Misplaced Pages

#385614

89-528: Novatian theology was heavily influenced by Tertullian , and made heavy use of his writings. After the martyrdom of Pope Fabian during the Decian persecution , a Roman priest, Novatian , opposed the election of Pope Cornelius in 251, on the grounds that Cornelius was too liberal in accepting lapsed Christians. Novatian held that lapsed Christians, who had not maintained their confession of faith under persecution, may not be received again into communion with

178-477: A Christian should abstain from the theatre and the amphitheatre. There pagan religious rites were applied and the names of pagan divinities invoked; there the precepts of modesty, purity, and humanity were ignored or set aside, and there no place was offered to the onlookers for the cultivation of the Christian graces. Women should put aside their gold and precious stones as ornaments, and virgins should conform to

267-492: A cleansing and preparation process which precedes the reception of the Holy Spirit in post-baptismal anointing ( De Baptismo 6). De Baptismo includes the earliest known mention of a prayer for the consecration of the waters of baptism. Tertullian had an ex opere operato view of the baptism, thus the efficiency of baptism was not dependent upon the faith of the receiver. He also believed that in an emergency,

356-525: A close relationship with God. Tertullian did not have a specific listing of the canon; however, he quotes 1 John , 1 Peter , Jude , Revelation , the Pauline epistles and the four Gospels . In his later books, he also started to use the Shepherd of Hermas . Tertullian made no references to the book of Tobit ; however, in his book Adversus Marcionem he quotes the book of Judith . He quoted most of

445-500: A dispute between the Church and a separating party, the whole burden of proof lies with the latter, as the Church, in possession of the unbroken tradition, is by its very existence a guarantee of its truth. The five books against Marcion, written in 207 or 208, are the most comprehensive and elaborate of his polemical works, invaluable for gauging the early Christian view of Gnosticism. Tertullian has been identified by Jo Ann McNamara as

534-454: A few scholars disagree with this dating), may be the earliest known canon of New Testament writings. It identifies Hermas , the author of The Shepherd , as the brother of Pius I , bishop of Rome: But Hermas wrote The Shepherd very recently, in our times, in the city of Rome, while bishop Pius, his brother, was occupying the chair of the church of the city of Rome. And therefore it ought indeed to be read; but it cannot be read publicly to

623-522: A follower of his own rebellious priest, Novatus of Carthage. Novatian in his writings defended the doctrine of the Trinity , argued that the Old Testament prohibitions on meats must be understood spiritually, condemned Christians who attend public games and praised chastity. Novatian was heavily influenced by the works of Tertullian . Novatian believed that the lapsi should not be let back into

712-463: A glorious Bride. This allegorical language continues through the other parts of the work. In the second vision she gives Hermas a book, which she later takes back in order to add to it. The fifth vision, which is represented as taking place 20 days after the fourth, introduces "the Angel (Messenger) of repentance" in the guise of a shepherd, from whom the whole work takes its name. He delivers to Hermas

801-483: A group mentioned by Augustine as founded by Tertullian. There exists differences of opinion on Tertullianists; Augustine seems to have believed that Tertullian, soon after joining the Montanists , started his own sect derived from Montanism, while some scholars believe that Augustine was in error, and that Tertullianists was simply an alternative name of North African Montanism and not a separate sect. Tertullian

890-487: A human form or change shape. He taught fideistic concepts such as the later philosophers William of Ockham and Søren Kierkegaard . The extent and nature of Tertullian's involvement to Montanism is now disputed by modern scholars. Montanism in North Africa seems to have been a counter-reaction against secularism. The form of Montanism in North Africa seems to have differed from the views of Montanus , and thus

979-514: A long distance in the way of approach to it. Tertullian was a defender of the necessity of apostolicity. In his Prescription Against Heretics , he explicitly challenges heretics to produce evidence of the apostolic succession of their communities. Unlike many early Christian writers, Tertullian along with Clement of Alexandria used the word "figure" and "symbol" to define the Eucharist, since in his book Against Marcion implied that: "this

