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What did St. Augustine argue about the validity of sacraments during the Donatist controversy?

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Justus of Ghent: Saint Augustine — St. Augustine *Saint Augustine*, oil on wood panel by Justus of Ghent, c. 1475; in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

During the Donatist controversy, St. Augustine argued against the Donatist position that the validity of a sacrament depended on the personal worthiness or moral purity of the minister performing the rite.1

In opposition to this view, Augustine maintained that the validity of the sacraments is derived from Christ, not from the human minister. By asserting that the efficacy of the sacraments is independent of the minister's character, he defended the universal church against the Donatists' local particularism. Augustine expounded these views most effectively in his work De baptismo contra Donatistas (On Baptism).12

This theological stance was central to his efforts to resolve the schism that dominated North African church life during his time as bishop of Hippo.21