it was done by a traditor. Caecilian, who by then held the basilica, did not attend the council, but sent word that if his consecration as bishop was not valid, then let it be done again. At Carthage it was well known that Caecilian was the choice of the people, and it was not believed that Felix of Aptonga had given up the Sacred Books. The council then determined that Majorinus should be consecrated as bishop. Soon there were many cities with two bishops, one in communion with Caecilian, the other with Majorinus. Majorinus died shortly after, and Donatus was chosen to take his place. Donatus was consecrated in 313 AD as Bishop of Carthage and Primate of North Africa, the leader of the Christian sect which came to be known as the Donatist sect. The supporters of Donatus appealed to the Emperor, requesting the issue be judged by the bishops of Gaul, since under Constantine's father there had been no persecution in Gaul and therefore no traditors. Instead he referred the matter to Pope Miltiades, himself of Berber descent. Lateran council Miltiades summoned Caecilian to the Lateran with ten bishops of his accusers and ten of his own communion. He then called a synod and appointed an additional 15 Italian bishops, as well as three of the chief bishops of Gaul, Reticius of Autun, Maternus of Cologne, and Marinus of Arles. The Lateran Council was held for three days from 2–4 October 313. The process was modeled on Roman civil proceedings, with Miltiades insisting on strict rules of evidence and argument. The written accusations against Caecilian were disregarded, as being anonymous and unproved. This frustrated the Donatists who left the council without presenting their case, which led Miltiades to rule in favour of Caecilian by default. The council ended after only three sessions. The pope retained Caecilian as bishop of Carthage and condemned Donatus' teachings of rebaptism of bishops and priests. The Donatists again appealed to the Emperor, who responded by convening the Council of Arles in 314 but it too ruled against the Donatists. The adverse rulings failed to stop the continuing spread of Donatism across North Africa. Around 400 Donatist Bishop Petilianus of Constantine claimed that Miltiades, his successor Sylvester I and others surrendered sacred texts and offered incense to Roman deities. Aftermath During his tenure of some 40 years Donatus oversaw the expansion of the Donatist