SECTION 10

#1732772881386

1068-469: A married couple. He believed that marital relations coarsened the body and spirit and would dull their spiritual senses and avert the Holy Spirit since husband and wife became one flesh once married. Tertullian has been criticised as misogynistic , on the basis of the contents of his De Cultu Feminarum , section I.I, part 2 (trans. C.W. Marx): "Do you not know that you are Eve ? The judgment of God upon this sex lives on in this age; therefore, necessarily

1157-455: A notorious schismatic. Since no ancient writer was more definite (if not indeed fanatical) on this subject of schism than Saint Cyprian, the question must surely be answered in the negative." In the time of Augustine , a group of "Tertullianists" still had a basilica in Carthage, which within the same period passed to the orthodox church. It is unclear whether the name was merely another for

1246-401: A period of tribulation, to be followed by a literal 1000-year reign of Christ. He attacked the use of Greek philosophy in Christian theology. For him, philosophy supported religious idolatry and heresy. He believed that many people became heretical because of relying on philosophy. He stated "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" Tertullian's views of angels and demons were influenced by

1335-509: A position opposed to both and advocated a council be held to establish a policy under which former idolaters could be once again admitted to communion with the church. Lardner argues that Eusebius and the Greeks in general were correct in calling the Roman presbyter Novatus, not Novatianus. He attributes the origin of the latter name to Cyprian, who called the Roman presbyter Novatianus, as being

1424-483: A priest is also questionable. In his extant writings, he never describes himself as ordained in the church and seems to place himself among the laity. His conversion to Christianity perhaps took place about 197–198 (cf. Adolf Harnack , Bonwetsch , and others), but its immediate antecedents are unknown except as they are conjectured from his writings. The event must have been sudden and decisive, transforming at once his own personality. He writes that he could not imagine

1513-399: A series of precepts ( mandata , entolai ), which form an interesting development of early Christian ethics . One point which deserves special mention is the instruction of a Christian husband's obligation to forgive and take back an adulterous wife upon her repentance. The eleventh mandate, on humility , is concerned with false prophets who desire to occupy the primary, or best seats (that

1602-474: A similar belief about Christians who had lapsed under the pressures of persecution; they too were declared heretics. Some Novatians blended with the Montanists . Tertullian Tertullian ( / t ər ˈ t ʌ l i ə n / ; Latin : Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus ; c. 155 – c. 220 AD ) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa . He

1691-569: A successor of Novatian at Rome and were everywhere governed by bishops. Because Novatianists (including Novatian) did not submit to the bishop of Rome, they were labeled by Rome as schismatics. Additionally, Rome also labeled Novatianists heretics for denying that the Church had the power to grant absolution in certain cases (such as to the lapsi ). In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Donatist sect in Africa Proconsulare maintained

1780-529: A truly Christian life without such a conscious breach, a radical act of conversion: "Christians are made, not born" ( Apol ., xviii). Two books addressed to his wife confirm that he was married to a Christian wife. In his middle life (about 207), he was attracted to the "New Prophecy" of Montanism , but today most scholars reject the assertion that Tertullian left the mainstream church or was excommunicated. "[W]e are left to ask whether Saint Cyprian could have regarded Tertullian as his master if Tertullian had been

1869-629: A valuable book by many Christians, and considered canonical scripture by some of the early Church fathers such as Irenaeus . The Shepherd was popular among Christians in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries. It is found in the Codex Sinaiticus . The Muratorian fragment identifies the author of The Shepherd as Hermas , the brother of Pius I . The book was originally written in Rome in Koine Greek . A first Latin translation,

SECTION 20

#1732772881386

1958-410: Is compared with the greatest of all evils". He argued that before the coming of Christ, the command to reproduce was a prophetic sign pointing to the coming of the Church; after it came, the command was superseded. He also believed lust for one's wife and for another woman were essentially the same, so that marital desire was similar to adulterous desire. He believed that sex even in marriage would disrupt

2047-417: Is consoled by a vision of the Church in the form of an aged woman, weak and helpless from the sins of her unfaithful children, who tells him to bear fruits of repentance and to correct the sins of his children. Subsequently, after his repentance he sees her made younger, yet still wrinkled and with white hair; then again, later she appears as quite young but still with white hair; and lastly, she shows herself as

