Carthage
The chief city of Roman Africa, on the coast of what is now Tunisia. It was the home of Tertullian and a centre of Latin-speaking Christianity in the third and fourth centuries.
Carthage stood on a peninsula in the Gulf of Tunis. Refounded as a Roman colony, it was the seat of the proconsul of Africa, to whom Tertullian addressed his plea for the Christians of the city (Tertullian, To Scapula 3). Jerome calls Tertullian a native of “the city of Carthage in the province of Africa” (Jerome, On Illustrious Men 53), and Tertullian claimed about 197 that Christians, though “of yesterday”, already filled the cities and towns (Tertullian, Apology 37). For later events here see the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity, Cyprian on the Unity of the Church and African Councils List the Books of Scripture.
What happened here
- about AD 197 to AD 220, estimated dateTertullian Writes Christian Theology in Latin
At Carthage Tertullian writes a large body of Christian literature in Latin: a defence of the Christians before Roman governors, attacks on Marcion and other teachers, and a treatise on God as Trinity, three persons of one substance.
- 7 March AD 203, estimated dateThe Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity
A group of newly baptised Christians is put to death in the arena in Roman Africa, among them the young mother Perpetua and Felicity, who gave birth in prison. The account preserves Perpetua’s own prison diary and her visions.
- AD 250, firm dateThe Decian Persecution
The emperor Decius orders the inhabitants of the empire to sacrifice to the gods and obtain a certificate. Bishops are executed or driven into hiding, many Christians comply, and the churches are left divided over how to receive them back.
- AD 251 to AD 258, firm dateCyprian on the Unity of the Church
Faced with rival bishops at Rome and Carthage after the Decian persecution, Cyprian argues that there is one church, held together by one episcopate, outside which there is no salvation. He then defends his view of baptism against the bishop of Rome and dies a martyr in 258.
- AD 314, firm dateThe Donatist Schism and the Council of Arles
Two rival bishops claim Carthage after the persecution. One party appeals to Constantine, who refers the case to bishops at Rome and then to a council at Arles. Both find for Caecilian, but the African church is still divided ninety years later.
- AD 393 to AD 397, firm dateAfrican Councils List the Books of Scripture
The bishops of Roman Africa, meeting at Hippo in 393 and Carthage in 397, rule that only canonical Scripture may be read in church and list its books: a New Testament of twenty-seven books and an Old Testament that includes Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach and Maccabees.
- AD 411 to AD 418, estimated dateAugustine and Pelagius Dispute over Grace
The monk Pelagius teaches that God made human nature able to choose the good and commands nothing impossible. Augustine answers that fallen nature can do no good without the grace of Christ. African councils and the bishops of Rome condemn Pelagius’s teaching in 418.
Primary sources
To Scapula
- Tertullian, To Scapula 3newadvent.org
On Illustrious Men
- Jerome, On Illustrious Men 53newadvent.org
Apology
- Tertullian, Apology 37newadvent.org