Christian Reformers And Mystics Codexery

Tertullian

Early Christian author and first Latin theologian.

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Tertullian was an early Christian author from Carthage who wrote extensively in Latin and is considered the father of Latin Christianity.[1][2] He lived from approximately 160 to 225 AD.[3]

Life and work

Tertullian was raised in Carthage according to church tradition.[4] Some sources describe him as Berber, and linguist René Braun suggested he was of Punic origin.[4] His conversion to Christianity likely took place around 197–198.[5] He wrote that "Christians are made, not born" (Apol., xviii).[5]

Within his work De Pallio, Tertullian described himself as "Poenicum inter Romanos" and designated Africa as his patria.[4] That Tertullian had a Christian wife is confirmed by the existence of two books he addressed to her.[5] St. Cyprian held Tertullian in high esteem.[6] According to Jerome, Tertullian reached an advanced age before his death.[7]

What the cited sources add

Tuggy notes that Tertullian mocked opponents as "patripassians" for implying the Father suffered when Jesus was crucified.[3] According to Tuggy, Tertullian believed all real things are material under the influence of Stoic philosophy.[3] The Tertullian Project states that the earliest manuscripts of Tertullian's works date from the late 8th century.[8] The Tertullian Project reports that five main collections of Tertullian's works are known.[8]

Douglas Powell argues that Tertullian's language shows no unambiguous evidence of a formal schism from the African Church.[9] Powell notes that Cyprian's regard for Tertullian is witnessed by Jerome on good authority.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Tertullian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Audi, Robert, "The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy", Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 908; Barnes 1971, p. 58; Harrison, "'I Believe Because it is Absurd': The Enlightenment Invention of Tertullian's Credo", Church History, June 2017, p. 339–364; Versluis, Arthur, "Magic and Mysticism", Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, p. 23 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Tertullian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Benham, "The Dictionary of Religion", Cassell, 1887, p. 1013; Ekonomou 2007, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=IaO-AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA22 22]; Gonzáles, Justo L., "The Story of Christianity", HarperCollins Publishers, 2010, p. 91–93; "From Logos to Trinity", Cambridge University Press, 2012-01-30, p. 190–220 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Tuggy, Dale, "History of Trinitarian Doctrines", Stanford University, 2016. facts only, no text reused. plato.stanford.edu
  4. Wikipedia, "Tertullian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Berthier, "L'Algérie et son passé: ouvrage illustré de 82 gravures en phototypie", Picard, 1951, p. 25; Hilliard, "Intellectual Traditions of Pre-colonial Africa", McGraw-Hill, 1998, p. 150; Wilhite, "Tertullian the African: An Anthropological Reading of Tertullian's Context and Identities", Walter de Gruyter, 2011, p. 134; Wilhite, "Tertullian the African: An Anthropological Reading of Tertullian's Context and Identities", Walter de Gruyter, 2011, p. 134; Young, "Other Greek Writers, John of Damascus and Beyond, the West to Hilary", Peeters en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Tertullian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Book Written to His Wife", New Advent (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Tertullian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Still, "Tertullian and Paul", A&C Black, 2012; "Tertullian: Douglas Powell, Tertullianists and Cataphrygians, Vigiliae Christianae 29 (1975), pp. 33–54" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Tertullian" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jerome, "De viris illustribus", p. 53 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. The Text Tradition: An Introduction to and Overview of the Manuscripts, from The Tertullian Project. It contains a complete list of known surviving and lost man. facts only, no text reused. tertullian.org
  9. "Tertullian: Douglas Powell, Tertullianists and Cataphrygians, Vigiliae Christianae 29 (1975), pp. 33–54". facts only, no text reused. tertullian.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Tertullian (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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