2136-414: Is debated which one he was referring to) when he challenged him on the Church forgiving capital sinners and letting them back into the church. He believed that the people who committed grave sins, such as sorcery, fornication and murder, should not be let inside the church. As a Montanist, he attacked the church authorities as more interested in their own political power in the church than in listening to

2225-484: Is difficult to decide since the heritage of Carthage had become common to the Berbers. Tertullian's own understanding of his ethnicity has been questioned: He referred to himself as Poenicum inter Romanos ( lit.   ' Punic among Romans ' ) in his book De Pallio and claimed Africa as his patria . According to church tradition, Tertullian was raised in Carthage. Jerome claimed that Tertullian's father held

2314-646: Is discussed by other theorists such as Benjamin H. Dunning. Tertullian had a radical view on the cosmos. He believed that heaven and earth intersected at many points and that it was possible that sexual relations with supernatural beings can occur. Tertullian's writings are edited in volumes 1–2 of the Patrologia Latina , and modern texts exist in the Corpus Christianorum Latinorum . English translations by Sydney Thelwall and Philip Holmes can be found in volumes III and IV of

2403-592: Is my body" should be interpreted as "a figure of my body". While others have also suggested that he believed in a spiritual presence in the Eucharist . Tertullian advises the postponement of baptism of little children and the unmarried, he mentions that it was customary to baptise infants, with sponsors speaking on their behalf. He argued that an infant ran the risk of growing up and then falling into sin, which could cause them to lose their salvation, if they were baptized as infants. Contrary to early Syrian baptismal doctrine and practice, Tertullian describes baptism as

2492-539: Is no pagan religion against which Christians may offend. Christians do not engage in the foolish worship of the emperors, that they do better: they pray for them, and that Christians can afford to be put to torture and to death, and the more they are cast down the more they grow; "the blood of the Christians is seed" ( Apologeticum , 50). In the De Praescriptione he develops as its fundamental idea that, in

2581-568: Is often considered an early proponent of the Nicene doctrine , approaching the subject from the standpoint of the Logos doctrine , though he did not state the later doctrine of the immanent Trinity . In his treatise against Praxeas, who taught patripassianism in Rome, he used the words "trinity", "economy" (used in reference to the three persons), "persons", and "substance", maintaining the distinction of

2670-614: Is said to have held to a view similar to the Protestant priesthood of all believers and that the distinction of the clergy and the laity is only because of ecclesiastical institution and thus in an absence of a priest the laity can act as priests; his theory on the distinction of the laity and clergy is influenced by Montanism and his early writings do not have the same beliefs. He believed in Iconoclasm . He believed in historic premillennialism : that Christians will go through

2759-412: Is that Clement, it would suggest a date c. 90 for at least the historicised setting of the first two visions. Since Paul sent greetings to a Hermas, a Christian of Rome ( Romans  16:14), a minority have followed Origen of Alexandria 's opinion that he was the author of this religious allegory . Three ancient witnesses claim to identify the author of this writing. These authorities may be citing

Novatianism - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-404: Is to say, among the presbyters ). Some have seen here a reference to Marcion , who came to Rome c.   140 and desired to be admitted among the priests (or possibly even to become bishop of Rome ). After the mandates come ten similitudes ( parabolai ) in the form of visions, which are explained by the angel. The longest of these (Similitude 9) is an elaboration of the parable of

2937-490: The Ante-Nicene Fathers which are freely available online; more modern translations of some of the works have been made. The Shepherd of Hermas The Shepherd of Hermas ( Greek : Ποιμὴν τοῦ Ἑρμᾶ , romanized :  Poimēn tou Herma ; Latin : Pastor Hermae ), sometimes just called The Shepherd , is a Christian literary work of the late first half of the second century, considered

3026-505: The Apologeticus , addressed to the Roman magistrates, is a most pungent defense of Christianity and the Christians against the reproaches of the pagans, and an important legacy of the ancient Church, proclaiming the principle of freedom of religion as an inalienable human right and demanding a fair trial for Christians before they are condemned to death. Tertullian was the first to disprove charges that Christians sacrificed infants at

