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The Prescription Against Heretics

Tertullian

Chapter 20

About this work

Tertullian argues that apostolic churches possess the proper claim to interpret Christian Scripture and that rival teachers should not be granted equal standing in debates over the inherited rule of faith.

Author: Tertullian
Date: c. AD 200–210
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Heresiology

Chapter XX.—Christ First Delivered the Faith. The Apostles Spread It; They Founded Churches as the Depositories Thereof. That Faith, Therefore, is Apostolic, Which Descended from the Apostles, Through Apostolic Churches.

Christ Jesus our Lord (may He bear

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with

me

a

moment

in

thus

expressing

myself

!

)

,

whosoever

He

is

,

of

what

God

soever

He

is

the

Son

,

of

what

substance

soever

He

is

man

and

God

,

of

what

faith

soever

He

is

the

teacher

,

of

what

reward

soever

He

is

the

Promiser

,

did

,

whilst

He

lived

on

earth

,

Himself

declare

what

He

was

,

what

He

had

been

,

what

the

Father’s

will

was

which

He

was

administering

,

what

the

duty

of

man

was

which

He

was

prescribing

;

(

and

this

declaration

He

made

,

)

either

openly

to

the

people

,

or

privately

to

His

disciples

,

of

whom

He

had

chosen

the

twelve

chief

ones

to

be

at

His

side

,

and

whom

He

destined

to

be

the

teachers

of

the

nations

.

Accordingly

,

after

one

of

these

had

been

struck

off

,

He

commanded

the

eleven

others

,

on

His

departure

to

the

Father

,

to

“

go

and

teach

all

nations

,

who

were

to

be

baptized

into

the

Father

,

and

into

the

Son

,

and

into

the

Holy

Ghost

.

”

Immediately

,

therefore

,

so

did

the

apostles

,

whom

this

designation

indicates

as

“

the

sent

.

”

Having

,

on

the

authority

of

a

prophecy

,

which

occurs

in

a

psalm

of

David

,

chosen

Matthias

by

lot

as

the

twelfth

,

into

the

place

of

Judas

,

they

obtained

the

promised

power

of

the

Holy

Ghost

for

the

gift

of

miracles

and

of

utterance

;

and

after

first

bearing

witness

to

the

faith

in

Jesus

Christ

throughout

Judæa

,

and

founding

churches

(

there

)

,

they

forth

into

the

world

and

preached

the

same

doctrine

of

the

same

faith

to

the

nations

.

They

then

in

like

manner

founded

churches

in

every

city

,

from

which

all

the

other

churches

,

one

after

another

,

derived

the

tradition

of

the

faith

,

and

the

seeds

of

doctrine

,

and

are

every

day

deriving

them

,

that

they

may

become

churches

.

Indeed

,

it

is

on

this

account

only

that

they

will

be

able

to

deem

themselves

apostolic

,

as

being

the

offspring

of

apostolic

churches

.

Every

sort

of

thing

must

necessarily

revert

to

its

original

for

its

classification

.

Therefore

the

churches

,

although

they

are

so

many

and

so

great

,

comprise

but

the

one

primitive

church

,

(

founded

)

by

the

apostles

,

from

which

they

all

(

spring

)

.

In

this

way

all

are

primitive

,

and

all

are

apostolic

,

whilst

they

are

all

proved

to

be

one

,

in

(

unbroken

)

unity

,

by

their

peaceful

communion

,

and

title

of

brotherhood

,

and

bond

of

hospitality

,

—

privileges

which

no

other

rule

directs

than

the

one

tradition

of

the

selfsame

mystery

.

Notes

1
Mark iv. 34.
2
Matt. xxviii. 19.
3
Ps. cix. 8; comp. with Acts i. 15–20.
4
Traducem fidei.
5
Mutuantur “borrowing.”
6
Omne genus.
7
Censeatur or, “for its origin.”
8
Communicatio pacis.
9
Contesseratio. [3 John 8.]
10
Jura, “rights.”
11
That is, of the faith, or Christian creed.