Donatism, in the early Christian Church, the belief that the sacraments were invalid if they were administered by an unworthy priest. The Donatist movement began in North Africa in 311 A.D. and took its name from Donatus, bishop of Carthage. The Donatists were condemned by the Council of Arles in 314 and later by Saint Augustine. The movement, however, continued until the Muslim invasion of Africa in the 700's.