3115-561: The Old Testament including many deuterocanonical books , however he never used the books of Chronicles , Ruth , Esther , 2 Maccabees , 2 John and 3 John . He defended the Book of Enoch and he believed that the book was omitted by the Jews from the canon. He believed that the epistle to the Hebrews was made by Barnabas . For Tertullian, scripture was authoritative; he used scripture as

3204-640: The Vulgata (common language), was made very shortly afterwards. A second Latin translation, the Palatina , was made at the beginning of the fifth century. Of the Greek version, the last fifth or so is missing . The Vulgata is therefore the earliest translation and the most complete witness. The Shepherd was also translated at least twice into the Coptic (Egyptian) language and fragments of translations in both

3293-561: The Western Roman Empire and in Alexandria than in the rest of the east. There was a Middle Persian translation made for a Manichaean readership which survives in a single fragmentary manuscript found at Turfan in what is now China. The book consists of five visions granted to Hermas , a former slave. This is followed by twelve mandates or commandments, and ten similitudes (aka parables ). It commences abruptly in

3382-476: The anti-Jewish Adversus Iudaeos , Adv. Marcionem , Adv. Praxeam , Adv. Hermogenem , De praescriptione hereticorum , and Scorpiace were written to counteract Gnosticism and other religious or philosophical doctrines. The other group consists of practical and disciplinary writings, e.g., De monogamia , Ad uxorem , De virginibus velandis , De cultu feminarum , De patientia , De pudicitia , De oratione , and Ad martyras . Among his apologetic writings,

3471-724: The books of the Bible ), for he replies: "I would admit your argument, if the writing of The Shepherd had deserved to be included in the Divine Instrument, and if it were not judged by every council of the Churches, even of your own Churches, among the apocryphal." And again, he says that the Epistle of Barnabas , which is Tertullian's name for the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews , is "more received among

3560-520: The celebration of the Lord's Supper and committed incest. He pointed to the commission of such crimes in the pagan world and then proved by the testimony of Pliny the Younger that Christians pledged themselves not to commit murder, adultery, or other crimes. He adduced the inhumanity of pagan customs such as feeding the flesh of gladiators to beasts. He argued that the gods have no existence and thus there

3649-682: The 5th century. In the 2nd-century writings of Tertullian, paganus meant a "civilian" who was lacking self-discipline. In De Corona Militis XI.V he writes: The chronology of his writings is difficult to fix with certainty. In his work against Marcion , which he calls his third composition on the Marcionite heresy, he gives its date as the fifteenth year of the reign of Severus ( Adv. Marcionem , i.1, 15) – which would be approximately 208. The writings may be divided according to their subject matter, falling into two groups: Apologetic and polemic writings, like Apologeticus , De testimonio animae ,

Novatianism - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-402: The 9th century ( De Paradiso, De superstitione saeculi, De carne et anima were all extant in the now damaged Codex Agobardinus in 814 AD). Tertullian's writings cover the whole theological field of the time – apologetics against paganism and Judaism, polemics , polity, discipline, and morals, or the whole reorganization of human life on a Christian basis; they gave a picture of

3827-508: The Apologists in dating His 'perfect generation' from His extrapolation for the work of creation; prior to that moment God could not strictly be said to have had a Son, while after it the term 'Father', which for earlier theologians generally connoted God as author of reality, began to acquire the specialized meaning of Father of the Son." As regards the subjects of subordination of the Son to

3916-530: The Book of Enoch. He held that the Nephilim were born out of fallen angels who mingled with human women and had sexual relations. He believed that because of the actions of the watchers as described in the Book of Enoch, men would later judge angels. He believed that angels are inferior to humans, and not made in the image of God. He believed that Angels are imperceptible to our senses, but they may choose to take on

4005-426: The Christian life and that abstinence was the best way to achieve the clarity of the soul. Tertullian's views would later influence much of the western church . Tertullian was the first to introduce a view of "sexual hierarchy": he believed that those who abstain from sexual relations should have a higher hierarchy in the church than those who do not, because he saw sexual relations as a barrier that stopped one from

