Tertullian summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Tertullian.

Tertullian , (born c. 155/160, Carthage—died after 220, Carthage), Early Christian theologian and moralist. Educated in Carthage, he became impressed by the courage, morality, and uncompromising monotheism of Christian martyrs, and he converted to Christianity. He became a leading member of the African church and one of the early Apologists. He devoted himself to writing for 20 years, producing works on such topics as defense of the faith, prayer and devotion, and morality, as well as the first Christian book on baptism, De baptismo. Later, dismayed by the laxity he witnessed among even his orthodox contemporaries, he joined the prophetic movement known as Montanism, then left it to form his own sect, which survived in Africa until the 5th century.

Christianity Summary

Christianity, major religion stemming from the life, teachings, and death of Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ, or the Anointed One of God) in the 1st century ce. It has become the largest of the world’s religions and, geographically, the most widely diffused of all faiths. It has a constituency of

Montanism Summary

Montanism, a schismatic movement founded by the prophet Montanus that arose in the Christian church in Phrygia, Asia Minor (modern Turkey), in the 2nd century. Subsequently it flourished in the West, principally in Carthage under the leadership of Tertullian in the 3rd century. It almost died out

apologetics Summary

Apologetics, in Christianity, the intellectual defense of the truth of the Christian religion, usually considered a branch of theology. In Protestant usage, apologetics can be distinguished from polemics, in which the beliefs of a particular Christian church are defended. Roman Catholics, however,

theology Summary

Theology, philosophically oriented discipline of religious speculation and apologetics that is traditionally restricted, because of its origins and format, to Christianity but that may also encompass, because of its themes, other religions, including especially Islam and Judaism. The themes of