking bandits from the lower strata of society, who supported Donatism and were sometimes led by Donatist clergy. However, they broke out of control, attacking Roman landlords and colonists and redistributing goods acquired through the sweat of poor native peasants. Their support for the Donatists caused the Donatists to be identified with them, leading officials to take punitive action against the Donatist Church.
Further, the Donatist church splintered into two main groups, reducing its effectiveness as a church.
Read more about this topic: Donatus Magnus