4094-459: The Christology of Hermas "an amalgam of binitarianism and adoptionism. Hermas has a synergist understanding of soteriology , where both works and faith are needed to be saved. For Hermas baptism is necessary to be saved and warns those who undergo baptism by the danger of postbaptismal sins. Shepherd of Hermas possibly supports delaying baptism for practical reasons which is because of

4183-538: The Churches than the apocryphal epistle of the Shepherd". The Greek text is edited by Gebhardt and Harnack (Leipzig, 1877), by Funk (Tübingen, 1901), and, with its English translation, by Lightfoot , Apostolic Fathers , edited by Harmon (London, 1893); the Codex Sinaiticus of Hermas was edited by Lake (Oxford, 1911). The English translation by William Wake (Archbishop of Canterbury 1716–1737)

4272-577: The Epistles of the Apostle Paul . Tertullian's resolve to never marry again and that no one else should remarry eventually led to his break with Rome because the orthodox church refused to follow him in this resolve. He, instead, favored the Montanist sect where they also condemned second marriage. One reason for Tertullian's disdain for marriage was his belief about the transformation that awaited

4361-544: The Father belong also to the Son, including his names, such as Almighty God, Most High, Lord of Hosts, or King of Israel. Though Tertullian considered the Father to be God (Yahweh), he responded to criticism of the Modalist Praxeas that this meant that Tertullian's Christianity was not monotheistic by noting that even though there was one God (Yahweh, who became the Father when the Son became his agent of creation),

4450-564: The Father, the New Catholic Encyclopedia has commented: "In not a few areas of theology, Tertullian's views are, of course, completely unacceptable. Thus, for example, his teaching on the Trinity reveals a subordination of Son to Father that in the later crass form of Arianism the Church rejected as heretical." Though he did not fully state the doctrine of the immanence of the Trinity, according to B. B. Warfield, he went

4539-637: The North African Montanists or that it means that Tertullian later split with the Montanists and founded his own group. Jerome says that Tertullian lived to old age. By the doctrinal works he published, Tertullian became the teacher of Cyprian and the predecessor of Augustine, a key figure of western theology. Thirty-one works are extant, together with fragments of more. Some fifteen works in Latin or Greek are lost, some as recently as

SECTION 50

#1732772881386

4628-542: The North African Montanists believed Catholic bishops to be successors of the apostles, the New Testament to be the supreme authority on Christianity and they did not deny most doctrines of the Church. Tertullian was drawn to Montanism, if he was, mainly because of its strict moral standards. He believed that the Church had forsaken the Christian way of life and entered a path of destruction. Tertullianists were

4717-770: The Novatians is disputed and the arguments that Novatians were credobaptist is founded on somewhat weak evidence, and by this point infant baptism had become common and clear among the orthodox writers. Novatian's strict views existed before him and may be found in The Shepherd of Hermas . After his death, the Novatianist sect spread rapidly and could be found in every province and were very numerous in some places. Those who allied themselves with his doctrines were called Novatianists , but they called themselves καθαροι ( katharoi ) or "Purists" (not to be confused with

4806-567: The Old Testament. Scripture was a record of the earlier Tradition that should not be interpreted outside that tradition: scripture should not be cherry-picked and early interpretations should be preferred over later ones. Tertullian denied Mary's virginity in partu , and he was quoted by Helvidius in his debate with Jerome. He held similar views as Antidicomarians . J. N. D. Kelly argued that Tertullian believed that Mary had imperfections, thus denying her sinlessness . Tertullian

4895-471: The Sahidic and Akhmimic dialects survive. Three translations into Ge'ez (Ethiopic) were also made, but none survives complete. The sole surviving Georgian translation seems to have been made from an Arabic version, but no Arabic translation has been preserved. There does not appear to have been a Syriac translation and no Syriac author shows any awareness of the Shepherd . It was always more popular in

4984-426: The Shepherd of Hermas. Some have argued that Hermas is the first example of pre-tribulational rapture . Though Hermas does not mention a rapture, he writes of believers that "have escaped from great tribulation on account of [their] faith" and that others could also escape "the great tribulation that is coming". Tertullian implies that Pope Callixtus I had quoted it as an authority (though evidently not as one of

