Tertullian

Tertullian
Born
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus

c. 155 AD
Diedafter 220 AD
Carthage, Roman Empire
Notable workApologeticus
Theological work
EraPatristic age
Tradition or movementTrinitarianism
Main interestsSoteriology, traducianism
Notable ideasHypostasis, ousia, sacrament, consubstantiality, persona

Tertullian (/tərˈtʌliən/; Latin: Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; c. 155 – c. 220 AD[1]) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa.[2][3] He 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.[4]

Tertullian was the first theologian to write in Latin, and so has been called "the father of Latin Christianity",[5][6] as well as "the founder of Western theology".[7] He is perhaps most famous for being the first writer in Latin known to use the term trinity (Latin: trinitas).[8]

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.[9] According to Jerome, he later joined the Montanist sect and may have apostasized;[10] however, modern scholars dispute this.[11]

  1. ^ Audi, Robert (1999). The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. Cambridge University Press. p. 908.
  2. ^ Barnes 1971, p. 58.
  3. ^ Harrison, Peter (June 2017). "'I Believe Because it is Absurd': The Enlightenment Invention of Tertullian's Credo". Church History. 86 (2): 339–364. doi:10.1017/S0009640717000531. ISSN 0009-6407. JSTOR 26784720. S2CID 164425317.
  4. ^ Versluis, Arthur (2007). Magic and Mysticism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 23.
  5. ^ Benham, William (1887). The Dictionary of Religion. Cassell. pp. 1013.
  6. ^ Ekonomou 2007, p. 22.
  7. ^ Gonzáles, Justo L. (2010). "The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation". The Story of Christianity. Vol. 1. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 91–93.
  8. ^ "Tertullian, Originator of the Trinity". From Logos to Trinity. Cambridge University Press. 2012-01-30. pp. 190–220. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139003971.010. ISBN 978-1-139-00397-1.
  9. ^ Le Saint, W. (2003). "Tertullian". The New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. p. 837.
  10. ^ "Tertullian | Biography, Works, Theology, Montanism, & Facts". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  11. ^ Barnes 1971, p. 11.

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