5073-453: The Son could also be referred to as God, when referred to apart from the Father, because the Son, though subordinate to God, is entitled to be called God "from the unity of the Father" in regards to being formed from a portion of His substance. The Catholic Encyclopedia comments that for Tertullian, "There was a time when there was no Son and no sin, when God was neither Father nor Judge." Similarly J.N.D. Kelly stated: "Tertullian followed

5162-459: The Son from the Father as the unoriginate God, and the Spirit from both the Father and the Son ( Adv. Praxeam , xxv). "These three are one substance, not one person; and it is said, 'I and my Father are one' in respect not of the singularity of number but the unity of the substance." The very names "Father" and "Son" indicate the distinction of personality. The Father is one, the Son is another, and

5251-409: The Spirit is another ( "dico alium esse patrem et alium filium et alium spiritum" Adv. Praxeam , ix)), and yet in defending the unity of God, he says the Son is not other ( "alius a patre filius non est" , ( Adv. Prax. 18) as a result of receiving a portion of the Father's substance. At times, speaking of the Father and the Son, Tertullian refers to "two gods". He says that all things of

5340-464: The Spirit. Tertullian's criticism of Church authorities has been compared to the Protestant reformation . Tertullian's later view of marriage, such as in his book Exhortation to Chastity , may have been heavily influenced by Montanism. He had previously held marriage to be fundamentally good, but after his conversion he denied its goodness. He argues that marriage is considered to be good "when it

5429-510: The appellation God, in the sense of the ultimate originator of all things, to the Father, who made the world out of nothing though his Son, the Word, has corporeity, though he is a spirit ( De praescriptione , vii.; Adv. Praxeam , vii). However Tertullian used 'corporeal' only in the Stoic sense, to mean something with actual material existence, rather than the later idea of flesh. Tertullian

SECTION 60

#1732772881386

5518-501: The building of a tower, which had formed the matter of the third vision. The tower is the Church, and the stones of which it is built are the faithful. In the third vision it looks as though only the holy are a part of the true Church; in Similitude ;9 it is clearly pointed out that all the baptized are included, though they may be cast out for grave sins, and can be readmitted only after repentance . Textual criticism ,

5607-431: The church is a congregation of saints, and if sinners would be let inside the church, it would endanger the church. Novatians always had a successor of Novatian in Rome (where Novatian was from) and they used the episcopal polity . According to Theodoret , the Novatians did not use confirmation , and according to Eulugius, Novatians did not either venerate martyrs. Novatians forbade remarriage. Christologically Novatian

5696-519: The church. He believed that the lapsi might repent and be put to lifelong penance, but the forgiveness must be left to God, and that the lapsi could not be forgiven on this earth. Novatians cited the Book of Hebrews to support this idea. Novatian was a trinitarian. Novatian's writings defended the Father as the creator of the world to combat the teachings of the Gnostics . Novatian also defended

5785-516: The church. He was consecrated bishop by three bishops of Italy and declared himself to be the true Pope . He and his followers were excommunicated by a synod held at Rome in October of the same year. Novatian is said to have suffered martyrdom under Emperor Valerian I (253–260). Novatian should not be confused with one Novatus, a priest of Carthage , who advocated re-admitting the lapsi without an enforced penance . Cyprian of Carthage came to

5874-504: The continuance of the prophetic gifts. Geoffrey D. Dunn writes that "Some of Tertullian's treatises reveal that he had much in common with Montanism ... To what extent, if at all, this meant that he joined a group that was schismatic (or, to put it another way, that he left the church) continues to be debated". On the principle that we should not look at or listen to what we have no right to practise, and that polluted things, seen and touched, pollute ( De spectaculis , viii, xvii), he declared

5963-558: The eighth century, but most are of the fifteenth. There are five main collections of Tertullian's works, known as the Cluniacense , Corbeiense , Trecense , Agobardinum and Ottobonianus . Some of Tertullian's works are lost . All the manuscripts of the Corbeiense collection are also now lost, although the collection survives in early printed editions. Tertullian's main doctrinal teachings are as follows: Tertullian reserves

6052-546: The fear of post-baptismal sins. According to Hermas, those who fall into sin after baptism, have only one chance of penance . The book has a high emphasis on morals and the work is an indication of Jewish Christianity —still keeping the Law of Moses . Hermas has some similarities to Montanism , such as a support of a belief in prophetic gifts and disciplinarian rigorism, however a direct connection does not exist. The principles which Novatian formulated have their origin in

6141-493: The first person: "He who brought me up sold me to a certain Rhode , who was at Rome. After many years I met her again, and began to love her as a sister." As Hermas is on the road to Cumae , he has a vision of Rhoda. She tells him that she is now his accuser in heaven, on account of unchaste and impure thoughts the (now) married narrator once had regarding her. He is to repent and pray for forgiveness, for himself and all his house. He

6230-652: The first writer in Latin known to use the term trinity (Latin: trinitas ). Tertullian originated new theological concepts and advanced the development of early Church doctrine. However, some of his teachings, such as the subordination of the Son and Spirit to the Father , were later rejected by the Church. According to Jerome , he later joined the Montanist sect and may have apostasized ; however, modern scholars dispute this. Scant reliable evidence exists regarding Tertullian's life; most knowledge comes from passing references in his own writings. Roman Africa

6319-490: The guilt should live on also. You are the gateway of the devil; you are the one who unseals the curse of that tree, and you are the first one to turn your back on the divine law; you are the one who persuaded him whom the devil was not capable of corrupting; you easily destroyed the image of God, Adam . Because of what you deserve, that is, death, even the Son of God had to die." The critic Amy Place notes, however, that "Revisionist studies later rehabilitated" Tertullian. This

6408-460: The jurist Tertullianus, who is quoted in the Pandects . Although Tertullian used a knowledge of Roman law in his writings, his legal knowledge does not demonstrably exceed what could be expected from a sufficient Roman education. The writings of Tertullianus, a lawyer of the same agnomen , exist only in fragments and do not explicitly denote a Christian authorship. The notion of Tertullian being

6497-509: The laity can give the baptism. According to James Puglisi, Tertullian interpreted that in Matthew 16:18–19 "the rock" refers to Peter. For him, Peter is the type of the one Church and its origins, this Church, is now present in a variety of local churches. He also believed that the power to "bind and unbind" has passed from Peter to the apostles and prophets of the Montanist church, not the bishops. He mocked Pope Calixtus or Agrippinus (it

6586-494: The later Cathars ) to reflect their desire not to be identified with what they considered the lax practices of a corrupted and what was hitherto a universal Church. While Novatian had refused absolution to the lapsi (those who had renounced their Christianity under persecution but later wanted to return to the church), his followers extended the doctrine to include all mortal sins (idolatry, murder, and adultery, or fornication). Most of them forbade second marriage. They always had

6675-435: The law of St. Paul for women and keep themselves strictly veiled ( De virginibus velandis ). He praised the unmarried state as the highest ( De monogamia , xvii; Ad uxorem , i.3) and called upon Christians not to allow themselves to be excelled in the virtue of celibacy by Vestal Virgins and Egyptian priests. He even labeled second marriage a species of adultery ( De exhortatione castitatis , ix), but this directly contradicted

6764-446: The nature of the theology, and the author's apparent familiarity with the Book of Revelation and other Johannine texts are thought to set the date of composition in the 2nd century. However, several ancient witnesses support an early dating and there is internal evidence for the place and date of this work in the language and theology of the work. The reference to an unknown Clement is presumed by some to be Clement of Rome ; if this

6853-604: The other being that he pre-existed as the Word ( Logos ) or only-begotten Son of God and is to be identified as such from his conception; Christ's identity as the Logos (Jn 1:1), in which the Logos is further understood to be uncreated and coessentially divine with God (that is, the Father), was affirmed in 325 at the First Council of Nicaea . Bogdan G. Bucur says the document was widely accepted among orthodox Christians, yet

6942-550: The people in church either among the Prophets, whose number is complete, or among the Apostles, for it is after their time. In parable 5, the author mentions a Son of God , as a virtuous man filled with a holy " pre-existent spirit" and adopted as the Son. In the 2nd century, adoptionism (the view that Jesus Christ was, at least initially, only a mortal man) was one of two competing doctrines about Jesus's true nature,

7031-480: The person who originally invested the consecrated virgin as the "bride of Christ", which helped to bring the independent virgin under patriarchal rule. Scholars in the past accepting the Montanist theory have also divided his work into earlier Catholic works and the later supposedly Montanist works (cf. Harnack, ii.262 sqq.), aiming to show the change of views Tertullian's mind underwent. The earliest manuscript (handwritten copy) of any of Tertullian's works dates to

7120-515: The position of centurio proconsularis ("aide-de-camp") in the Roman army in Africa. Tertullian has been claimed to have been a trained lawyer and an ordained priest. Those assertions rely on the accounts of Eusebius of Caesarea , Church History , II, ii. 4, and Jerome 's De viris illustribus ( On famous men ) chapter 53. Tertullian has also been thought to be a lawyer, based on his use of legal analogies and on an identification of him with

7209-430: The primary source in almost every chapter of his every work, and very rarely anything else. He seems to prioritize the authority of scripture above anything else. When interpreting scripture, he would occasionally believe passages to be allegorical or symbolic, while in other places he would support a literal interpretation. He would especially use allegorical interpretations when dealing with Christological prophecies of

7298-409: The religious life and thought of the time which is of great interest to the church historian. Like other early Christian writers Tertullian used the term paganus to mean "civilian" as a contrast to the "soldiers of Christ". The motif of Miles Christi did not assume the literal meaning of participation in war until Church doctrines justifying Christian participation in battle were developed around

7387-665: The same source, perhaps Hegesippus , whose lost history of the early Church provided material for Eusebius of Caesarea . The witnesses are the Muratorian fragment , the Liberian Catalogue of Popes (a record that was later used in the writing of the Liber Pontificalis ) and a poem written by " Pseudo-Tertullian " against Marcion in the 3rd or 4th century AD. The Muratorian fragment , generally considered to have been written c. 170 AD (although

7476-512: The unity of the godhead and humanity in Jesus , and wrote about a distinction between the Son and the Father, to combat Marcionites , Modalists and Adoptionists . Novatian believed that the role of the Holy Spirit was solely to be the source of blessings given during Baptism . Unlike Cyprian , Novatian believed that being inside the church is not a requirement for salvation , but that

7565-460: Was an advocate of discipline and an austere code of practise, and like many of the African fathers, one of the leading representatives of the rigorist element in the early Church. His writings on public amusements, the veiling of virgins, the conduct of women, and the like, reflect these opinions. His views may have led him to adopt Montanism with its ascetic rigor and its belief in chiliasm and

7654-426: Was famous as the home of orators , and that influence can be seen in his writing style with its archaisms or provincialisms, its glowing imagery and its passionate temper. He was a scholar with an excellent education. He wrote at least three books in Koine Greek ; none of them are extant. Some sources describe him as Berber . The linguist René Braun suggested that he was of Punic origin but acknowledged that it

7743-458: Was not criticized for apparently exhibiting an adoptionistic Christology. He says that the passage in question should be understood as Jesus making his dwelling within those who submit to his spirit, so that the adoption that takes place is not of Jesus, but of his followers. Some believe that Hermas has a binitarian understanding of God, as it calls the Holy Spirit the Son of God. Not all, however agree that Hermas has binitarianism. Kelly calls

7832-477: Was probably orthodox, however some suggest he had similarities to the later Nestorians , though this view has been criticized. By the 4th century, Novatians had also adopted monasticism . Some Novatians were Quartodecimans . Augustine writes that the Novatians would rebaptize people who came from the Catholic Church. Some have argued that the Novatians did not baptize infants, though the stance of

7921-538: Was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of Latin Christian literature and was an early Christian apologist and a polemicist against heresy , including contemporary Christian Gnosticism . Tertullian was the first theologian to write in Latin, and so has been called "the father of Latin Christianity ", as well as " the founder of Western theology ". He is perhaps most famous for being

#385614